Spend a night in the countryside ! Want to stay at a Japanese "minshuku" ? Book your stay online with interactive maps

Reported by You Tzu-ju / Taipei

A couple in Taiwan planned to go skiing near Nagoya, Japan. Excitedly, they booked a minshuku online, looking forward to staying in a local home and enjoying the charm of "spending a night in the countryside." But upon arriving at the nearby train station in the evening, they discovered that the last bus to the minshuku had already left. Left with no choice, they silently dragged their luggage toward the lodging. "Luckily, it didn’t look too far on the map." The pair walked in the snowy darkness, half-relieved, only to find themselves trudging for over thirty minutes...

"Where are you headed?" A local who drove by and saw them walking in the snow couldn’t help but ask in surprise. After the couple gestured and pointed out the location of the minshuku on the map, they learned that it would actually take them two to three hours to walk there through the snow. "Thankfully, that local called the minshuku for us and the owner came to pick us up. Otherwise, we really don’t know where we’d have ended up," said Chen Ming-ming, general manager of ezfly, recalling one of the most memorable experiences he and his wife had while staying at a minshuku during their trip to Japan.

▲ Over 1,300 hotels, including Japanese minshuku, are available for selection online. (Photo / Courtesy of ezfly website)

To help more Taiwanese travelers who want to stay at a minshuku in Japan but are discouraged by the language barrier—and taking advantage of the long-term depreciation of the yen, as well as the opening of Taiwan-Japan air routes and the launch of multiple low-cost carriers—Taiwanese travel agencies have seized this business opportunity and launched an "Online Booking Service for Unique Japanese Minshuku." Now, even without understanding Japanese, travelers can stay in rural Japanese homes and enjoy a completely different travel experience.

ezfly has partnered with Japan’s Time Design to launch the "Instant Online Booking Service for Unique Japanese Minshuku." With over 1,300 hotels, including minshuku, available online, users can not only view real-time room rates but also check detailed information such as current occupancy rates. This helps consumers make more informed decisions when booking, and also offers an extra layer of assurance for Taiwanese travelers staying in unfamiliar accommodations abroad.


▲ Each booking comes with a NT$500 electronic discount voucher, which can be claimed using the booking confirmation. (Photo / Courtesy of ezfly website)

"Staying at a minshuku is a completely different experience from staying at a hotel. Wherever I go, I prefer to stay at a minshuku and meet friends from all over the world," said Takamatsu Yama-san, president of Time Design.
For this newly launched "Instant Online Booking for Unique Japanese Minshuku," ezfly is giving away electronic discount vouchers with every booking. During the campaign period (March 6, 2013 ~ April 15, 2013), every room booked through the featured minshuku page on the campaign website will come with a NT$500 electronic discount voucher, which can be claimed via the booking confirmation. Travelers planning a trip to Japan may want to take advantage of this offer.