Taisho Modern Villa Zen

Nothing

The worst experience in my life of traveling. 1) Location of villa which is hardly accessible to reach for average person with luggage. 2) Conditions. Villa in very bad conditions and looks like never repaired for last two or three years. See photos. 3) Insects. We found two cockroaches in the room where we were sleeping. See photos. 4) Windows. We had a windy night at villa and glass of the window wasn’t maintained well and was knocking all the night. It was horrible night to sleep. 5) Views. It’s different compared to photos that are listed on the villa’s listing. Of course there is no view to Fuji and never been. The host said that it’s ok to add such photos but this might be deceiving. 6) Garden. Host told me that it’s not listed among the villas facilities but it was in really dreadful conditions even to see. Like you are in abandoned farm house. 7) Neighborhood. It’s was ok, more or less quiet but literally around 7 AM two brush cutter started their job near the house. My verdict - villa used to be good previously but now it’s in awful conditions. Think twice because this rating around 7-8 that you might see on Booking is only about conditions of the villa 2-3 years ago.

Good

Good

Lot of space and quiet area. Traditional old japanese house.

There was no heating in the house. The aircon needed to run 24/7 to get some heat in the rooms, sadly not enough. We cleaned the filters too.

Rate is cheap.

You get what you paid, I guess. I would expect this kind of property at Airbnb site, not Booking.com.

The house was ok as there was renovation going on. Enough room for all of us. Walking distance to train station and shops.

The renovation of the property was not mentioned in Booking.com Noted lots of wear and tear around the house. We would have changed the property, if knew about renovation prior to booking.

The house was difficult to find and, as mentioned, had a steep hill to walk down. When we entered, it smelled strongly of gas as there were 3 gasoline jars directly inside the door. The smell gave all four of us a headache. Also, it was VERY cold, due to missing windows. The heaters were set at max and we were still very cold. Lastly, the floors are not stable. In the dining room, it felt like we were walking on cardboard, as the floor flexed and moved when we walked.

The place is situated in a rural area and best to have a car in the area, but a train stops right by the house. It had lovely views of the mountains. The bedrooms were traditional. Yoshi was very responsive and helped us make some restaurant reservations. We had a nice stay.

Some items in the house were in disrepair and was not as comfortable.