A Stay at Guesthouse Omusubi: Quiet Nights in Nakatsugawa

At the foot of a tea-covered slope, looking out toward Mount Ena, stands a solidly built traditional Japanese house. Inside are a spacious dining kitchen, a kotatsu, a kamidana (the household Shinto shrine), and rooms filled with light. Time moves quietly here.

Keiko, the owner, welcomed us so warmly that we spent our two days in Nakatsugawa feeling like part of the family.

Where the Rice Fields Begin

We arrived at Guesthouse Omusubi on the morning of a hot summer day, and it was clear right away that this would be a stay unlike any other.

Keiko, the owner, met us with such a warm welcome that within minutes we felt less like guests and more like family.

The guesthouse is in a quiet residential neighborhood on the edge of Nakatsugawa. A few shops and restaurants are close by, but the immediate surroundings feel rural. The house sits beside actively cultivated rice fields, with a tea plantation on the hill behind it and woods further back.

The result is a wonderful view and the privacy of a secluded home, while everything you might need during your trip stays within easy reach.

A House Made for Gathering

Guesthouse Omusubi is a traditional Japanese house built in the 1980s, with a mix of Western and Japanese-style rooms on either side of a long corridor.

The first rooms you meet as you enter are the ones for gathering. One is the most formal, with tatami flooring, a Shinto shrine, and a tokonoma alcove displaying a hanging scroll. Another has a kotatsu, the traditional heated table.

Further into the house, a fully equipped kitchen with a large table is on your right and two bedrooms are on your left. One bedroom has a tatami floor. The other has hardwood, with movable tatami mats laid over it so a futon can be set out for sleeping. The bathroom is at the end of the corridor.

Sliding doors separate the rooms from one another and from the corridor, so the space can be rearranged in moments. At the windows, sliding paper screens take the place of blinds, letting in plenty of natural light during the day while keeping out the direct sun.

A Castle Built into the Mountain

The next day we visited the ruins of historic Naegi Castle, only about ten minutes from the guesthouse by car.

Naegi was the seat of a poor samurai domain, so the castle could not be built with imported stone. Instead, its builders worked with the terrain, integrating the main towers into the mountain itself. Most of the structures were made of wood and have long since been lost to time.

We approached along a narrow mountain path, passing through bamboo groves and coming across old samurai graves on the way. We also stopped at a small Shinto shrine that was once a Buddhist temple.

Then we climbed to the ruins of the main tower. The castle site is kept in good condition by the local community, who organize to cut the grass on the steep fortified slopes. From the top, wide views open over the valleys around Nakatsugawa, the bridges across the green Kiso River, and the surrounding mountains, including the tall summits of Mount Ena and Mount Kasagi.

On the way down we passed the secondary tower before heading back to the city.

Tea, Cicadas and a Quiet Night

After the walk around the castle ruins, we returned to the guesthouse to rest. It was getting hot outside, so we stayed in and enjoyed some tea.

In the evening we went out for dinner, following the guesthouse's recommendations for local restaurants, and came back to Omusubi after dark. We ended the day with a bath and fell asleep quickly on the soft, supportive futons, listening to the cicadas chirping in the fields.

Leaving Like Family

We woke early the following morning to explore the landscape around the guesthouse once more. The whole city lies in a valley ringed by tall mountains, which you can see from the house. We climbed the hill with the tea plantation and took in the scenery from the top.

Back at the guesthouse, we had a light European-style breakfast and chatted with Keiko over morning coffee, sharing our impressions of the stay.

Then we packed our bags and checked out. As we left, Keiko and her family saw us off, waving goodbye with both arms held wide. It was a moving farewell, and one we will not forget. With that picture still in our minds, we made our way to the station to continue exploring rural Gifu Prefecture.