Book a Stay
Stay

One floor to yourselves — or the whole house.

Book direct

No middleman, just us.

Book direct, skip the platforms — and deal with real people, not a front desk. We host you ourselves, from the first message to the last morning. Two rooms in one kominka — and on select dates, the whole house to yourselves.

Direct-booking bonus: 15% off with coupon codeKISO15 — enter it when you book your room below.

Japanese-Style Room — 1st historic floor

Japanese-Style Room

1st historic floor
  • 80 m² · the whole historic floor for your group
  • Tatami rooms · courtyard-facing · futon bedding
  • Private toilet · washer-dryer · board games
Superior Family Room — 2nd modern floor

Superior Family Room

2nd modern floor
  • 60 m² · up to 3 adults · 4 futons
  • Balcony & mountain view · private toilet on 1F · stairs only
Whole-house rental — the entire 140-year-old kominka

The Whole House

Vacation house rental · both floors
  • The entire 140-year-old kominka, for one group
  • Both floors (140 m²) · garden & kitchen all to yourselves
  • Offered on select dates only — about one night a week
  • Unmanned stay — self check-in via key box
  • Kashiwaya's dinner isn't available — local shop Marusho delivers dinner to the house instead; the ochazuke breakfast set can still be ordered

On whole-house dates the individual rooms are closed (and vice versa), so the calendars never overlap — if your date shows no availability on one listing, check the other.

Booking direct? You can add dinner and breakfast right at checkout — see the Dining page for the menu.

Questions? Message us on WhatsApp →

Before you book

An honest note. This is a 140-year-old house, not a hotel.

Kashiwaya is wonderful for the right guest — and wrong for some. Please read these four points before you book.

If none of this puts you off, you'll likely love it here — the hearth-side evenings, the quiet post-town mornings, and a house that has sheltered travellers since 1885.

The 140-year-old kominka of Kashiwaya
The House

Built in 1885 in the samurai inn style.

Kashiwaya sits in Midono-juku — the 41st post town on the Nakasendo, right after Magome and Tsumago. The house was built in the same form as the honjin, the official inns where samurai travellers stayed when this road carried them between Edo and Kyoto.

Fires through the centuries took many of the old houses, but a few kominka remain, still lived in. Kashiwaya is one of them. We're 15 minutes on foot from Nagiso Station.

Midono-juku · 三留野宿 · the 41st post town on the Nakasendo
The people

The hands behind the house.

Four people, one house — keeping it lived-in across four generations.

Owner

Shu Ichikawa

Fourth-generation owner of Kashiwaya, founded by the Ichikawa family.

He has kept the house alive while moving between overseas, Tokyo, and Nagiso — protecting it through changing times.

Craft Beer Creator

Kaku Ichikawa

Eldest son of Shu Ichikawa.

Based in Tokyo, he runs a hair salon and a brewery, and developed three Kashiwaya-exclusive beers.

Renovator

Hiroshi Kumagai

Moved from Tokyo in 2015 and renovated three kominka in Nagiso — one of them is Kashiwaya.

He now runs “Yui-an,” an iconic kominka hostel that has become a symbol of Nagiso.

Master

Yasuhiro Fukuta

The current operator of Kashiwaya.

After visiting Nagiso many times from Nagoya, he began a dual-base life and apprenticed under Hiroshi Kumagai while working two jobs.

Inspired by a year living in West Virginia, USA, his mission is to recreate that deep “dive into the local” experience here in Nagiso.

Cancellation: prepayments are 100% refundable up to 7 days before arrival, non-refundable after. For facilities, house rules, access and every other practical question — see FAQ, facilities & access