![[Special Feature] Renovated Traditional Farmhouses: Café & Villa “POUND” & “Bosha (Tsumugisha)” – Akiruno City](https://at-tama.tokyo/lang_en/wdps/wp-content/uploads/pound-bo-sha_01-1024x683.jpg)
[Special Feature] Renovated Traditional Farmhouses: Café & Villa “POUND” & “Bosha (Tsumugisha)” – Akiruno City
Stay as You Live A Renovated Traditional Farmhouse Café and Villa
In this special feature, we introduce POUND, a renovated traditional farmhouse café located in Tokura, Akiruno City.Built in 1938, this 85-year-old kominka has been thoughtfully restored into a charming café space.Frequently featured in special articles and books on traditional farmhouse cafés, POUND is known among café enthusiasts as a true “hidden retreat,” cherished for its distinctive atmosphere.
The café’s relaxed interior—renovated almost entirely through the owner’s own DIY efforts—features carefully tended greenery and tastefully arranged antique furniture and decorative accents.No matter where you sit, you can enjoy a truly relaxing moment, which is one of the reasons for its enduring popularity.
Why do we present this café as a “special feature”?One reason is the owner’s remarkable sense for creating a space that naturally puts visitors at ease.Another is the way the café, together with its location and surrounding environment, has become a destination in its own right—somewhere that makes you think, “This is reason enough to set out on a journey.”
One approach to exploring food and travel is the concept of “food tourism.”
Although POUND falls within the category of a café, its philosophy and the time it has carefully cultivated over the years have already brought to life several elements and possibilities that can be described as food tourism.
A Café Where You Visit the Land—and Linger in Time
Sliding open the wooden door, you step into a spacious earthen-floored entryway, where you remove your shoes before stepping up into the main space.Inside, the high ceilings create an airy, open atmosphere. Sofas and table seating are thoughtfully arranged throughout, along with counter seats that offer sweeping views of the mountains right before you—each area balanced to provide its own distinct place to settle in and relax.
The interior, based in soft shades of white and enriched by the warmth of natural wood, feels both bright and inviting. Antique furniture and decorative accents add character, while gentle light streaming through the windows and the greenery displayed in the garden and throughout the café create a soothing atmosphere.It is this very space that draws so many visitors in search of its quiet charm.
Iori Iwata, the owner, is in charge of brewing the coffee and welcoming guests, while his wife prepares the meals and baked sweets.Neither of them is a professionally trained chef. Instead, they are committed to serving flavors they themselves have discovered and loved through their own culinary journeys—dishes they can wholeheartedly stand behind.
Both are writers whose work centers on the theme of travel. Reiko, his wife, has reported on food and everyday life in destinations across the globe—including China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong—immersing herself in local cultures and flavors.At the age of 30, Iori and Reiko moved to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, China, to study at a local university. After graduating, they remained in Shanghai. There, drawing on his experience as a writer, Iori served as editor-in-chief at a publishing company producing free papers for Japanese residents and gourmet magazines, conducting interviews and overseeing editorial work in Chinese.
At the time, Shanghai was seeing a surge of cafés and bars set within renovated early 20th-century Western-style residences and old brick apartment buildings. These spaces blended history with contemporary sensibilities, creating environments where past and present coexisted in quiet harmony.They were also deeply drawn to the city’s unique culture—a place where Eastern and Western influences intertwined in distinctive and inspiring ways.Those experiences and impressions are woven into the spirit of POUND today.
The menu reflects the couple’s own carefully shaped standards of what they truly consider delicious—an outlook formed through the many foods they encountered during their travels and reporting assignments, including cafés and restaurants in Shanghai, China.Each dish is prepared with local ingredients and produce, embodying their desire to offer guests something that can only be experienced here—an expression of this place, through its flavors.
For Iori and his wife, their “ideal café” is not defined by space and interior design alone. It is only truly complete when the people who gather there become part of it.They strive to create an environment that feels effortlessly comfortable—subtle yet thoughtfully designed—where time seems to flow gently and unhurriedly.This is their vision of the ideal café, and it is precisely this quiet philosophy that continues to resonate with so many visitors.
A Private Villa in the Forest Stay at “Bosha” as If You Were Living There
Akiruno City, home to POUND, is known as a summer destination, with many visitors heading to the scenic AkigawaKeikokuValley for outdoor activities and sightseeing. Surrounded by nature, blessed with fresh air and a sense of calm that gently unwinds the spirit, the area invites you to slow down and breathe deeply.Wanting guests to enjoy that feeling even more fully, the couple opened a private, one-group-per-day villa called “Bosha” in May 2025. Located about a 15-minute drive from the café, the villa offers an exclusive stay immersed in nature.
Located north of Musashi-Itsukaichi Station, in the innermost part of the Fukazawa area, the couple encountered a traditional farmhouse standing before the former Fukazawa residence—where the draft of the Itsukaichi Constitution Draft was discovered in the early Meiji period—and an old earthen storehouse known as Higashi-dozo. Once again, they undertook the renovation themselves.Preserving the massive wooden beams and the earthen-floored doma space, they reimagined the house with a blend of Japanese modern and Scandinavian styles. Though it stands quietly deep in the mountains, the result is a refined space that carries a subtle sense of urban sophistication.
Gently illuminating the table set at the center of the open living room is MAYUHANA, a lighting design by Japanese architect Toyoo Ito, known for its cocoon-like form and delicate presence.Throughout the villa, antique furniture and decorative pieces from Japan and abroad are thoughtfully arranged, adding layers of character and quiet sophistication to the space.
The partitions and curtains that gently divide the rooms are crafted from handwoven natural fabrics created by Maki Textile Studio in Akiruno City.These textiles lend the space a tactile warmth and authenticity, creating an environment where guests can enjoy a truly special and comforting experience.
The villa is fully equipped with a kitchen, and guests generally enjoy a self-catering style stay. For those who wish to savor local flavors with ease, breakfast and dinner plans featuring carefully selected regional ingredients are also available.These include bread from a local bakery, free-range eggs, vegetables sourced directly from nearby farmers, locally made sausages, Tokyo Wagyu beef, Tokyo X pork, and even seasonal ayu (sweetfish) from the surrounding area.Meals can be enjoyed barbecue-style in the garden, making the most of the natural setting.
As an optional experience, guests can also arrange a hands-on “gastronomy tour,” visiting local farms, butcher shops, and even a sake brewery to gather ingredients before preparing their own dinner.This immersive program offers a unique opportunity to enjoy both food and travel at once, connecting with the region’s culture and the people who shape it.In addition, a shuttle service to nearby partner restaurants is available exclusively for villa guests.
Rates start from ¥60,000 (excluding tax) per night for the entire villa, accommodating up to six guests.Although it has been open for only about six months, the villa has already welcomed not only couples and families but also an increasing number of international travelers.It has also been selected as a filming location for television programs and commercials, further highlighting its distinctive appeal.
In visiting and reporting on this place, I came to feel that the Tama area holds tremendous potential for food tourism.Or perhaps—it has already begun.
| Facility Name | POUND |
|---|---|
| Address | 208-2 Tokura, Akiruno City, Tokyo |
| Phone | +81-42-588-5797 |
| Business Hours | Weekdays 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays 11:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (including national holidays) |
| Website | |
| Facility Name | Bosha |
| Address | 520 Fukazawa, Akiruno City, Tokyo |
| Phone | +81-90-2004-3249 |
| Website |
