Emergency action needed!

I just found out to my absolute horror that Okayama Prefecture is considering shutting down its international villas!

For those of you who don't know, Okayama Prefecture runs a series of "Villas" throughout the countryside that visitors can stay at for only 2500 yen per night. These are mostly traditional buildings that have been renovated and they are quite comfortable. During my stay in Japan I used to go to spend a few days at these every summer and always had a blast.

Apparently they haven't made the final decision to shut them down yet and they are accepting opinions on the proposal to close them down (which is being done to save money) until September 26. So you can write in until then. There is information on how to do so and about the villas in English at their website, here:

http://www.harenet.ne.jp/villa/

Hmmmm..... I am sure there are many other places to stay in Okayama, no? It sounds like the prefecture is in some serious financial trouble and they have to get rid of certain things.

ASHIKAGA said:

Hmmmm..... I am sure there are many other places to stay in Okayama, no? It sounds like the prefecture is in some serious financial trouble and they have to get rid of certain things.

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I'm pretty sure I know of these villas, a teacher of mine showed me the information in class to the students there. They are extremely nice, bring in tourism and quite good for visitors to interact with the local population. They are very affordable and wonderful spots. It is a shame that all I hear from Japan lately is programs related to international exchange being shut down or reduced, JET, the villas... etc.

senseiman isn't exaggerating or posting without reason. It is a real shame that they are considering doing this.

ASHIKAGA said:

It sounds like the prefecture is in some serious financial trouble and they have to get rid of certain things.

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It's very critical. They also decided to shut a Kurashiki-Tivoli theme park.

As unfortunate as it may be, I think that if they aren't making money that they should be closed down. There is just way too much public debt in Japan, both at the national and local level.

There are lots of places to stay in Okayama but these international villas offer a unique experience and are quite reasonably priced. They even get a write-up in the Lonely Planet guidebook.

I understand that in a financial crisis this sort of expense is the first thing to go and I'm not saying there is anything inappropriate about the prefecture looking at cutting this.

What I am saying is that for anyone who wants to travel in Japan the closure of these villas will mean the loss of one of the best opportunities in the country for a cheap and enjoyable vacation. Anyone who has stayed in one of these places knows that something great is being lost. So if you want to preserve this, now is the time.

I've stayed at 4 of the 5 villas (there used to be 6 but they already closed one down). They were all great.

The Hattoji villa is a thatched roof farm house (one of the last ones in the prefecture) in an amazingly picturesque mountain setting surrounded by beautiful rice fields and forests.

The Takebe villa is built right next to a great onsen that is free to villa guests and situated right on a pretty river.

The Shiraishi Island one is on a small island in the inland sea and has beautiful sea views and a fantastic sandy beach right in front of it.

The Ushimado one is on a mountain surrounded by olive trees with a really nice town below.

I just can't say how much I enjoyed staying at these places and the wife and I used to go on road trips in the obon or golden week holidays to stay at them. They were also a great place to meet other foreigners travelling in Japan.

Perhaps it would be prudent to suggest that the least popular ones be closed, and the rates of the remaining be raised so that they at least achieve the break-even point?

If these facilities continue to run at a loss then eventually there is no alternative but to shut them all down. At least this way some remain open. I know that raising prices will not wash with some, but that is the way of the world.

Pepe said:

Perhaps it would be prudent to suggest that the least popular ones be closed, and the rates of the remaining be raised so that they at least achieve the break-even point?.

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Absolutely: at the prices they charge they are SUCH a good option: we are devastated they may be closed: we were planning a weekend in Hattoji in April with family living in Japan: peace and serenity, local shopping, family cooking....let's hope