Orchard Owners’ Lodging Aoi

This place stood out from the others. It looked brand new, not run down, with a alpine cabin feel of large timber beams and pristine hardwood floors, and a common dining area with a fire pit. (Which the owner offered to light up but I was overwhelmed with heat from backpacking about.) The owner offered to pick us up and drop us off as the skies opened up and dumped so much rain the railway closed down, pretty rare in Japan. She refused to accept any gas money, so I'll always feel indebted to her, and definitely will stay here again if I come back through on trail again. This is a really nice place that would make for a romantic stay, unlike some of the places with common bathrooms (not always terribly clean but what do you want for 4500 yen) The one limitation is this place doesn't do meals, but she takes you to a convenience store to pick up bento.

I had a lovely stay in this beautiful house. The innkeeper was very easy to communicate with in English via E-mail and picked me up along the road as I was arriving later than expected. The Kamo Trail is within walking distance and an excellent way to travel to temple 21. I’d highly recommend staying here.