POLARIS

Our only homestay for the trip. The food were delicious. The stargazing experience was unique. The owners are very friendly n helpful in giving recommendation for the activities we were planning n for local food recommndation.

Owners Ichiro and Ayana take great pride in their property and what they do (which had been doing since 2010). The attention to details at this little property is crazy. Plenty of information and suggestions on what you will see around the property, little notes here and there to make your stay more comfortable, a pair of binoculars for you to spot some bears haha, a pretty tea set placed by the window for you to enjoy the view over a cuppa, a HomeStar device in case it’s cloudy and you can’t catch the stars and can at least do so in the room. There are just a few rooms (probably 3) but that’s what makes the place more personal and homey. Dinner and breakfast were scrumptious and delicious. Ichiro-san would ask where you would be headed to next and then earnestly shares suggestions with detailed print out including the driving mapcode! He even loaned us a tripod and walked us to the spot where we could take photos of the starry sky. He also brought his own camera along and took a photo of us against the starry backdrop and very efficiently emailed the photo to us soon after. The next morning, he presented us a print out of the photo together with a constellation map for us to reference which stars are which in our photo! These might seem like little gestures but I feel they reflect the heart and sincerity of the hosts. Just to note that the owner has 2 cats, Kiki-Chan and Kuma-Kun, so if you’re allergic to cats’ fur or are afraid of them, this may not be the property for you. Also, you have to leave your shoes at the entrance as the house has a glossy wooden flooring for the cats. You can’t roll your luggage in but will have to carry it, which might be impossible if your suitcase is big and heavy. We had the foresight to pack a night’s essential into a backpack, so we didn’t have to offload our luggages from the car. The gravel path would have made dragging your suitcases quite impossible as well. The only downside for some taller guests might be