Anniversary Stays | A Quiet Night for Two | Mori no Auberge Mitsu, Atsuma, Hokkaido

Anniversary Stay

A quiet night, for a day that matters

An anniversary or a birthday is a day for taking a little more care over the time the two of you spend together.
Mori no Auberge Mitsu is a small hidden inn in the forest of Atsuma, Hokkaido, taking only three groups a night.
There is no showy staging here. There is the quiet of the forest, a Japanese creative course that follows the season in Hokkaido, and a goemon-style bath with the steam rising off it.
Step away from the sounds of ordinary life and put yourselves inside that quiet. A day spent this way is what makes an anniversary quietly particular.
About 30 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport. An unadorned night, for two.

Tsuki, the tatami suite — a quiet room for two on an anniversary

Only Three Rooms

Three groups a night, and nothing louder

Mitsu is a small house with three rooms in all, and we take no more than three groups a night. You rarely pass anyone indoors, and the place has the quiet of somewhere taken privately.

There is no television in the rooms. What you hear is the wind and the movement of the forest. Most of our guests come as a couple, and there is time here to give to conversation and to dinner. It suits anyone who would rather spend the evening of an anniversary without having to think about the people around them.

From check-in to check-out nothing hurries you along. Do not pack the day; sit and look at the forest instead. That is the kind of luxury this house cares about.

See the rooms

A window looking into the forest — Time by the window

Inside Tsuki, the tatami suite — Tsuki, the tatami suite

Dinner

A Japanese creative course built on Atsuma ingredients

Dinner is an omakase course in the Japanese creative style, following the season in Hokkaido. Whatever the farms of Atsuma and the sea nearby send us that day is prepared carefully, one plate at a time. Rather than repeating a set form, the table moves with the season.

If there is something you cannot eat, or an allergy, please tell us in advance. Let us know after you have booked and we will do what we can within what is possible in the kitchen. The evening itself is meant to be taken slowly.

The scent of the season shifting from plate to plate, the produce of this ground, rice steaming in a clay pot. Not display, but the strength of the ingredients themselves — savour it slowly, the two of you.

See the dining

A plate from the Japanese creative course, following the season in Hokkaido

Seasonal appetisers made with produce from Atsuma — Seasonal appetisers

A course plated in the Japanese creative style — The Japanese creative course

An indoor goemon-style soaking tub looking into the forest

Private Bath

A goemon-style bath, looking into the forest

Every room has its own indoor goemon-style soaking tub in Shigaraki ceramic ware. Beyond the window is the forest of Atsuma. From the steam of the bath you can watch the green of the trees, or the stillness of the night, with the time belonging only to the two of you. The water is heated; it is not a natural hot spring.

Unlike a house where everyone gathers in one large bath, bathing here asks no consideration of anyone else — there is no shared large bath. On the evening of an anniversary, stay in the water a while and let the day come apart. In the morning, with the light coming into the forest, it is worth getting in once more.

See how a day goes

Night Cap

Yoichi wine, and a drink in the forest

When the night has settled, there is the forest nightcap set: Yoichi wine or sake from Hokkaido, served with cheese and a few things alongside. A glass grown by this land, to bring an anniversary evening slowly to its close.

No sound of a television, no voices from anyone else. Only the two of you turning a glass, and the presence of the forest outside the window. A quiet night is what makes the memory of the day go deeper.

No watching the clock; words exchanged now and then, with gaps in between. That margin is hard to come by in a busy life, and it is the best hospitality this house has. Let the day close with the quiet of the forest.

The forest nightcap set — Yoichi wine, sake from Hokkaido and cheese

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is there somewhere in Hokkaido that suits an anniversary?

Mori no Auberge Mitsu, in the forest of Atsuma, Hokkaido, is a small hidden inn that takes only three groups a night. Every room has its own indoor goemon-style bath, and there is no television in the rooms. A Japanese creative course that follows the season in Hokkaido, and quiet time in the forest, can both be taken slowly by the two of you. It is about 30 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport.

Q. Can we talk to you about a surprise or a celebration?

Anything to do with the food — ingredients you would rather avoid, or an allergy — we are glad to hear about in advance, so please tell us after you have booked. As for staging or anything we would need to prepare, there are limits to what we are able to take on, so we cannot guarantee it. Please tell us what you have in mind first, and we will let you know what is possible.

Q. Does it suit two people?

Yes. It is a small house of three rooms and three groups a night, and most of our guests come as a couple. There is no television in the rooms, and in the quiet of the forest there is nothing pulling you away from conversation and dinner. Each room has its own indoor goemon-style bath, so the time in the water also belongs to just the two of you.

An anniversary, in the quiet of the forest