An unstaffed station on the Kominato Railway. You step off the single-car diesel train — the only passenger to get off. Twenty minutes down a path through the rice paddies, the inn appears.
The Master, and His Forty Years
Mr. Takahashi, 74, the master of the house, built this wooden inn forty years ago. "At first, only the odd curious soul ever came," he laughs.
There is still no sign. No social media. And yet, one by one, people in the know keep finding their way here.
A Satoyama Table
Dinner centers on an "osusowake set" — home-cooked dishes shared by the mothers of the neighborhood. Simmered vegetables, pickles, miso soup.
I just want to show people a little of life in the satoyama — Japan's village countryside. — Mr. Takahashi, the master
On the table: vegetables from the fields nearby and rice from the terraced paddies. Everything comes from within a one-kilometer radius.
Home by the Kominato Railway
The journey home is by Kominato Railway too — swaying along in the single-car diesel train, watching terraced paddies and bamboo groves drift past as you ease your way back toward the city.
The way there and the way back were both part of the journey. Not many inns can make you feel that.
INN INFORMATION
- Inn name
- Yamabiko-so — a lone inn in the satoyama hills
- Location
- Ichihara, Chiba (exact address shared when you book)
- Rooms
- 6 rooms (Japanese-style)
- Meals
- Breakfast and dinner included (satoyama home cooking)
- Rates
- From ¥10,500 per night with two meals (tax included)
- Access
- 20 min on foot from Kazusa-Tsurumai Station on the Kominato Railway
- Booking
- By phone
How to Stay at This Inn
This inn is not listed on major booking sites,
so you will need to contact it directly. Get in touch with us for details.