Nagiso Station on the JR Chuo line, then 15 minutes on foot to Kashiwaya in Midono-juku (Nagiso 3993). If you need a ride, the manager will help you arrange a taxi — just tell us in advance.

Yes — message us on WhatsApp with your arrival time, plus any luggage transport or activities you'd like before check-in or after check-out. Meals are added at checkout when you book direct — or ordered on WhatsApp if you booked via Booking.com.

Tell us when you book on our site, or send us a WhatsApp message. We cook around your needs — wagyu through to vegan and gluten-free.

Booking direct on this site? Simply choose your meals as add-ons at checkout when you book your room. For one-night stays there's nothing more to do. Staying multiple nights? Tell us on WhatsApp which order you'd like on which date — e.g. staying Oct 3–6 and you'd like sukiyaki on the 3rd and shabu-shabu on the 5th: add both sets at checkout, then message us "Sukiyaki on the 3rd, Shabu-shabu on the 5th". The same goes for breakfast mornings. Booked via Booking.com? Order your meals on WhatsApp, with the same name as your room booking. Orders are accepted up to 3 days before your stay — see the Dining page for the menu.

Yes — cancellation is free with a full refund up to 4 days before your stay. From 3 days before onward, meal orders are non-refundable, as the meals are already being prepared. To cancel, please message us on WhatsApp.

Yes — the master runs guided e-bike tours and rentals through Beyond Nakasendo Cycling. Daytime use is ¥4,000 per bike per day (10:00 — 15:00). Book through their site.

Check-in is 16:00 — 18:00. Arriving early? You can drop your luggage and explore, and we'll do the house tour and formal check-in after 16:00. Arriving late? Message us on WhatsApp when you reach the entrance — the host lives just across the street. Check-out is by 10:00, with no procedure: leave whenever you're ready.

Yes — place it at the entrance, on the shelf just inside. Please note our liability for stored luggage is limited to ¥100,000 per person.

Yes — on select dates (about one night a week) we list the whole kominka for a single group: both floors, garden and kitchen included. On those dates the individual rooms are closed, so the whole-house calendar only opens on the days it's available. Book it from the booking section like any room. Please note the whole-house stay is unmanned (self check-in via key box) and Kashiwaya's dinner isn't available — instead, local shop Marusho delivers dinner sets to the house (¥1,500–¥3,500, see the Dining page). The ochazuke breakfast set can still be ordered, and the kitchen is included for self-catering.

Prepayments are 100% refundable if you cancel 7 days before arrival or earlier; cancellations after that are non-refundable. (Meal orders follow their own policy — free until 4 days before your stay, non-refundable from 3 days before.)

Yes — Nagiso Station, Tsumago and Junikane Station are within our free pick-up area between 16:00 and 18:00. Just ask in advance. For departures we can call a taxi for you on the day.

Dinner sets come in two sizes (serves 2 / serves 3): chicken hot pot ¥6,000 / ¥8,000, pork shabu-shabu or chilled rei-shabu ¥8,000 / ¥11,000, wagyu sukiyaki ¥10,000 / ¥14,000, and vegan gluten-free hot or chilled pots ¥8,000 / ¥11,000. Travelling solo? One set per day can be ordered at half the two-person price. The ochazuke breakfast set (vegan & gluten-free) is ¥1,500 per person.

No — some Genius Level 2–3 reservations show a “free breakfast” benefit that Booking.com's system displays without any arrangement with us. Kashiwaya has no breakfast-included plans: all meals are optional, paid, and reserved in advance. We're sorry for the confusion this causes.

Be careful — restaurants near us don't keep regular evening hours. The safe plan is to reserve dinner at the inn (up to 3 days ahead) or ask us about same-day meal delivery. We'll gladly check what's open on your dates.

Yes — free Wi-Fi throughout the house.

Kashiwaya itself takes card payments for meals and drinks, but most local restaurants — and all local buses and trains — are cash-only, and can't change notes larger than ¥1,000. Bring a stack of ¥1,000 notes. The nearest ATM is at the 7-Eleven, about 20 minutes on foot.

The shower room, sink and kitchen are shared; toilets are private (the private toilet for second-floor guests is on the first floor — you won't pass through any other guest's area to reach it). There's no bathtub — if you want a proper soak, a day-use natural hot spring is about 15 minutes away by car (closed Wednesdays). We can arrange a taxi for you.

First-floor guests have a washer-dryer to use. Otherwise there's a coin laundry about 15 minutes' walk away.

Between Magome and Tsumago there's a no-reservation luggage shuttle. Between Nagiso and Nojiri stations we run one ourselves — just ask. For the wider Kiso area (Matsumoto to Nakatsugawa), NLTS and Walk Lite offer luggage transfer with advance booking.

Asian black bears do live in these mountains, but fixed bells along the Magome Pass trail mean no sightings there for about a decade. Bears avoid people and almost always run first; the only real risk is surprising a mother with cubs. If you're worried, we rent bear bells and bear spray.

Easy — sneakers are fine (sandals aren't recommended). In winter, strap-on spikes for icy patches are a good idea; we rent those too.

No pets, and no smoking inside the wooden house — the courtyard is fine. Photos and videos are all OK (sharing them motivates us!). Local residents rise early, so please keep quiet after 21:00.