Pension Hokutosei

The rooms were really clean and comfortable, and my kids loved the stay. They were already saying they wanted to come back. The food was surprisingly delicious too. I heard the place had reopened in May 2019, so we chose it for a family trip. Booking was frustrating: I called several times but only got ringing, and the website I found was just looking for pension operators. I was disappointed and nearly gave up before making a reservation, lol. A young couple runs the place and clearly puts in a lot of effort. It's right next to the Hihara Astronomical Observatory, so it's a great spot for stargazing. I hope they keep doing well for many years.

We couldn't see many stars because the weather didn't cooperate, but the full moon made for a lovely memory. There's an observatory next door where you can look at the night sky through a telescope for an extra fee. Drinks and other things are sold at the shop in the Forest and Star Science Museum. The pension sits on top of a mountain, around a 15-minute drive from Tsuwano's tourist area. The road up is narrow, though it gets a bit wider if you take the route from National Route 187.

The number listed on Google Maps has been disconnected and is now being used by an unrelated third party. I'm Tsuji, the person writing this review. As far as I could tell, Pension Hokutosei also no longer operates at that number or location. I checked with the tourist information center several years ago.

I went up by motorcycle and found the road conditions pretty rough, which made the ride a little scary. The place is on top of a mountain. I stayed in September 2021 on a solo trip. The owner, or designated manager, made both dinner and breakfast, and they were delicious. The facilities didn't seem especially old, and 9,000 yen through Rakuten for a stay including both meals struck me as a good deal.