The Tokyo area is not just downtown. A new hotel project will let you enjoy the nearby countryside, with stations on the Ome Line serving as your front desk. The first step of this project is now open and offers a charming restaurant and relaxing sauna that reflect one village’s heritage.

The JR Ome Line is the western line of Tokyo, and trains travel there directly from Tokyo or Shinjuku Station, and once they leave the city they are surrounded by lush nature: you may find it hard to believe you are in Tokyo. It takes about 70 minutes from Tokyo Station to Ome Station by rapid local train. The JR Ome Line is nicknamed the Adventure Line because where visitors can enjoy authentic nature and outdoor activities right after getting off at the station.

Ensen-Marugoto = All Along the Rail Route

Our “all along the rail route” (Ensen Marugoto) hotel project will utilize JR East station buildings and railway facilities on the Ome Line as "hotel front desks," your gateway to comfortable and interesting vacations. We are renovating vacant old folk houses (minka) in villages along the railway lines into hotel rooms, and involving local residents in this endeavor. Our hope is to provide hotels that expose visitors to the pleasures of the local area and provide for sustainable tourism.

The brand name for these proposed hotels is "Satologue," a coined word that combines the words “sato” (village) and “-logue” (dialogue) to mean "stories that weave together villages." The hotels are being designed by Yasushi Horibe, the acclaimed architect who also designed the mobile hotel “guntû” that floats in the Seto Inland Sea. His architectural design office will be in charge of Satologue. Prior to the opening of the first hotel at Hatonosu in 2025, its restaurant and sauna have already opened as of May 16th. We hope that people will take the opportunity to visit this “Tokyo in the country” location for a delicious meal, and a leisurely sauna experience.

• About Satologue Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKJt9-r19dM

          ↑immerse yourself in the nature of Okutama

• About Satologue Website　https://satologue.com/

Restaurant Tokiro

As the first step in opening a Satologue Hotel in Hatonosu the restaurant Tokiro is now open and serving unique cuisine. The restaurant has been designed by Yasushi Horibe who oversaw the adaptation of an old and elegant house that expresses the traditions of the Ome area. It features a variety of rooms and seating: there are rooms with tables and chairs, but also “counter seats” that allow the dining guests to look directly at the landscape while dining. The restaurant was put on the garden side of the old house to allow a free flow of interior and exterior space. The rooms are finished in traditional warm-hued woods such as cedar, cypress and chestnut.

The cuisine of Tokiro is just as pleasing as the architecture. The chefs at Tokiro focus on the natural gifts of the Okutama region in creating their “railside cuisine,” food that incorporates the stories of the countryside along the railway into their dishes. The menu items are prepared using French-based cooking methods that incorporate many local ingredients such as wasabi grown in the rich waters of the upper reaches of the Tama River, fresh river fish, and locally harvested yuzu. The drinks served at the restaurant include local sake and beer from breweries in the Ome and Okutama area.

Reservations are required for the restaurant. Click here to make a reservation.   https://satologue.com/reservation/

Sauna Fukisui: ‘Wind, Trees, Water’

Like the restaurant, the sauna Fukisui is a renovated building, in this case a former concrete warehouse. It has been reborn as a wood-fired sauna that links to the forestry industry of the local area. A wood-fired sauna is a most pleasant luxury, not often encountered these days. The name of the sauna ‘Fukisui’ means ‘Wind, Trees, Water’ and is indicative of the three aspects of the sauna. Wind refers to the outdoor bath, trees to the wood used to heat the sauna, and water to the fresh water drawn from the river for the cold bath. All of these elements unite to let guests experience the Okutama area first hand, and to connect to its natural environment. In addition to the sauna and outdoor bath, Fukisui also has a lounge for relaxing after your sauna, and for enjoying a drink or snack.

Reservations are required for the sauna. Click here to make a reservation.   https://satologue.com/reservation/

The ‘Satologue’ Environment

Satologue is not just two buildings. It is also very conscious of its surrounding environment: how to utilize it, make it attractive, and keep it sustainable. Walking around the restaurant and sauna you can see fields where the chefs and gardeners are growing local products, for example wasabi. A short guided pre-breakfast walk is available to show visitors the various efforts to grow plants using natural fertilizer and no pesticides. In an age of artificial wasabi it is interesting to see the real plant growing in pure clean water.

The staff members who have devoted themselves to combining local knowledge with the best of culinary techniques, gardening, and sauna management, are eager to welcome visitors to Tokiro and Fukisui. Please come and enjoy a different Tokyo. And be on the alert for further hotel developments.

How to get there

The new Satologue restaurant and sauna are located on the JR Ome Line at Kori Station or Hatonosu Station. From Kori Station it is a 15-minute walk and from Hatonosu Station a 20-minute walk. You can also take electric bicycles are available at the Hatanosu station so that you can visit the restaurant while biking around the area!

The fare from Tokyo to Kori Station is 1,110 yen (IC fare) (about $7.2) one way, and to Hatonosu Station is 1,275 yen (IC fare) (about $8.3) one way, but if you are staying in Tokyo for a few days and traveling around the area, the Tokyo Wide Pass for 15,000 yen (about $96.8) is convenient.

The Tokyo Wide Pass includes Nikko, Fuji Five Lakes, and Izu, which can be enjoyed as short trips from Tokyo and Tokyo including trains on the JR Ome Line. Tickets can be purchased online before coming to Japan, and tickets can be redeemed at vending machines at JR East stations without waiting in line. Don't miss out on the Tokyo Wide Pass and a visit to Satologue if you are staying in Tokyo.

• Tokyo Wide Pass details https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/pass/tokyowidepass.html

※$1=￥155