We received a review from a wheelchair user living in Tokyo, who stayed with a carer!
I realised that in a guesthouse like this, sharing the everyday life of the owners (the Watanabe family) is, for the guest, an out-of-the-ordinary experience — interesting, and healing too.
Well, staying away from home is out of the ordinary in itself, but it's completely different from a hotel.
<What was good>
・Above all, the food is delicious!
・Full of detox feeling!
・The atmosphere and texture of the building, the choice and layout of the interior, the comfort of each of these; the cooking, which elegantly draws out the flavour each ingredient holds; the atmosphere of the Watanabe family — all of it came together into a thoroughly comfortable time.
・It's a place that makes you think "I want to go again!" and "I want to stay a bit longer!"
<Things to improve>
・My carer was pretty cold. So an indoor wooden deck in the living room might be an idea.
・In that case, though, I think you'd need a way to keep the wheelchair guest's position from being fixed.
・Curtains might be good, for warmth and for security too. (Some people might feel uneasy without them.)
・The mattress felt just slightly firm to me. (Not that it was uncomfortable.)
・At night there are times when I want the whole bedroom a little brighter (when doing various procedures, for instance), so indirect lighting aimed at the ceiling (dimmable if possible) would be good. (It would bring out the ceiling, too.)
・For elderly guests, a ramp and handrails in the bedroom might be good.
We also received lots of advice for making the inn better.
Thank you 🎵
We replied along these lines:
・Cold: for now we'll put a notice on the site saying "it's cold". When we've saved up, we'll insulate the outer walls — or DIY (though we'd rather avoid any more of that if we can…).
・Space: a sectional wooden deck might work. Divide it into several parts, make about three heights, put insulation in each; when space matters more, use fewer sections — something like that.
We'll keep evolving the inn sincerely — agile, bricolage, market-in.
(Hideo)
