Kumihama Bay · Coastal Kyoto · Japan

Stay with us at our Oyster Farm in Authentic Rural Japan

Wake up to the sound of the sea. Mountains on one side, Kumihama Bay on the other. This is one of the most quietly beautiful places in Japan. Every day is an adventure filled with culture, learning, and active experiences, and every moment is a chance to discover, grow, and create stories worth sharing.

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The Guesthouse

A home on the bay, in a working coastal community

Gentle Moon Stays is a traditional minshuku, a Japanese family guesthouse that has welcomed travellers for over 40 years. Since 2016, host Atsushi, a third-generation shellfish farmer, has opened its doors to the world. He has welcomed more than 300 families and 200 volunteers from across the globe, and holds Airbnb Superhost status with a 4.96 rating from 171 reviews, plus a five-star rating from 73 HelpX volunteers.

This is not a hostel and it is not a hotel. It is a home on the bay, in a working coastal community, with a host who pays attention.

"If you want to get away from the busy city life and see traditional rural Japan, this was the way to do it." Riley, Airbnb (2026)
4.96 Airbnb rating
171 Airbnb reviews
300+ Families hosted
200+ Volunteers since 2016
5.0 Communication score
What We Offer

Three ways to experience Kumihama

Homestay

A homestay on the bay

Wake up in a tatami room with shoji doors looking out across Kumihama Bay. Thirty minutes from Kinosaki Onsen.

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Volunteer Exchange

Work on a working oyster farm

Spend a few weeks contributing to life on a coastal farm, living inside a Japanese community rather than passing through it.

Explore volunteering
Student Programme

Cultural immersion for students

Real immersion in Japanese rural life for students, gap-year travellers, and small school groups. Days are a mix of light work, cultural activity, and time to explore.

See the programme
Shotenkyo Beach, Kumihama
The Place

A coastline that most visitors never reach

Kumihama sits inside the San'in Kaigan Geopark, a UNESCO Global Geopark that runs along the coast of northern Kyoto and into Hyogo. Dramatic sea cliffs, pine-fringed beaches, terraced rice fields running up into forested hills.

Within an hour of the guesthouse you can be soaking in Kinosaki Onsen's 1,300-year-old bathhouses, walking the pine sandbar at Amanohashidate, or looking out over the funaya boathouses of Ine.

If you want a Japan that is still recognisably itself, with room to breathe, this is one of the places to find it.

"The view is amazing facing the Bay with mountains and eagles flying just in front of us. 10/10 for everything." Gary, Airbnb (March 2026)
See where you'll stay
Your Host

A host who pays attention

Atsushi Toyoshima is a third-generation oyster farmer who has hosted more than 300 families and 200 volunteers since 2016. He has travelled the world, speaks fluent English, and chose to come home to Kumihama. He has held Airbnb Superhost status since 2016, rated 4.96 from 171 reviews.

He is patient, curious, and one of the most genuinely welcoming hosts you are likely to meet. The care shows more in what he does than in what he says.

★ Airbnb Superhost ★ Guest Favourite
Meet Atsushi
Atsushi on the oyster farm
"Atsushi is not your average host. He's an oyster farmer with a heart of gold, a storyteller with a wealth of knowledge, and a true steward of the environment."
ly c, Google review
Why Guests Come Back

Four decades of hosting. A decade of welcoming the world.

A four-decade family minshuku tradition, now hosting internationally since 2016. A host who has travelled the world, speaks fluent English, and chose to come home to Kumihama. A coastline that most visitors to Japan never reach. A house that you share rather than visit.

Village piers at Kumihama Volunteering on the oyster farm Kumihama Bay from the pier
Plan Your Stay

Atsushi reads every enquiry personally.

Tell him a little about yourself, when you'd like to visit, and what you're hoping for. He'll reply directly.

Contact Atsushi See where you'll stay

Follow the farm on Instagram: @kyotooyster