Shiki — Local services in Biei

If you enjoy food cooked with passion and sensitivity, you must try and book a stay at this charming 'Chisai na Yado'. Fujiki Moribe-San and his wife use fresh, seasonal ingredients to prepare thoughtful, intriguing and delightful meals. ||||You will be very fortunate to get a booking because there are only 4 rooms and he is already booked for the rest of the summer. The rooms are simple, clean and well designed. There are two in the main cottage that share a toilet and furo, but have their own was basin. I am not sure of the arrangements in the other two rooms which are in separate buildings. The surrounding area is the heart of Biei's lovely rolling hills. This is a perfect place from which to explore the countryside.||||However, the main reasons to stay would be the food. We were served a set meal of 4 courses. First three small salads/appetizers: shrimp & avocado, asparagus with cheese, roasted peppers. Then a fish dish garnished with local vegetables: the flavors were all clean and sang together. The main course was local pork roast with a savory tomato/onion 'jam'. The desserts were three small selections: Mellon, a panne cotta with strewed figs and almond pastries. Perfect coffee capped the meal. Wine and beer are available and we had a glass of a delightful Italian red from Orvieto. Fujiki-San makes his own breads, in fact everything is home made. Breakfast can be western or Japanese. We chose western and were served an excellent asparagus frittata, home made pork sausage, divine, freshly baked rolls with home made haskap jam and wonderful coffee.||||The name has recently changed to 'Chisai na Yado', but the excellent service and cooking...

Once arriving at the cottage, the owner Moribe-san was awaiting to greet us outside and directing us where to park our car. After getting out of the car, Moribe-san gave me a very warm handshake that made me felt welcome. He then proceeded to took us into our cottage and explaining each rooms and the house rules and the time when dinner will be served. We had the entire cottage to our own, the shower and toilet were in separate cubicles which made it effective for 4-persons to use, and soft towels and amenities were provided as if staying in a hotel, I guess this will be one reason I will be avoiding airbnb in the future. ||I was definitely looking forward to dinner as I gathered from previous reviews from TripAdvisor that Moribe-san is an excellent chef and the food ingredients uses only the freshest produce of the area. And we were definitely in for a treat as each dish - from the bread to the appetisers and main dish were all very delicious and the flavours were very balanced and amazing. Desserts and coffee were a perfect close to the evening. I have a little regret that I did not go for a bottle of wine during dinner. ||Moribe-san then explained the time for serving breakfast and whether we would prefer western or Japanese breakfast. ||We were arranged with 4-tatami beds that I found very comfortable and immediately fell asleep at 10-ish pm after a tiring full day of driving and sightseeing. ||Definitely value for money and I will definitely return here when I visit...

Spent one night here and found it quite nice. We stayed in the 1-floor cabin right by the entrance and found it comfortable for the 3 of us and it was nice to have our parked car right outside the door. Beds were comfortable and the bathrooms and toilets were of good size.||||The host (owner) was a nice couple with passable English who showed us our cabin but failed to show us how to get inside the main house or the living area, we had to explore the place ourselves.||||We were told that dinner will be served offsite at their new restaurant and that they will drive us there and back. The drive took around 5 minutes and the restaurant look quite nice and brand new, see photo attached. To our surprise, we were served a 5-course dinner which was tasty and well presented. The owner had preselected the wines and you have the choice of red, white or sparkling plus beers. Prices for the drinks were very reasonable.||||Breakfast was served at the main house, upstairs by the living room or common area. Nothing spectacular but served with a smile.||||The areas around the inn are best described as rural residential. Very quiet and peaceful and well located to explore the sites around Biei. If you want to experience staying at a Japanese Inn then the Oka no Yado Shiki will be a...