Kabutoya Inn — Local services in Tokyo

My goal for the trip was to find a location that is serene, has an onsen, and near a hiking trail. After a lot of searching I found Kabutoya. ||Access from Tokyo took 2.5hrs by train but it was a very simple commute. It is a nearly direct line from Shinjuku followed by a bus that was easy to find and comes frequently. You can use your Suica card or cash on the bus and no reservation was needed. Very easy. The scenery from the bus alone made me excited for my upcoming stay.||When I arrived I was delighted that my name was written on the board outside alongside the other guests for the night. It was so pleasant.||I checked in very tired from working and was greeted with matcha tea and a little treat in my room while the hosts graciously asked me when I'd like to eat my dinner. Since I booked the room with a hearth (HIGHLY recommend) and they would need to enter my room I really liked I had some flexibility here without rush.||Dinner was phenomenal and I cannot overstate this. Each ingredient was fresh from the local area. I was very luck that I stayed at a time when an english-speaking staff was working who kindly and informatively explained each dish paired with a fun anecdote. Google translate on the menu would work just fine though.||The meal felt so refreshing and clean after my days of izakayas in Tokyo. At the end of the meal they'll bring a bowl of rice so you have a bit of mixer to finish up the last bit of the meal! And finally dessert. They let me either give a time estimate when to check in, or I could just pick up the phone and ask for the next course of the meal. ||After dinner I donned my yukata and went to onsen! It is a trek down two staircases and you get to explore the beautiful architecture on the way down. Onsen was nice, hot, and toiletries and a hair dryer were provided of course.||By the time I made it up to my room the hosts had setup my futon and I was ready to sleep on the heated floors. I had the best sleep of my life. Knocked out for ten hours straight and ready for my hike the next day.||The next morning you can go downstairs for breakfast which is equally as delicate and delicious. Fueled up for my hike I headed out for the Hinohara Tokyo Citizens' Forest, which is the starting point to hike Mt. Mito. After a brief walk to the bus station I hopped on that same bus and headed up the towards the mountain. ||I sound like a crazy person but it was a life-changing experience for me. The nature between fall and winter was so beautiful. If you're looking for an easy to access, quiet, but beautiful stay near Tokyo then this is the place to do it. ||The last two photos are...

My goal for the trip was to find a location that is serene, has an onsen, and near a hiking trail. After a lot of searching I found Kabutoya. ||Access from Tokyo took 2.5hrs by train but it was a very simple commute. It is a nearly direct line from Shinjuku followed by a bus that was easy to find and comes frequently. You can use your Suica card or cash on the bus and no reservation was needed. Very easy. The scenery from the bus alone made me excited for my upcoming stay.||When I arrived I was delighted that my name was written on the board outside alongside the other guests for the night. It was so pleasant.||I checked in very tired from working and was greeted with matcha tea and a little treat in my room while the hosts graciously asked me when I'd like to eat my dinner. Since I booked the room with a hearth (HIGHLY recommend) and they would need to enter my room I really liked I had some flexibility here without rush.||Dinner was phenomenal and I cannot overstate this. Each ingredient was fresh from the local area. I was very luck that I stayed at a time when an english-speaking staff was working who kindly and informatively explained each dish paired with a fun anecdote. Google translate on the menu would work just fine though.||The meal felt so refreshing and clean after my days of izakayas in Tokyo. At the end of the meal they'll bring a bowl of rice so you have a bit of mixer to finish up the last bit of the meal! And finally dessert. They let me either give a time estimate when to check in, or I could just pick up the phone and ask for the next course of the meal. ||After dinner I donned my yukata and went to onsen! It is a trek down two staircases and you get to explore the beautiful architecture on the way down. Onsen was nice, hot, and toiletries and a hair dryer were provided of course.||By the time I made it up to my room the hosts had setup my futon and I was ready to sleep on the heated floors. I had the best sleep of my life. Knocked out for ten hours straight and ready for my hike the next day.||The next morning you can go downstairs for breakfast which is equally as delicate and delicious. Fueled up for my hike I headed out for the Hinohara Tokyo Citizens' Forest, which is the starting point to hike Mt. Mito. After a brief walk to the bus station I hopped on that same bus and headed up the towards the mountain. ||I sound like a crazy person but it was a life-changing experience for me. The nature between fall and winter was so beautiful. If you're looking for an easy to access, quiet, but beautiful stay near Tokyo then this is the place to do it. ||The last two photos are...

I and my wife (both genuine Japanese) enjoyed climbing up Mito-san mountain (1530 m) in 2013 February, and after descending, staying at this impressive Japanese inn. It is located at Kazuma, Hinohara village (still within the Tokyo Metropolis!) which you can reach by one-hour of bus ridge from Itsukaichi train station. The Japanese-style room was clean and spacious with private fire place, where we enjoyed gorgeous dinner of which started with a collection of wild plant dishes (see photo). For the main dish, we chose a hot pot soup using wild boar meat, a local delicacy, which was really good. Like many other Japanese inns, it has a shared hot-tub bath for men, and another for women; each can accommodate several guests at the same time. The inn consists of two connected buildings, and the older one is a really imposing thatched-roof house which used to be common in Japan till about 50 years ago. You can find an English home page of this place, by searching the Web for...