A spacious Japanese farmhouse near Goryu, offering family and group accommodation where children are genuinely welcome and everyone has room to spread out.
We welcome children
We are parents ourselves, and we welcome families with children to stay at Tamaki. This may sound obvious, but if you've tried to book Japanese-style accommodation with young children, you'll know that this is often not the case.
Children enjoying a summer evening outside Tamaki.
Traditional Hotels in Japan
Many traditional Japanese ryokan and upmarket minshuku have age limits. Some exclude pre-school children under six, while others go further, accepting only children aged twelve and over. Properties like these may simply disappear from search results when you search for a group that includes younger children. Hotel policies sometimes use expressions such as 小学生未満不可 or 12歳以上限定.
To be fair, some Western-style accommodation in Japan, including vacation rentals, also refuses children. But age restrictions are particularly common among traditional Japanese-style properties.
We experienced this ourselves when our children were young. The hotel where we were married, for example, now accepts only guests aged 12 and over.
Some of it comes down to concerns about breakages. Some of it comes from an idea that other people's children will disturb the peace. Either way, the result is the same: it can be genuinely difficult for parents of young children to stay somewhere that gives them an experience of traditional Japan.
This is Tamaki itself, not a ryokan. The paper screens have intricate kumiko lattices.
Our Approach
Tamaki has paper shoji screens in five rooms and antique paper lamps sitting on the floor — just as breakable as the fittings you might find in a ryokan.
But these things are not as extraordinary as they can now seem. Generations of Japanese children grew up in homes with tatami mats and paper screens. They were once everyday features of Japanese family life.
We think parents already face enough restrictions on where they can stay and what they can experience when travelling with children. We reject the idea that kominka are somehow unsuitable for families — not least because we raised our own three children in one.
A Christmas party at Tamaki with 21 children — faces blurred for privacy.
Kominka Were Built for Families
It's worth remembering that kominka were never built as quiet, adults-only spaces. They were large, multigenerational family homes.
The Iwase House, a designated Important Cultural Property in the World Heritage area of Gokayama, Toyama, famously housed an extended family of 36 people. Farmhouses in Hakuba like Tamaki housed large families alongside their animals — horses, oxen and silkworms, the latter forming part of an important local cottage industry.
Kominka weren't designed as backdrops for someone's antique collection. A houseful of people talking, playing, cooking, working and doing different things is probably more historically authentic than any carefully arranged grouping of beautiful old objects.
Our sunroom, just one of several places to sit and relax.
Staying With Us
Our tatami room can be set up with futons, giving you flexible extra sleeping space for anyone who would like to use it. We have extra bedding, a selection of card and board games, a step to help smaller children reach the counters, and a number of toys that guests are welcome to use.
As a fallback on a quiet evening, Disney and Disney Jr. are available on the TV. We also have streaming services, although we suspect older children will be perfectly capable of finding their own entertainment using the Wi-Fi.
One of two workspaces at Tamaki, at the end of the upstairs corridor.
For friends as well as families
Perhaps the most useful thing for all groups is simply that Tamaki is a large house with separate shared places to spend time. You don't have bedrooms barely larger than the beds and one communal room where everyone has to sit together.
There is the main lounge, the tatami room, the sunroom and our upstairs library and music room. People can spread out when they want some space, then come together around the big dining table when it's time to eat or head out for the day.
Our sunroom and the end of our upstairs corridor both have proper workspaces with desks where you can get something done. We're just next door if you need a printer/copier, a monitor, or a keyboard and mouse.
If you have questions about the house, just ask! We're happy to help you plan a stay that works for your group.
Stay at Tamaki
Plan your stay together
Check availability and book direct, or ask us anything about room layout, children, workspaces or staying as a group.
