Welcome to Bishamon House. Tsuzumi and her husband own this beautiful house. Tsuzumi studied in Italy after graduated from Osaka University. While staying in Italy she met her future husband Christian. They have moved back to her hometown, Kameoka with two kids, and bought a Japanese traditional house (about 150 years old), and renovated it. They have finally started a home stay business in 2018. They were also involved to tourism industry in Firenze for quite a while. As she is Japanese, and he is Italian, so they understand and appreciate both cultures. They will make every guest feel at home. You would get both the comfort and the tradition at their house. They are educated, interesting, and warm people.

When staying at Bishamon House opportunities are endless…
● Learn to cook traditional Japanese dishes: we could cook dinner together.
● 7 Lucky Temples walk—it’s a beautiful foot of the east mountain range walk partly through a village and a cherry park all the way to Izumo Shrine: Izumo Daijingu Shrine | Popular Spots | KYOTO (about 2 hours walk). 7 Lucky Gods Pilgrimage of Tamba This would be a perfect thing to do for Autumn leaves.
● Experience a traditional tea ceremony, try Japanese ikebana (flower arrangement), or write Japanese calligraphy, or try to play the Koto (traditional Japanese stringed instrument) with our local cultural experts and artisans: cost of 10,000 yen extra (for 1 to 5 people) as gratuity for the master
● Relax at the Hiyoshi Hot Springs, which takes 30 minutes by car from my house.
● Japanese shiatsu massage: there is an excellent one, which cost 3,250 yen extra for an hour massage per person.
● Journey through rice paddies and farmlands to the historic mountain village of Miyama, which takes 1.5 hours by car (one way): Miyama Travel Guide - Japan Guide
● Journey through rice paddies and farmlands to the historic mountain village of Miyama
● Visit a local potter: if you would like to do “Paint your own cup”, it would cost 3,500 yen extra per person+ shipping cost extra)
● Visit a local Sake brewing, where you can taste lots of different Sake.
● Visit an old Kimono shop

Facilities

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Ryokan Reviews:

• The best days of our trip

  Simon

  Month of Visit: February

  Country Of Reviewer: Australia

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  We stayed at Bishamon house for 3 days a few months ago and we still reflect on it as one of, if not the best thing we did on our 3 week Japan trip. It was the most beautiful spot, straight out of a studio Ghibli film. The family were so wonderful, generous and hilarious. The nearby temples were an experience as close to spiritual as I’ve ever felt. We did the glass blowing workshop where made some beautiful pieces and the instructor made it so much fun in spite of the language barrier. We went to (restaurant) which was phenomenal and the owner/chef took such good care of us. We are truly so thankful to have met the family of Bishamon house and would recommend to anyone and definitely go back again, next time for longer.

• Best experience in Japan!!

  Leonie

  Month of Visit: January

  Country Of Reviewer: Australia

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  My family and I stayed for 2 nights and 2 days at Bishamon House and out of our 5 week holiday in Japan it was the absolute best thing we did. Not only were Tsuzumi and Christian and their 2 children such wonderful hosts, we had some absolutely amazing experiences in Kameoka like participating in a traditional New Year ceremony at the local Buddhist temple, making Bamboo chopsticks, having a Sensei demonstrate how to make a Samurai sword and being taught how to play the Shamisen. The local cuisine that we received for breakfast and dinner was divine, such love and care was put into the preparation of our meals. Delicious!! But the best thing of the entire experience was that we were treated like part of the family rather than guests, that part was priceless. I would go back to Bishamon House in a flash if I could. Thank you Tsuzumi and Christian for a wonderful experience that we will never forget xx

• Book your stay here, you will love it

  Jill

  Month of Visit: September

  Country Of Reviewer: Netherlands

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  I don't even know where to begin. We have spent three weeks in Japan and unfortunately only one night at Bishamon house. It has been our best night abroad ever. This says a lot since we have travelled every continent. The warmth of Christian, Tsuzumi and the kids just overwhelmed us. They really give you a place in their home and family. You feel as you are a part of their family. We where welcomed at the station and then had numerous of options for things to do in the area or at the house. We chose the 'Seven Lucky Temples' walk. It is fun to do and navigating it is maybe a bit hard. But we had fun exploring the area. After picking is up from our hike they made us a nice hot bath and prepared dinner. Dinner is served for the entire family and we could experience Nabe for the first time. Yes, you sure want this. It is a wonderfull Japanese dish, full with all sorts of ingredient. We absolutely loved it. The house is gorgeous and whenever you want you have it for yourself. You can decide on breakfast time and the next morning spot on you'll get a full breakfast with everything your western heart desires. Toast, egg, yoghurt, cereal. It was our best breakfast in Japan, thanks Christian! Overall we would just like to say thank you to the family. You have been so warm and kind and gave us so much more than a night in Kameoka. You gave us the best experience in Japan with your warmth and kindness. Whenever in Japan we will make sure to visit again. Because after nabe we would love to experience Christians Italian cooking ;-)

