Every time I visit my hometown, I rediscover the charm of Seto Inland Sea area. I've created this house "Kaze Box" because I want to share this beautiful places with many tourists all over the world! It is located on the border with Okayama and Hiroshima Prefecture, with excellent access to famous tourist destination such as Kurashiki, Shimanami cycling road, Art Island Naoshima and so on. If you are a big fan of Fuji Kaze, you can drive to his birth home cafe in 5 minutes by car! < < Kaze Box Facilities > > It is an old Japanese style 2-story house. It has a kitchen dining room and a living room on the 1st floor, and 2 Japanese-style rooms on the 2nd floor. There is one toilet (washlet) and one bathroom (bathtub & shower) on the 1st floor. There is a washing machine (6 kg) and a dryer (7 kg). Shampoo, conditioner, body soap, towels and laundry detergent are also provided. The kitchen has basic condiments such as salt and oil, utensils, dishes, and glasses. There are two IT cooking heaters, a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, toaster, and electric kettle. So enjoy cooking and dinning here! The living room on the 1st floor has a TV and sofa where you can enjoy online contents. You can also lay out two futons and sleep here. It has an air conditioning. If you climb the slightly steep stairs, there are 2 Japanese-style tatami mattress rooms on the 2nd floor. You can separate each room with a sliding door, or you can leave it open and enjoy chatting with family and friends until just before you go to sleep. There are 2 single mattresses and 1 double bed in each room.The 2nd floor can accommodate up to 4 people. It also has a desk, chair, and WiFi, perfect for remote work. There is one air conditioning on the second floor. Each room also has a hanger rack and a closet. < < Access > > 20 minutes on foot from JR Kasaka Station. A few minutes by taxi (900 yen) 1 hour drive from Okayama Airport or Hiroshima Airport. Renting a car there is recommended.

Hello, I’m Elise, your host. I’ve always been terrible with directions, geography, and history, yet life has taken me through travel, study abroad, and guiding tours in Japan and overseas—until I finally found my way to Lake Toya in Hokkaido. To give you an idea of how bad my sense of direction is: once I got lost deep in the mountains of Spain and ended up spending the night with hippies, and another time I wandered around central Tokyo for two hours while doing a delivery job. Strangely enough though, I have a special talent for making myself feel completely at home, even in places I’ve never been before! These days, I live in a 60-year-old house we’re DIY-renovating, together with my husband, three kids from 2 to 14, one dog, and five cats. Our family loves visiting hot springs (we have a top 10 list to share!) and cooking seasonal local foods. Even our pets have food-inspired names like Inari, Mame-mochi, and Ohagi—yes, we’re a family of food lovers. I believe that anywhere can become paradise if you’re surrounded by nature, good food, and the people you love. With that in mind, I started welcoming guests to my favorite places in the world: Lake Toya in Hokkaido and my hometown in Okayama.

[Neighborhood Information] ----Restaurants------ 5-minute walk to a 7-Eleven convenience store There are many local restaurants within a 10-minute walk - Cake & bakery (breakfast bread and sandwiches, stylish and delicious cakes perfect for special occasions.) - Udon noodle shop - Yakiniku restaurant (local Kasaoka beef) - Kasaoka Ramen - Delicious eel restaurant 5-10 minutes by car - Many supermarkets and drug stores. - Cafes by the sea - Cafe related to Fujii Kaze - Reasonably priced sushi restaurant where you can enjoy local fish and vegetables - Farmer's market (full of local vegetables, fish, and souvenirs) ----- Activities ------ - Perfect for active children! There is a park where you can see living horseshoe crabs, dinosaur bones, and fossils. The nearest park has BMX courses. - At Bay Farm, you can enjoy seasonal flowers. - On the remote islands of the Seto Inland Sea, you can enjoy swimming in the summer.The boat fare is reasonable and it is possible to do a day trip. - How about a car rental and a drive along the Shimanami Kaido? You can visit Hiroshima and Ehime prefectures in one day! The bridges of the Shimanami Kaido can be crossed by bicycle or on foot. Rental bicycles are also a good option. - In the beautiful area of Kurashiki, you can feel the old-fashioned Japan of white walls.There are also many stylish cafes and traditional craft shops. - Okayama Korakuen in Okayama City is a beautiful and spacious Japanese garden that has been in existence since the Edo period in the 1700s. - You can also cross the Seto Ohashi Bridge and travel to Kagawa in Shikoku.