Welcome to Ōmishima! Benton Guesthouse is a former abandoned 'akiya' that we've lovingly renovated into our Shōwa-era rental. You can experience slow life in the 'inaka' Japanese countryside, just minutes from the Shimanami Kaido. Our house is 'natsukashii' nostalgic style. Our guesthouse is a true Shōwa-era style countryside home. This house was formerly an 'akiya' abandoned for 10 years. It was built in 1953 with traditional Japanese joinery. The furnishings are simple, not overly fancy, but they're era-appropriate and true to the history of the home. PRIVATE RENTAL HOUSE: You have access to all living spaces: 1 Western-style bedroom suite, 2 Japanese-style bedrooms, living room, full kitchen, office, bathroom (toilet room, laundry room, shower room), 'doma' entrance room, and traditional 'engwa'. We only rent to one group of guests at a time. BEDROOM: Japanese-Style Bedroom (Upstairs): Sleeps 2 on Japanese floor mats with tatami mat flooring. Large wooden windows can be opened for a breeze. NO air conditioning. BEDROOM: Western-Style Bedroom Suite (Downstairs): Sleeps 2 in a 'double' size western-style bed. YES, this room has air conditioning. The bed area can be closed off from the sitting area, using the vintage shoji screen doors. BEDROOM: Japanese-Style Bedroom (Downstairs): Sleeps 2 on Japanese floor mats, with tatami mat flooring. YES, this room has air conditioning. This room is next to the 'engawa' sunroom. HEATING: For the winter, we have electric and kerosene heaters, plus a cozy 'kotatsu' heated table, 'hanten' house jackets, and blankets. COOLING: For the summer, we have air conditioning in 2 bedrooms and the living room. Other rooms are cooled with electric fans or by opening the windows for a breeze. KITCHEN: 2-burner stovetop, cookware, dishes, glasses, silverware, refrigerator, rice cooker, blender, Keurig coffee maker, instant hot water kettle, with complimentary coffee pods and tea bags. NO microwave.

We’re Evan Dani Benton. It's been a very long journey for us to get here: We're from the US; native Oregonians. We built an urban farm in New Orleans, Louisiana (2016-21), where we were AirBnB Super Hosts, welcoming over a thousand happy guests. Then we found ourselves house-sitting throughout Mexico (2021-23), where we got to enjoy 21 Mexican states. Now we're re-planting our roots permanently here on Ōmishima island, in rural Japan. In addition to this guesthouse, we're renovating another "akiya" former ryokan! We hope to grow our honey bee business, homestead, and family. You can follow along every step of the way! We encourage you to visit our YouTube channel (Benton Homestead) and our website Photo Journal, so you can see the love and hard work we've poured into this house.

The Kamiura-cho Inokuchi neighborhood is located on the east side of Ōmishima island. It's near both bridges, which makes it very conveniently located for guests traveling the Shimanami Kaido, by bicycle or by car.