Overlooking beautiful central Atami and minutes from the resort city’s bustling downtown and its beaches and festivals, this comfortable home is an ideal base for a getaway vacation in the famous gateway to the Izu Peninsula.

This spacious 3-bedroom house is a stylish Western-style city residence on the ground floor with a traditional straw-mat Japanese home upstairs. It boasts a luxuriously large bathroom with a deep, relaxing tub, a grand dining/living room looking out across the valley toward historic Kinomiya Temple, and spectacular views of central Atami from the comfortably furnished upstairs balcony.

The ground floor is a riot of textured wallpaper, vintage maps, and eclectic art. There’s also Apple TV and nice studio mini-speakers connected to bluetooth (and a separate bluetooth studio mini-speaker setup upstairs, if you need a break from the excitement of wallpaper and vintage maps). All the space you need for the group to gather peaceably or relax in your own world under one roof.

The upper floor feels like a traditional Japanese home built atop the ground floor’s smart midcentury condominium. It has a central drawing room with a tokonoma, where art or flowers would be displayed, and is adjacent to a hallway, two other bedrooms, and a second sink and toilet. The drawing room would traditionally be a bedroom at night, with futons pulled from storage areas and put away the next day. There are plenty of futons available for a restful sleep on the tatami flooring, or just enjoy the comfy provided beds.

The kitchen is almost an afterthought, like the original inhabitants didn’t do much cooking, but it’s now equipped with up-to-date appliances and nice cookware. In conjunction with the vintage cupboard in the foyer and the BBQ area in the front courtyard, the kitchen now makes perfect sense. Do your cooking in the kitchen and/or the courtyard and use the foyer for plating and delivery to the dining room or upstairs to the balcony.

That balcony: a wonderful view of Atami’s dramatic, impossible landscape, with the city creeping up the steep mountainsides, deeply colorful under the Pacific sun and a twinkling jewelbox at night. Up above the heat in (most of) the summertime, it’s a great place to watch the weather and fog roll over the mountains, to see the raptors wheeling over the vibrant forested hills, and to observe this nearly vertical neighborhood go about its business throughout the day.

Parking is a fraught issue in Atami’s narrow streets, but here you’ve got one space all to yourself in the courtyard. A large vehicle might stick out of the space a little, but that’s OK. If you need to park a second vehicle, we can probably work something out, so just let us know (at least 48 hours in advance). There are also reasonably priced lots toward the bottom of the hill.

In short, the property offers:

3 bedrooms, large combined dining/living room, kitchen, large bath, two toilets (upper and lower floors)

Parking for ONE vehicle on premises. Please let us know in advance if you require parking for additional vehicles. There is no parking allowed on the street.

Furniture: Large dining table, low living room table, sofas, patio furniture
Appliances: Wide-screen TV, microwave oven, rice cooker, hot plate, clay pot, toaster oven, refrigerator, electric kettle, air conditioners, washing machine, hair dryers, vacuum cleaner, Apple TV

Dining & cooking utensils (Note: Cooking oil, seasonings and condiments are not provided.)

Linen sets (sheets and pillowcases) and bath towels are provided according to the number of registered guests.

Bathing: Shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and amenity toothbrushes.

BBQ: Front courtyard has a Coleman barbecue setup with picnic table, seating, and parasols.

Internet: High-speed wi-fi available. Login credentials and instructions are provided on the premises.