Traditional Japanese houses — the kind with wooden beams, sliding paper doors and rooms that open straight onto nature — are called kominka. Most were built decades ago, some more than a century, and staying in one feels completely different from being in a modern hotel. They’re warm, quiet and a little nostalgic, like stepping back in time.

Showa Experience Inn Rin, set in the coastal city of Hokota in Ibaraki Prefecture, is particularly unique; it aims to make guests feel as though they’ve been transported back to the Showa era. The house itself is over 100 years old, and you feel that history right away. Nothing about it feels recreated — it’s an old home that’s been cared for, not themed or over-polished.

Ibaraki is the perfect backdrop for this. It’s close to Tokyo, but once you arrive, the atmosphere shifts immediately — fields, forests and quiet roads that make a kominka feel completely natural. Rin fits seamlessly into that landscape, offering an easy, inviting way to experience the charm of a traditional Japanese home without needing to venture far from the city.

The Showa Experience

Showa Experience Inn Rin is a place that immediately shifts your internal rhythm. Wide wooden floors carry the grooves of generations of footsteps, shoji screens filter morning light into soft gold and an old-style irori hearth radiates warmth. The house has a quiet presence — the kind that makes you naturally speak a little softer and move a little slower — and every room carries a reminder of its age, from the heavy beams overhead to the faint scent of old cedar that settles into the walls.

While here, you can enjoy authentic, hands-on experiences that make the stay feel personal. Cooking rice over a kamado stove isn’t just a novelty — it fills the house with a nostalgic, wood-smoke aroma and adds a small ritual to mealtime. The goemon-buro, a deep iron bath heated by firewood, is another highlight: Sinking into hot water you tended yourself is a grounding, almost meditative way to end the day. There’s also an outdoor sauna and a cool-down bath if you want something more contemporary.

A dog run ensures those with four-legged friends can bring the whole family, too, and the large yard, outdoor seating and BBQ setup make it easy to spend long stretches outside.

Exploring Ibaraki

Showa Experience Inn Rin is a great base for exploring Ibaraki. An hour-long drive brings you to Oiwa Jinja Shrine, a famous and spiritually potent “power spot” that’s thought to be one of Japan’s oldest places of worship. The atmosphere here is awe-inspiring, with towering Japanese cedar trees that form canopy over moss-carpeted paths.

If you’re looking for a traditional Japanese meal, Mori no Sobaya Seiemon is a family-run soba restaurant nestled in a small forest of oak, beech and maple about 20 minutes by car from the inn. Indoor and terrace seating allow diners to enjoy the garden alongside meals of buckwheat soba and unbelievably crispy tempura. A sweet finish of buckwheat ice cream keeps the theme going to the last bite.

However you might like to experience a destination, Ibaraki has something that will align with all kinds of travelers, but most importantly, it’s somewhere to slow down — an opportunity seldom found in the city. Connect with the land and its history through the people, craft and cuisine, and take with you the memory of a place that has never forgotten where it came from.

More Info

To book a stay at Showa Experience Inn Rin, click here.