Makuyama House

About Makuyama House

Makuyama House is an old two-storey house in Kajiya, a village in the hills ten minutes by bus from Yugawara Station. It sits right on the Niizawa River, and the wooden deck out back looks over the water and the hills. Makuyama Park, with its plum grove, hiking trails and climbing rocks, is a 15-minute walk up the road.

It's a good place to live and work for a while. Upstairs there are desks and chairs by the windows, there's free wifi, and the downstairs room next to the kitchen doubles as a living room. The kitchen has pots and pans, a rice cooker and a microwave. Stays of a month or longer are welcome, and it's quiet: the river, birds, and a bus every so often.

There are three rooms for up to three people each, and the house sleeps six in all. You book the whole house, so the kitchen, bath and deck are yours. Nights start at ¥3,000 a person, with a small extra for heating or air conditioning in midsummer and midwinter. Pets stay free. One car fits beside the house; big cars are a squeeze.

Your host is Masato, a friend of Matt's who also runs the Yugawara Share House. For climbers, he rents bouldering crash pads for ¥1,000 a day and will drop them at Makuyama Park for ¥500. There's no onsen in the house; Kogome no Yu and Soyu Terrace are a short bus ride down the valley. Book on Booking.com.