Pension Kaza

We went on a family trip. We were very satisfied with the price and two meals included. There were many things in the dining room that showed how much the owner loves nature, such as ornaments made from nature and a deer antler clock. The building is old, but there are traces of many handmade renovations. My child said, "It's like a cottage we had in Switzerland." I remembered that the Swiss Alps were also a place where old things were renovated by hand, giving a sense of handmade nature. The high ceilings may have been the reason why we felt that way. The owner also serves as a tour guide at the inn, and is a nature park instructor (Ministry of the Environment) and nature conservation warden (Hokkaido), and has received numerous awards, including the Minister of the Environment Award. The washroom, bath, and toilet are shared, but it was fun, like a shared house. I look forward to exchanging a few words like "hello" and "thank you" when we meet on our travels. Normally, there would be a space in the dining room where we could relax and enjoy conversation about our travels with strangers, but it was frustrating to have to refrain from doing so due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since only one person can use the bath at a time, they also introduced a hot spring about 10 to 15 minutes away by car. The only problem was that there were disposable toothbrushes in the room. The Plastic Resource Recycling Promotion Act came into effect in April this year, and hotels were supposed to stop providing free toothbrushes (toothbrushes are technically designated as specified plastic products), but they are still available at every business hotel I go to. I have never seen toothbrushes in a hotel overseas. This is Japan's bad disposable culture. If cottages like this one took the initiative to not provide disposable toothbrushes, I think they would attract even more eco-friendly guests.