The entire house is handed over to you. It's a beautiful building. It comes with a brimming hot spring, a free-flowing minibar in the living room, and a comfortable bed in the bedroom.
The kitchen is staffed by a chef who returned from Germany. He works in the fields every day, growing vegetables using natural farming methods for one group of guests each day. What a luxury!
Bekka Izu is a hot spring auberge located in a quiet villa area of the Izu Highlands. The building, designed by SORA ARCHITECTS, features a roof that follows the gentle ridge of Mount Omuro behind it, and the texture of the wood, which is used extensively in Japan, blends in with the land, creating a sense of relief.
"This area is a place where you can come and see the stars."
When we arrived, chef Otsuka Kazuki and manager Otsuka Aiko welcomed us and gave us an introduction.
Eggplant, new potatoes, radishes, green chilies, and carrot flowers are also edible. In addition to basic vegetables, there are also jumbo garlic cloves and edible flowers. 
At the time of the interview, it was almost tomato season. Corn, bitter melon, and bell peppers were in full bloom. No chemical fertilizers are used, and rice straw, fallen leaves, and cut grass are returned to the soil. Some vegetables are fertilized with Izu soybean okara and organic coffee grounds. 
Although it is currently a dormant volcano, the volcanic ash geology was created by the past eruption of Mount Omuro. The chef cut down some of the bamboo and sasa grass and cultivated the land, creating a 1,650m2 field.
The couple returned to Japan last year from Germany, where they had lived for nearly 10 years. Kazuki was the head chef at a restaurant in a hotel in Dusseldorf, and Aiko was a concierge.
It was perhaps inevitable that the couple's dream of opening an auberge was a marriage of professionals in the fields of cuisine and accommodation. And it was at a high level that only they could realize it.
"We wanted to 'entertain' people. We thought that an auberge would be the place to do that comprehensively, not just through the food or the time you spend at dinner."
The natural hot spring is free-flowing and available 24 hours a day. The sunlight pours in through the large windows, making it a pleasant experience. The organic amenities, towels, and hair dryers are all Dyson. 
The lounge space on the first floor has an open ceiling and is spacious. You can connect to a music app on a tablet and play your own tracks. 
The minibar is available for your use. It is stocked with a full range of Western liquors, including rum and tequila, so you can create your own cocktail. It also comes equipped with an espresso machine and a slow juicer. 
There are two bedrooms, one on the first floor and one on the second floor (the photo shows the room on the second floor with Ryukyu tatami mats). The bedding is designed to ensure quality sleep, and the roomwear from Yamanashi's Watanabe Textile feels amazing against the skin.
The two were trained in Germany, a leading bio-based country, so everything you come into contact with inside the museum is tastefully designed and environmentally friendly.
In addition to organic amenities, the room is equipped with room wear made from selected natural materials, including the thread, Kuromoji aroma oils collected from the forests of Izu, and furniture made by Japanese woodworkers. The room refrigerator is filled with chilled deep water from Amagi, and a slow juicer is used to squeeze local mandarin oranges.
For us, who choose organic produce even at home, these are very important for relaxation. Check in early and then take a dip in the hot springs. Make a highball and drink it during the day, while snacking on one of the books scattered around the building, or take a nap.
Breakfast and dinner are served at a substantial counter made of local camphor wood, with the chef preparing the meal right in front of you. As the visit took place in June during the rainy season, the table was decorated with a moss-like design. 
Chef Otsuka Kazuki is originally from Kyoto. From the age of 22, he gained experience in Japanese and French cuisine in Germany and France. He returned to Japan briefly to study at a slaughterhouse, before returning to Germany. After working as sous chef at the one-star French restaurant, Restaurant Le Flair, he became head chef at Hotel Nikko Düsseldorf at the age of 27. 
This sword-like knife is made by Otsuka Cutlery Forge in Tottori, a company with customers around the world that makes everything from hunting and forestry tools to chef's knives. It is custom-made to fit the size and grip strength of your hand.
Then comes the climax, dinner time. When you arrive at the counter, where the chef has exclusive access, a dazzling array of innovative dishes appears before your eyes.
A poetic potage with turnip, tonka beans, and dewdrops from the leaves evokes the greenery of the fields and rain. Izu beef enhances the sweetness of the red meat when paired with oyster tartare, and Izu venison combines with the silky texture of goat cheese hidden in agnolotti, an Italian stuffed pasta.
The dish features alfonsino caught in an Izu fishing port, sun-dried mountain mushrooms packed with umami, and Saikyo miso, which combines the two. The sirloin beef from Shizuoka prefecture is paired with Shuzenji ancient rice and Izu Oshima white butter risotto, bringing out the wildness and elegance of the dish.
There was some French wine, but it was a great idea to ask Aiko from Germany, which is currently in the spotlight, to pair the drinks.
The dinner begins with a glass of "Kirari 31," a hand-rolled tea from Kyoto's Baicha Nakamura, rather than an aperitif. The snacks to accompany the tea are binchotan charcoal shaped like pebbles in a rock garden, spiced cashew nuts, Comté cheese gougère, anchovy cream, and aniseed chips on top. 
The turnips from the fields, which have an exceptional aroma, are made into a chilled potage with rich tonka bean cream and refreshing leaf oil. 
Izu venison caught in Amagi is cooked moistly at low temperature and then quickly grilled toast. It is served with a sauce made from a stock and seasonal Japanese pepper, and a new potato espuma. The accompanying agnolotti is filled with new onions and goat cheese. The dish is adorned with vegetables from the fields. 
A sorbet made from mangoes grown in Mishima. The sticky sweetness of the fully ripe mango is complemented by the green aroma of cucumbers, celery, and green apples soaked in a syrup of spices such as cloves, leaving a refreshing aftertaste.
It's truly a feast. His cooking begins with sowing the seeds. He grows his fields without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers, allowing microorganisms to thrive. By planting many different vegetables in small quantities, the plants coexist, supplementing each other's nutrients through their roots in the soil.
In this world of farming, insect-eaten leaves, small green fruits, and the smell of the soil after rain are all sources of inspiration.
You can choose between Japanese and Western-style breakfast. The Japanese menu features shabu-shabu made with fresh local fish (sea bream on this day), three types of sashimi, tempura of vegetables from the fields, simmered dishes, rolled omelets, and more. The cold tofu is made with tofu from Makino Tofu Shop, which is made with Izu soybeans and bittern from Izu Oshima. Rice selected by a five-star rice master from Izu Kogen is cooked in a clay pot, and the Izu soybean miso soup is topped with seasonal vegetables. 
The Western cuisine is German-style. The main dish here is Weisswurst, a traditional white sausage from southern Germany that is also served with the broth it is boiled in. German-style ham and pate are from Grimm in Kannami, and German bread is from Beckerei Danke in Izu. Egg dishes are made with eggs from free-range local chickens, Araucana and Shimoda Blue.
Furthermore, Izu Kogen is home to both mountains and the sea. The chef drives to the port early in the morning to purchase local fish caught in fixed net fishing, and goes to local specialty shops for tofu, processed meat, German bread, and coffee. He meets fishermen and artisans, and gets to know the land and the people, which is what allows him to create his dishes.
At restaurants in the city, you would have to dress up for this course, but here you can dine in your loungewear after a bath, which gives a sense of luxury that is almost sinful.
But there's no need to be reserved with anyone. After all, we're the only guests here. We can relax and enjoy the hospitality that's given just for us. This is certainly the ultimate form of hospitality.
