Kyonomachi Hakuho

A friend from overseas booked this place herself and stayed there with another woman. She liked the beautiful, spacious, clean interior and the charming Japanese feel of the building. She also said the facilities were good and easy to use. But in the middle of the night she called me crying, saying, “I’m scared, I’m scared.” She felt watched. They were talking on their futons upstairs with the shoji screens and windows open when someone shouted at them extremely loudly, apparently because of them. They didn’t think they were making excessive noise. Someone also lingered near the entrance, whispering. When they opened a window or went outside, that person disappeared. With the shoji screens open, they felt watched and heard what sounded like camera shutters. They couldn’t open the windows because even laughter or the slightest noise brought more shouting. When they left in the middle of the night to go to a nearby 7-Eleven, they heard a flurry of shutter sounds but couldn’t see anyone. They wondered if it came from inside a nearby house. After the call, I rushed over. The two women jumped into my car with their belongings, yelling, “Get away quickly!” They were crying uncontrollably, and it was quite a struggle. I found them a room at a proper hotel near Jujo Station, not a private lodging, and took them there. I felt the money had been wasted, so I considered staying at the facility myself and went back. I parked in front of the entrance and was taking off my shoes inside when I heard knocking at the front door behind me. An old man stormed in, shouting, “It’s a nuisance to have your car parked here!” It was 2 AM, and he appeared just a minute or two after I parked. Another man behind him seemed to be filming me with his smartphone. It was terrifying. I then noticed a “No Parking” sign, a homemade sticker rather than an official sign, but it had been too dark to see. My car was sticking about a third of the way into the road in front of me, so I was clearly at fault and apologized profusely. Still, I was frightened when the old man’s yelling brought more and more neighbors outside. I said I’d just check I hadn’t forgotten anything and leave right away. They backed down, though they grumbled. People kept glaring at me from inside the building and from behind houses until I left. It was clear the facility was being watched by the neighbors. For a young foreign woman, going outside at night seems out of the question. I don’t know why they were harassed, but it seems best for a woman not to use this facility alone. Later, when I passed through the area, I saw many “Absolutely No to Airbnb!!” stickers plastered on nearby houses. There may have been trouble between the Airbnb operators and the neighbors, and they may not get along.