Kai's san House
Over the past few days, we've been staying at Kai's house.
The house is located in a valley between the mountains, right beneath a highway bridge. It is a traditional two-story Japanese house, standing quite isolated in a Japanese tall cedar forest trees and giant bamboo.
Kai is a former professional boxer, yet he is one of the nicest and most polite people we have metโcompletely the opposite of the aggression one might expect from a boxer. He has traveled to almost every country and understands well what hostel travelers enjoy. Somehow, complete strangers arrive at this place, connect instantly, and never want to leave.
On the second floor, there are two guest rooms: one with hostel-style bunk beds and another more luxurious room consisting of a 6-tatami bedroom and an additional 5-tatami reading area (My guess)โa beautifully designed traditional Japanese space.
But the most significant room is the kitchen, where connections between strangers are formed over cooking and shared meals.
During our stay, other guests included an American woman, who has been here for quite a while as a Workaway volunteer; a young and sweet French couple, and a Chinese journalist who has found it difficult to return to China. Both guests initially planned to stay for just a few days but ended up lingering until just before their flights out of Japan.
Every morning, Kai leads a fitness training session in the yard, where makeshift workout equipment is scattered aroundโbut surprisingly effective, especially for boxing. The franch guy, an avid wrestling fan, trained seriously with Kai, and their session ended with a few rounds of boxing (without face punches), which was truly impressive to watch.
I, on the other hand, focused mainly on recovering my shoulder injury, which improved significantly.
Below the house runs a small river, with a picnic and BBQ area, and even a sauna nearby. One hot evening, the journalist felt home sick andย prepared a massive Chinese meal, while we contributed a salad and vegetarian omeletsโand from that night on, every evening turned into a shared feast.
We stayed here for five days. Two were dedicated to pure relaxation at the house. One day, we hiked up Mount Jinba. Another day, we explored Cat Valleyโa creepy story in itself. And on another day, we traveled to a fairly distant onsen.
This place is perfect for travelers who enjoy spending time in nature.
But the best part? Getting to know the fascinating stories of every person staying here.
Kai's house is much more than just a place to sleepโit's a home, in every sense of the word. And that makes it truly...
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