Forest Stays in Japan(25)

Okinawa Main Island · Okinawa

ILUVIO Resort Motobu(イルヴィオ リゾート 本部)

• Ocean view
• Pool
• Sauna
• BBQ

A one-group-per-day villa on high ground at Motobu. Architect Keisuke Kawaguchi designed a space without boundaries, holding a 12-metre heated infinity pool, a terrace sauna and a standing cold bath.

2 bd

Guests

TBC

Price from

From JPY 182,000 / night

Chichibu · Saitama

秩父別邸 木叢 -komura-

• Villa resort
• Pool
• Sauna
• Open-air bath

A four-suite private forest resort in Chichibu, Saitama, each suite with pool, sauna, semi-open-air bath and BBQ; dog-run suites available. Sleeps up to 7.

Guests

Up to 7

Price from

See official site

Yakushima Island · Kagoshima

Cottage Views(コテージビューズ)屋久島

• Ocean view
• Sauna

A fan-shaped cottage standing alone on roughly 3,000 sqm in southern Yakushima. Designed by an architect resident on the island, its windows frame the view like paintings.

Guests

Up to 4

Price from

JPY 25,000-47,000 / night≈ ¥6,300–11,800 / guest

Hakuba · Nagano

soil Hakuba(ソイル白馬)

• Sauna
• Open-air bath
• BBQ

A 133 sqm whole-house chalet in the forest at Okumisorano, Hakuba. It has a hinoki semi-open-air bath, an outdoor barrel sauna in the back garden and a fire pit on the balcony, with three bedrooms sleeping six.

3 bd

Guests

Up to 6

Price from

From JPY 80,000 / night≈ From ¥13,400 / guest

Miyazaki · Miyazaki

YADO MOKU(ヤドモク)宮崎・内海

• Ocean view
• BBQ

A one-group-per-day whole-house rental on high ground at Uchiumi in Miyazaki. Beyond the large windows the Hyuga Sea opens 180 degrees, and inside, a space of solid cedar, hinoki and cherry holds a cypress tub and a wood stove.

Guests

TBC

Price from

See official site

Awaji · Hyogo

KITOW(キトウ)淡路島

• Pool
• BBQ

A one-group-per-day villa opened in 2023 on wooded high ground in northern Awaji. An outdoor pool opens straight off the living room, and breakfast built on local produce is included free.

3 bd1 ba

Guests

Up to 12

Price from

See official site

Boso Peninsula · Chiba

The No.10 Forest Haven Villa

• Sauna
• BBQ
• Pet-friendly

A whole-house rental with a sauna in the forest at Chonan in Boso. Five rooms hold twelve beds and eight futons, sleeping up to 25. Dogs can come along.

Guests

Up to 25

Price from

From JPY 43,000 / night≈ From ¥1,800 / guest

Hakone · Kanagawa

MONS GORA(モンス強羅)

• In-room onsen
• Open-air bath
• Sauna
• BBQ

Two 200 sqm villas that opened in Gora, Hakone, in 2023. A hinoki semi-open-air bath runs free-flowing water from Owakudani, there is a wood stove, and SOLIS adds a sauna. Inside are an 85-inch screen and an eight-seat oak dining table.

2 bd1 ba

Guests

Up to 8

Price from

See official site

Yufuin Onsen · Oita

湯布院温泉郷 グランピング COMOREBI

• Villa resort
• In-room onsen
• BBQ
• Sauna

Eleven glamping units in the woods between Yufuin and Beppu. No two are alike, from dome tents to Japan's first two-storey oval tent and a fully glazed light box, and every one has hot-spring water piped from Beppu.

Guests

Up to 7

Price from

See official site

Okutama · Tokyo

THEATER1(シアターワン)檜原村

• Sauna
• BBQ
• Open-air bath

A villa letting 5,000 tsubo of forest at 600 m in Hinohara Village. Alongside an open-air wood-fired bath, an outdoor sauna and a fire pit, it has a 100-inch 4K projector and 7.1-channel theatre sound.

Guests

Up to 6

Price from

From JPY 52,000 / night≈ From ¥8,700 / guest

Yakushima Island · Kagoshima

SAKURA YAKUSHIMA

• Ocean view
• Villa resort
• Sauna
• BBQ

Three whole-house units on the coast at Kusugawa, Yakushima. All face the ocean, each with a self-loyly barrel sauna and a cold bath fed by Yakushima spring water, and LANI adds a wood-fired sauna burning local cedar.

Guests

TBC

Price from

See official site

Setouchi (Ushimado) · Okayama

COVO USHIMADO(コヴォ 牛窓)

• Ocean view
• Villa resort
• Sauna
• BBQ

A two-groups-per-day villa on the Setouchi coast at Ushimado, opened in July 2024. Each of the two houses has two contrasting bedrooms, and both share a private electric sauna overlooking the sea on a timed schedule.