• We loved every minute at Bishamon house

  Gerard

  Date of Review: April, 2019

  Month of Visit: April

  Country Of Reviewer: The Netherlands

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  Our trip to Japan (our first visit to the country) had three legs: 6 days in Kyoto, 3 days in Kameoka at Bishamon house and 6 days in Tokyo. On hindsight, for three reasons we consider our stay at Bishamon house as the highpoint of our journey. First, for the generosity and charm of Tsuzumi and Christian, our perfect hosts. The fact that Christian has a European background and Tsuzumi has lived in Italy for quite some time turned out to be a real bonus: it enabled us to have long, informative conversations with our hosts about the differences and similarities between European and Japanese culture and society. Our talks were conducted over the excellent Japanese dinners we joined with our hosts and in the car, en route to a famous sea food restaurant in the Kansai area where we enjoyed the Onsen and a Kaiseki lunch. Our hosts informed us about Japanese customs, its religion, family life and politics, and while preparing Nabe at the table also taught us how to cook this delicious food – all in all a true education, which put some of our experiences in Kyoto in context. Second, the sheer beauty of Bishamon house. We stayed in the spacious Japanese style room, where every detail has clearly been chosen with utmost care. Once again, we found that modernist European culture has been deeply influenced by Japan in many ways – among others by designing sober, yet comfortable houses. Third, the two excursions we had chosen on our host’s advice. Apart from the visit to the seafood restaurant, we made the amazingly interesting and beautiful seven Lucky Temples walk which starts in Bishamon house’s backyard. We admired the eights century courage and creativity to deal with the challenges of life and, along the way – it was hanami time - enjoyed the splendid cherry park in full blossoming which in fact we found more impressive than the more famous, but overcrowded ‘Path of Philosophy’ in Kyoto. We highly recommend Bishamon house. We loved every minute. Our only regret is that we didn’t stay longer. If we have the chance to visit Japan again, we’re sure we’ll stay with Christian and Tsuzumi again.

• Highlight of our trip!

  Month of Visit: April

  Country Of Reviewer: USA

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  Our two week trip was greatly enriched by a stop in Kameoka! We stayed two nights with Tsuzumi and Christian, including signing up for a full day tour with them, which I would highly recommended doing if you decide to stay here. We were able to have a glimpse of the Japanese cultural experience that, as foreigners and first time visitors to Japan, would not have been possible otherwise without their local knowledge and guidance. The comfort of our stay was really all about our hosts, they were professional yet we felt a genuine connection. Christian was engaging, informative, and a great driver and guide. He has unique insight and perspective as a Westerner living in Japan, and made for great conversation. Tsuzumi is welcoming and sweet, and as a local provided great information and was always ready to answer our questions and help us translate language and culture. Their kids are adorable, and very well behaved! As we were interested in having a more authentic cultural experience, westayed in the Japanese style room. We found the futon mattresses on the tatami floors comfortable. Dinners and breakfasts were delicious, and it was fantastic to have some company while we ate and drank! Our day tour included a lesson with a local pottery master, learning about recycled Ikibana and a tea ceremony at a Zen temple, and a visit to a Sake brewery. These experiences were enlightening and brought us closer as a family! We also took a fantastic self guided walk along the 7 lucky temples. We appreciated these even more than the historic sights in Kyoto- though not as grand, the complete lack of crowds allowed us to take our time and appreciate the subtle beauty. We could have spent even more time here, and will definitely come back again next time we visit Japan. Our trip was all the more special because of our time at Bishsmon House!

• Personalized Homestay Experience

  Peter

  Month of Visit: March

  Country Of Reviewer: United States

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 4

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 4

  Room Rating - 4

  Our home stay at Bishamon House was a unique interlude during our 3 ½ week Japan travels. Our hosts Tsuzumi and Christian and their two charming little children, Akira & Yuki, gave us an immediate warm welcome to their home and community. It was nice to be able to exchange ideas of life, travels, and cross-cultural experiences in a personable setting – as well as join in a family meal. We opted for a day tour that was thoughtfully customized to our interests – including neighborhood walks, visit to a temple to meet a local woman schooled in tea ceremony and flower arranging, plus an excursion to the mountain village of Miyama. Our hosts also helped coordinate transportation for other activities in the area. We enjoyed a leisurely walk along the 7 Lucky Temples route as well as a delicious multi-course meal at a local family restaurant. Turns out there are several days worth of additional activities that we could have enjoyed in the Kameoka area had we opted for a longer stay. Our travel memories of Japan were definitely enhanced by our stay at the Bishamon House. Thanks again to Tsuzumi and Christian and kids.