Aeria Tohno

A lovely place to stay when you're visiting Tono.

There aren't any convenience stores close by, so stock up on drinks and cigarettes before you arrive. Tono Station is an easy straight walk from the hotel, and it's handy whether you're taking a relaxed train trip or exploring by car. My room was very spacious for one person, and the large public bath was a great place to unwind after a long day. Breakfast leans heavily Japanese, with few Western choices. I especially enjoyed the mochi with sweet bean paste. There's also a good izakaya within walking distance, serving tasty fish and mountain vegetables.

The meals here are delicious, and guests can also join storytelling sessions. There's a large public bath, too. Tono has plenty of lovely inns, but some can be expensive for families or solo travelers. This hotel feels premium without costing too much, which makes it accessible. It's attached to Tono Civic Center. Whether it really captures the “Tono spirit” is open to debate, but staying here and then taking time to explore the quiet countryside seems well worth it.

The food at Aeria is tasty. I’ve enjoyed the osechi meals and eel there several times. They used to offer lunch buffets and monthly changing lunches that you could get without a reservation, but the menu seems more limited now. The hotel is under a ten-minute walk straight from Tōno Station toward the library and museum. There’s no shuttle from the station. The street is nicknamed Cat Street because local cats hang out there, so you might spot some. Locals also use Aeria for training, talks, events, and banquets, so it feels rooted in the community. Every evening from 6, a storyteller shares Tōno folk tales for 30 minutes in the third-floor storyteller hall. It’s free for hotel guests. The public bath is on the small side, and I’ve heard its tub is made with locally sourced hornblende. The official Aeria site says the stone’s far-infrared effect warms the body and helps circulation, and describes it as a rare natural stone found only in Tōno. Some people even call it a power stone. But hornblende forms through volcanic activity and is found in many places in Japan and around the world. It’s also used in Korean hot pots. An expert would need to confirm the details, but claiming it’s only found in Tōno seems misleading. There’s a stone monument with a poem carved into it by the entrance, narrowing the sidewalk. I wondered why it was put in such a tight spot. It’s a poem by Empress Michiko, written during the imperial couple’s visit to Tōno in July 2013, when the city was a base for earthquake recovery. The Imperial Household Agency published it as one of eight poems on New Year’s Day 2014. In June 2016, local volunteers raised around 9 million yen in donations to pass on the Empress’s prayers for disaster-hit areas and her affection for the community. Fundraising through neighborhood associations drew mixed reactions. The monument was unveiled in July 2018.