A place filled with memories of my family
I really wanted to keep it

Mr. Katase (left), the owner, and Mr. Akiyama (right) who saved the day

The Ninja Mansion is owned by 18-year-old Katsuse-san, who only took over as owner in the spring of 2021, which was a surprise given his age.
We asked him how he came to be the owner of The Ninja Mansion in the first place.

– I was surprised at the age of 18 years old. How did you become the owner?

Katsuse-san: "This is the house my grandparents lived in. 50 years ago, my grandparents bought this house and repaired it to live in, but 4 years ago it was renovated and opened in its current form. did.
At first, my grandmother was running the business by herself.

About a year and a half later, my grandmother got a bad back and couldn't move as much as she wanted to, so we decided what to do. But I was sad to let it go. I had often come here to play since I was a little girl myself, and I wanted to preserve my memories of this place."

– You were still in high school then, right? What are your career paths and what else do you want to do?

Katsuse-san: "I wanted to study abroad after graduating from high school. I was interested in foreign countries and wanted to experience many things. However, due to COVID-19, that became unattainable and I gave up. Then I decided to become an owner to participate in the management of the house, which I have loved since I was a little girl."

– What kind of relationship do you have with Akiyama-san?

Akiyama-san: "I was originally from Hyogo, and at the time I was working on regional revitalization in Awaji Island.
At that time, I received this story from my boss. The boss is the owner's uncle. ”

– What made you decide to come to this land that you have no connection with?

Akiyama-san: "There were some companies and firms that were working on regional development, but not many individuals were working on it on an individual basis. I joined the program to study and gain experience because I wanted to strengthen the ties among individuals and horizontally in the future, and I wanted to be a pioneer in this effort. We decided from the beginning that it would be for two years, so actually I'm only here until this September (2021)."

Akiyama-san was entrusted with the site because Mr. Michiko, Katsuse-san's grandmother, had a bad back, and has supported The Nija Mansion.

From the fall of 2021, Katsuse-san will be handling this project alone. According to him, "From now on, we will select accommodations with meaning and purpose," and new plans are underway for this purpose, so we should look forward to it!

I had a hands-on experience of making gohei mochi!

At "The Ninja Mansion", you can also experience making Goheimochi (rice cake) by hand.

Many people may have eaten it at least once, but did you know that Gohei mochi actually originated in Toyota City?

This time, I experienced making Goheimochi, a local dish of Toyota City, from scratch.

All tools and materials will be provided. First of all, from the ingredients to put in the sauce to put on the rice cake.

From left to right: peanuts, walnuts, and pine nuts.

Hit with a pestle that is twice as large as usual. In order to relieve daily stress (laughs), I crush it quite finely.

It is OK if it becomes fine like this.

Then, add the crushed nuts, grated ginger, and white sesame to the sauce that was prepared at the beginning.

By the way, the base of this sauce is of course Hatcho miso. It is a mixture of sugar, mirin, and sake that is boiled down.

Add crushed nuts, ginger and white sesame ......

It's ok to mix everything together! This alone is delicious.

Now it's time to make the rice cakes. 2 cups (for 2 people) of cooked rice are mashed well. The rice is a local variety called "Mine-Asahi" from Toyota City, and is characterized by its firmness and stickiness. The trick is to press and twist the rice with a stick to mash it.

When it becomes sticky, gather it together in the center and stand the stick vertically. The sign that it is ready is if you can lift up the whole ball with the stick as it is!

Wow! It's amazingly sticky.

The next step is to skewer the Goheimochi. Cover the special mold with plastic wrap, grab a handful of the rice from earlier with one hand, and put it into the mold.

Crush the rice from the top according to the mold and push it in.

Place a skewer on top of it and press down.

Cover the raised rice on both sides so that the sticks are hidden, make a shape, wrap it in plastic wrap and push it in firmly to complete.

Finished in a beautiful round shape! By the way, one person can make two, but the first one is made according to the pattern, but the second one can be made in any way you like.

For example, fish and ...

Heart-shaped, etc. There is no doubt that it will be exciting if you make it while talking with your family and friends!

Finally, let's bake in the hearth. First of all, put it on and bake it as it is. Being able to experience grilling charcoal in front of you, just like yakitori, is also a valuable experience.

When the surface of the mochi is slightly dry with moisture, turn it over and do the same.

Take it out once and apply the miso sauce that you made first on both sides.

From there, when the miso paste is fragrant and browned, it is ready to be served. With the instructor by my side, I was able to make it well and deliciously even for the first time!

And in addition to mochi, you can have miso soup and pickles as a set. (The photo shows one, but originally two per person). It's originally made from rice, so having two sticks is enough to fill you up!

By the way, Goheimochi is available in the hands-on plan, but there is also a “1 night, 2 days plan with breakfast” that includes Goheimochi for breakfast, so if you are interested, please check it out.

Dog run, BBQ and solo campsite

This is the main entrance to the building, a two-story row house gate, which is very rare and hard to find. A maple tree with a strong presence welcomes visitors near the entrance.

Doors like this are rare these days...

When you pass through the entrance, there are stairs to climb the hill in front of you, so let's climb it.

An open plaza spreads out before you. The Ninja Mansion is a place where you can stay with your pets, and dogs are allowed to stay with no leash as a dog run place, so you can relax and
You can enjoy it.

There is also a space where you can BBQ. The BBQ plan is popular in the summer for the one-night, two-board plan. There is no doubt that it will be a fun time with family and friends!

Also, recently solo camping is popular, and we also rent out camping space. Each site (location) is far away, and the atmosphere and surrounding environment are different, so you can spend a relaxing time in your favorite place.

This is a place with a superb view overlooking Shimosagiri Town in Toyota. This is also a popular spot for solo campers. Enjoy the scenery of Satoyama (countryside landscape) to yourself!

The warehouse is being renovated into a cafe bar, and in order to further enhance the private feeling of staying in an old private house, the reception for camping and dog runs will also be moved here.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, you can enjoy the scenery of Japanese satoyama, birds singing, seasonal flowers, and so on,
You can spend a slow time here, blending in with nature and being healed by nature. We hope you will visit them for a relaxing stay or a drive.