Rural Retreats
Kyoto by the Sea
Kyoto by the Sea's rural retreats invites visitors to experience authentic Japanese countryside living. Stay in beautifully preserved farmhouses overlooking terraced rice fields, enjoy farm-to-table cuisine, and engage in activities like cooking classes and farming experiences. These accommodations offer a tranquil escape and a deep connection to local culture.
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Kaya Yama No Ie
Located halfway up the Oeyama Mountains, Kaya Yama no Ie’s building was originally a forestry school, and has been maintained by residents for 40 years. It was renovated into an accommodation in 2021 and is run by a family that specializes in the culinary arts. The cuisine offered for both dinner and breakfast are locally sourced, from the rice to vegetables, fish, and even wild game. They even create allergy-free handmade desserts and have a variety of local beer and sake on hand. The accommodation has six tatami-style rooms all overlooking terraced rice fields and the village of Kaya down below in the distance. It is an excellent stop for visitors hiking the Oni Trail.​
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Ichijuissai no Yado Chabu Dining
This farmhouse stay in Ayabe offers a very well-preserved traditional Japanese farmhouse for guests to stay in. The accommodation is spacious and even includes a traditional Japanese hearth called an irori. The owners grow their own vegetables and rice, and provide healthy cooking using farm to table ingredients. There are farming experiences available, as well as a nearby farmhouse that offers a cooking experience with locals using a kamado stone oven in the farmhouse. The owners speak English and a little Spanish.​
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Furumaya
Furumaya is a lovingly renovated 210-year-old farmhouse that looks out over the farm fields and valley. The rooms are spacious and include both tatami and wood floor rooms as well as a library.The ingredients for the meals are locally sourced and even raised by the owners. There are a variety of optional experiences as well, from tea ceremony to, tea farm visit, cooking, vegetable harvesting, and even kimono fitting. The owners also speak English and French.​
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Akita
Akita's rural retreats offer a serene immersion into pastoral life amid idyllic settings of fields and mountains. Guests stay in traditional houses, savour delicious meals made from home-grown produce, and participate in activities like hot pot cooking, farming, and cultural workshops. These homestays provide warm hospitality and a genuine taste of rural Japan.
Farmstay Iori
Located in an idyllic rural setting, surrounded by fields and farmhouses, this traditional house has been converted into a simple yet stylish guesthouse, where every interior and accessory has been carefully selected. Guests are served delicious local food which is prepared using home-grown rice and vegetables harvested directly from the owner’s land. Guests can make Kiritanpo (a local Akita hot pot dish) with their host, as well as do a hands-on farming experience and moss-ball making. Close by is the Hinokinai River, a famous cherry blossom spot and the Akita Art Village, a place of cultural exchange where you can enjoy local art, performing arts, local beer and dishes from around the region.​
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Farmstay Sakakoshimai
The Yamauchi’s are wonderful local couple invite you into their pastoral home and way of life, allowing you to entirely disconnect from the matrix. It is you, your natural surroundings and two delightful earnest people cooking over a fireplace, eating food of this land, sampling local sake, maybe playing the odd party game with a cup of sake on hand (of course). Mr. Yamauchi- is a real character with many strings to his bow to keep you entertained during your stay. Making local delicacy, Kiritanpo (made from Akita bred chicken and local rice/veg) is a staple experience. Other activities through the duration of your stay may also include: • Calligraphy (sometimes with local school-kids) • A magic show performance (from your host) • Sakakoshimai dance – also known as the “lion dance” • Morning exercise routine (Akita style of course) • Morning walking tours • Morning harvesting​.
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Satoyama Café Ninigi
A detached house in a rice field at the foot of a mountain (Shinzan/Honzan).It has a homely atmosphere that is a little different from guesthouses and inns/hotels. “Satoyama no Café Ninigi” is a cafe where you can stay in an old folk house. A detached house in a rice field where you can still feel the remnants of old beliefs along with place names, historic sites, and people's lives.Part of the building has been refurbished into a residence and store that utilizes an old private house, and now operates a cafe, guest house, and tatami room gallery. One of the few guesthouses in Oga City. It's as if you're visiting a relative's house in this land. The owner (Mr. Saruta) likes to talk and has a delicate sense of furniture and furnishings.​
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Berabou Izakaya & Inn
A personal recommendation from our Shirakami guide, the Berabou Izekaya is life and soul of Noshiro - a small city in the North West of Akita. Noshiro is known for its spectacular Noshiro Tanabata Festival (in August) and makes a perfect base for exploring Shirakami sanchi. The owner of the Berabou is a real character and has put his personality into the decor and ambience of this local institution. 10 minutes walk from the izekaya is his delightful guesthouse with rooms overlooking the Yoneshiro river and Shirakami mountains.​
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