Nature Cottage Akabeko

“A good choice for the DIY traveller - and pets allowed!”

This place is deep in the Urabandai mountains, an absolutely beautiful area. Never mind the fact that it's in Fukushima. This is western Fukushima, shielded from the disaster area by a whole bunch of mountains, radiation here is the same as in Tokyo. If you like lakes, mountains, whitewater stream… more

This place is deep in the Urabandai mountains, an absolutely beautiful area. Never mind the fact that it's in Fukushima. This is western Fukushima, shielded from the disaster area by a whole bunch of mountains, radiation here is the same as in Tokyo. If you like lakes, mountains, whitewater streams and clear air, this is it. Within 3-4 hours drive of Tokyo there isn;t anything that is as nice as this. Certainly not Nagano or Niigata. Summer nights you can sleep without aircon here, it gets that cold (end of August, it dropped to 18 C every night I was there for a week). The resort consists of three dozen cottages. Some of them are standalone and meant to take a family of 4-5. Some are really condominiums with three or four units, and these are smaller. The place was built in the early 1990s and it shows.. The units are a bit worn, insulation isn't very good (which is only an issue in winter), they aren't barrier-free, the layout a bit weird. But at least you can sleep in your own cottage if you get one of the standalone ones, and the kitchens are adequately equipped for self-catering. The showers are good enough, aircons work fine (even though you will only need aircon on the hottest days during day time), so does the heating. I do have to say that by Japanese standards, cleanliness is not exemplary but not so bad that it puts you off. The larger cottages have western style beds which are very good: large, comfortable with just the right firmness (for me). There are also Japanese style beds (futons). All in all, not luxurious but good enough and appropriate for the price. The restaurant is equally "OK" but nothing worth mentioning.There are some better restaurants in the area but I prefer cooking myself so I can't recommend any specific ones. Hotel staff are very nice, by the way. No English though, I guess, or very little in any case. Pets are allowed in many of the units so there are always people with their dogs around. Very nice. Always slept well here, never had any noise issues. Japanese behave themselves. Dogs are indoors so even if they bark, you don't hear them. You don't come here to sit around in the cottage, obviously. You come here for the great outdoors and there is plenty of that. And there isn't anything else, by the way. There is nothing here except a few hotels, a convenience store and a post office. But there are plenty of hiking trails, and you can swim and cycle to your heart's content. The camping site at the north end of Lake Hibara has great beach access and allows day camping. They also allow fires on the beach! Would also recommend taking the Grandeco gondola and go for a hike up there. Incredible views and a serious workout if you want one.

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