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MinpakuX
日本語

Travellers

For travellersStaysAreasKinds of houseMinpaku PassThe story

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Your Pass · for travellers

For travellers

A night in Japan, under someone's roof.

Homes, minshuku and small inns, each with a host. Choose the house, and let the house show you the place.

Sunset over the islets at Dougashima on the west Izu coast, framed by pines.
Dōgashima, west Izu
Forested Hakone ridges under a clear spring sky.
Hakone
Rows of tea bushes at Obuchi Sasaba in late-autumn backlight, a small pavilion on the rise.
Obuchi Sasaba, Fuji

Scenes from Izu, Hakone and Fuji. Photos: Minpaku X

What is a minpaku?

民泊minpakunoun
A stay in someone's home, opened to travellers.
民宿minshukunoun
The family-run inn of Japan's fishing, farming and mountain villages.

Both put you inside Japanese life, not beside it.

The whole story →

Not a better hotel. A different night.

For centuries, travellers in Japan have slept under someone's roof. A minpaku keeps that night going: a person, a real house, a neighbourhood, a season.

  1. A noren at the door · Illustration

    A person, not a front desk.

    Someone who knows where to eat tonight.

  2. An old farmhouse room with a sunken hearth, a bamboo pot hook and paper lanterns.
    An old farmhouse hearth

    A house, not a room number.

    A kitchen, a tatami room, a tree in the garden.

  3. The bay framed by dark pine branches from Izusan's lookout.
    The bay from Izusan, Atami

    A neighbourhood, not a lobby.

    Your morning walk is someone's way to work.

  4. Red plum blossom on the garden tree in February, the deck below.
    Plum over the deck in February · Atami Umihoshi

    A season, as the house knows it.

    Plum in February, rice in September, snow on the eaves.

  5. A river stepping down over stone weirs in Hakone, green hills on either side.
    A river in Hakone

    Time to stay longer.

    A whole house is made for two nights, not one.

A short history of staying in someone's house

Read the story →

  1. 1601The Tōkaidō's post towns begin.
  2. 1804Good inns hang one sign at the door.
  3. 1937Mountain guides in Hakuba open their homes to climbers.
  4. 202643,037 homes across Japan are registered to host.

Seven kinds of house

Choose by the kind of house, and the place follows.

Where the houses are

We start where we can visit every house ourselves, and widen the map one region at a time.

Izu and AtamiSado · joiningHakone · 見本Kyoto · 見本Hakuba · 見本Ōita · 見本
Lit: open nowOutline: joining見本: sampleIllustration

  1. Izu and Atami

    open

    Sea houses on the Izu coast, within reach of Tokyo by shinkansen.

  2. Sado

    joining

    An island in the Sea of Japan, by ferry or jetfoil from Niigata.

    • Chozo

      An island house · Sado Island, Niigata

  3. Hakone

    見本 · SAMPLE

    Mountain valleys, rivers and inns.

  4. Kyoto

    見本 · SAMPLE

    Townhouses on narrow streets.

  5. Hakuba

    見本 · SAMPLE

    The mountain village where the minshuku began.

  6. Ōita

    見本 · SAMPLE

    Old farmhouses among the fields of Kyushu.

Minpaku Pass

Every house has its seal.

Stay, take the house's seal, and go on to the next. Your Minpaku Pass keeps them, and changes colour as you travel.

About the PassStart your Pass, free →

みんぱく手形ON THE ROADSora見本01020304
見本SAMPLE This Pass is a sample.

Chosen one by one

  • We've seen every house, in person or on video.
  • Each is registered with its town or prefecture; the number is in its facts.
  • The price you see is the whole price.
  • Reviews come only from people who stayed.

Booking safely →

How booking works

  1. Every house books the same way, on Minpaku X.
  2. Your stay is with the house; Minpaku X handles the booking and payment.
  3. Your seal arrives the morning after you check out.

The next house is waiting.

Find your first houseRead the story →