Tanada House

Watch out for questionable charges and fees that weren’t agreed on. We stayed 3-5 May and were billed for breakfast on the last day, though the host couldn’t show proof we’d requested it and made several false accusations. We paid 66,000 yen for two people for two nights. We could afford it, but it was upsetting to face what we felt were dishonest claims after leaving the place tidy. The dinner was mediocre, too, and didn’t look as appealing as it had in the Western travellers’ photos. We were also charged 2000 yen as a kitchen fee for using and cleaning utensils for that last breakfast, even though we didn’t cook anything. The guide fee was 3000 yen, which I hadn’t mentioned in my original post because I was discussing other charges, but the host brought it up. The host first claimed we’d called on the night of 4 May to say we couldn’t buy anything at the festival and wanted breakfast the next day. That wasn’t true: we’d bought cup noodles and a sandwich. When we tried to show our call history, she wouldn’t look and changed the story to say we’d asked by email. We went through the email correspondence together, but she couldn’t find such a message. Then she said it was in her personal note, though nobody could establish when it was written. The night before our stay, on 2 May, we’d confirmed that we had only booked two nights, one dinner and two miso-making sessions. Before ending that call, we asked again, “that would be all, is that correct?” and she confirmed it. Despite that, she charged for an unconfirmed service, relying on “the note wrote so,” and couldn’t explain further. After reading the host’s response, I want to add that one of us is on a low-sugar diet and prefers Japanese food to Western food. She hates travelling to Japan just to eat bread and jam, and bread and jam have never been part of her diet, even after years living in New Zealand. We would never have reserved breakfast. The host accused us of calling to ask for breakfast, assumed we’d booked it, prepared it based on that assumption, then charged us for something we never requested. She said the reservation email was saved and could be disclosed at any time, so please do. On the morning we checked out, she printed the full email, but still couldn’t point to where we’d asked for breakfast. Even though this was an unpleasant experience for you too, please understand that not every Japanese person behaves this way. There are still many gracious and honest Japanese people out there.