2 bd1 ba

Guests

Up to 4

Price from

From JPY 83,000 / night≈ From ¥20,800 / guest

Nasu Highlands · Tochigi

ラグジュアリーヴィラ 別邸四季

• Villa resort
• Pool
• Open-air bath
• Sauna

A four-villa retreat opened in May 2025 on the Nasu highlands, each unit with a hot-spring open-air bath, private sauna and pool across some 200 square metres.

2 bd

Guests

Up to 8

Price from

See official site

Otaru · Hokkaido

山郷VILLA(小樽 春香町)

• Ocean view
• Villa resort
• Sauna
• Pet-friendly

Whole-house villas in Sango at Haruka-cho, Otaru. They come from Sango Komuten, a Hokkaido housebuilder of more than fifty years, built on the idea of staying as though you lived here, using larch and other Hokkaido timber.

Guests

TBC

Price from

See official site

Mt. Aso · Kumamoto

森寧 villa-monet(ヴィラ・モネ)阿蘇

• BBQ

A single-storey private villa standing alone inside Aso-Kuju National Park. It has four fully separate bedrooms and a dining table seating eight adults, surrounded by forest and the sound of a stream.

4 bd1 ba

Guests

Up to 8

Price from

JPY 40,000-50,000 / night≈ ¥5,000–6,300 / guest

Azumino · Nagano

三角屋根の貸別荘 Villa Yoshino(安曇野)

• In-room onsen
• Open-air bath
• BBQ

Gable-roofed rental houses in the forest at Ariake in Azumino. Four houses across three types each have a private bath fed straight from a North Alps source, and every terrace has a built-in BBQ grill.

Guests

Up to 6

Price from

From JPY 26,400 / night≈ From ¥4,400 / guest

Karuizawa · Nagano

COCO VILLA 軽井沢

• Sauna
• BBQ

A three-bedroom whole-house villa in the forest at Karuizawa. The grounds hold COCO VILLA's own 3D-printed sauna, with a cold bath and cooling area in its dedicated space.

3 bd1 ba

Guests

Up to 12

Price from

From JPY 109,000 / night≈ From ¥9,100 / guest

Hakuba · Nagano

Fountainhead Hakuba(ファウンテンヘッド白馬)

• BBQ

A 250 sqm luxury chalet in the forest of Hakuba, let to one group per day. An 8 m atrium with skylights holds a wood stove glazed on three sides, and the interior is built from 80 to 100 year old Japanese cedar and red cedar.

4 bd

Guests

Up to 10

Price from

See official site

Karuizawa · Nagano

SAUNA FOREST CABIN 軽井沢 御代田

• Villa resort
• Sauna
• Jacuzzi
• BBQ

Two-groups-per-day private cabins in the forest at Miyota. The hinoki Finnish sauna is large enough for six, and a wooden cooling deck and a jacuzzi follow.

Guests

Up to 7

Price from

From JPY 134,000 / night≈ From ¥19,200 / guest

Yufuin Onsen · Oita

TERRA湯布院(テッラ)

• Villa resort
• In-room onsen
• Open-air bath
• Sauna

Four differently conceived houses in Yufuin, each rented to a single group per day. Every house has an open-air bath running hot-spring water drawn from 600 m underground around the clock, plus its own sauna, pool and dog run.

Guests

Up to 10

Price from

See official site

Awaji · Hyogo

VILLA SEDONA(ヴィラ セドナ)淡路島

• Ocean view
• BBQ
• Pet-friendly

A 76 sqm one-group-per-day villa on a hill on Awaji Island, with forest and sea in every direction. Its 150 sqm dog run allows dogs off the lead, and up to three can stay.

Guests

Up to 5

Price from

From JPY 35,200 / night≈ From ¥7,100 / guest

Ishigaki Island · Okinawa

オーシャンビュー石垣(Ocean View Ishigaki)

• Ocean view
• Pool
• BBQ
• Sauna

Four villas at Kabira on Ishigaki, named sky, sea, wind and wave. Each has a 6 by 3 metre infinity pool, and a walk through subtropical trees leads to a secret beach.

3 bd

Guests

Up to 6

Price from

From JPY 138,000 / night≈ From ¥23,000 / guest

Nikko · Tochigi

グランフォレスタヴィラ日光

• Villa resort
• BBQ
• Pet-friendly

Six dog villas in the woods of Nikko, with a private dog run of over 1,000 square metres, an all-weather run at every villa, 73-square-metre rooms where dogs stay off-lead, and a bathtub for dogs.

Guests

Up to 5

Price from

See official site

Mt. Yatsugatake · Yamanashi

パインズコテージ八ヶ岳

• Villa resort
• BBQ

Two solid pine log houses by Finland's Honka in the forest of Yatsugatake. Kittila sits at one with the woods, while Tuusula frames Kaikomagatake and Mount Fuji through its large windows. Both have a wood stove and BBQ grill.

2 bd

Guests

Up to 5

Price from

From JPY 31,900 / night≈ From ¥6,400 / guest