Ta Bi To Hostel in Fukue Island: Waking Up to the Smell of Freshly Baked Scones
Fukue Island is the largest one of Goto Islands. Yet it feels delightfully secluded and small. There are many small towns along the beautiful coast of the island each feeling like idyllic small fishing village.
Tomie is one of those towns that stands out with its beautiful Japanese style houses lined up next to each other in perfect harmony benefiting from the lack of any high buildings. Two of those houses are occupied by Te To Ba Cafe and the recently opened Ta Bi To Hostel, both run by the same owners.
Ta Bi To Hostel: Where Coziness Meets High Service Standards in Fukue Island
I traveled to Fukue Island on a rainy day. But the grim mood caused by the weather changed as soon as I walked into Te To Ba Cafe. The background music, smell of delicious scones, locals vividly chatting with each other while enjoying the lunch sets but more importantly the smiling faces of the staff were more than enough to make up for the gray weather. As soon as I stepped in, I decided to add one more night to my stay in Tomie and the hostel for a total of four nights.
Te To Ba is run by a former Tokyo resident who decided to leave beyond busy life in favor of the small island life. The store is open five days a week – closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays – and offers breakfast, starting at 8.30am, lunch and dinner. I highly recommend their breakfast set while the cafe set including a coffee and a scone of your choice is the perfect option for an afternoon break after exploring numerous sites of Fukue Island.
Marie-san is currently supported by two staff who help her with cooking and the management of the hostel. The entire operation is run very professionally but in a very friendly way. I can easily say that the welcoming attitude of the team was the highlight of my stay. If you want to get a peek into the life of the Te To Ba team, they have a regularly updated Youtube channel – Te To Ba Channel.
Reasonably Priced Accommodation in a Tastefully Decorated Setting
Ta Bi To Hostel, which opened fairly recently, occupies a beautiful Japanese style home. Just like Te To Ba Cafe, Ta Bi To Hostel is very tastefully decorated. The hostel features a dorm style room accommodation where each guest is privy to a fairly wide and efficiently designed bed space. There is also one private room that can accommodate up to two people. The dorm beds cost around 3.500 Yen per night whereas the private room can be booked for 7.000 Yen. The fully equipped kitchen located on the second floor overlooks the small Tomie harbor and was the perfect to enjoy my – too many ^ morning cafes.
During my recent two weeks long Goto Islands Trip, which started in Fukue Island, Te To Ba in Tomie Town was my first stop. My stay was so comfortable and delightful, thanks to the amazingly nice staff, that it really put me in this great mood that eventually led to one of my most amazing trips within Japan. I will surely be back.
