Little Time B&B

3:15 in the afternoon in Kyoto, Japan

You draw aside the curtain and place your shoes into the cabinet before pushing open the main doors. You are greeted by a wall with square shelving filled with books, sake, and various small objects gently illuminated by large-bulbed, fish-gathering lamps hung above a richly textured, solid-wood table. The afternoon light massages the tatami mats beside floor-to-ceiling windows as bossa nova jazz plays on the stereo. Strolling onto the solid wood floors, you feel relaxed, even a bit tipsy.

A smile from your host, Scarlett, has the warm sincerity of water boiled over charcoal, with a subtle taste of the ocean thrown in. As she presses fresh fruit juice in the open kitchen, she asks about your recent travel experiences and offers local insight into life in Yilan. Standing beside the bar and sipping the mildly sweet apple and pineapple juice, the greater part of the summer heat suddenly seems to have disappeared.

In the mezzanine above the kitchen lies a secret study room where you can hide with a book drawn from the shelves. You curl up on the old wooden chair, put your feet up on the footstool, and read your book in the warm, orange light, totally undisturbed.

Listen! From a distance comes the rumbling bass of a drum

You walk up to the second floor and slide open the wooden door of the Great Rumbling Drum Room. Notice the solid-wood tea table on tatami mats between cotton cushions, and kimono-print cloth details on headboards above two double-beds. Even observing the dressing table beside a small stool, strong Japanese design elements are evident in this room. Management went through three master craftsmen to finally achieve the desired mottled texture of the smooth cement walls in the bathroom. Dainty potted plants, a little balcony, and many other minute details all reveal the meticulous care of the guesthouse owners.

Light enters the third-floor Distant Room through semi-closed window shades, warming the air inside and producing the faint scent of wood and books. Surveying the mountain ridges and farmers’ fields from the balcony, you see a stream that belongs in a rural Japanese story. Listening carefully, blessings seem to float downstream and into your ear.

Scarlett and Carol, owners of Little Time B&B, are admirers of Haruki Murakami’s work, especially the novel “A Distant Drum” and this fact that can be observed from their nicknames as well as the names they chose for the rooms. When the guesthouse first opened, each of them reserved a bedroom named after them, with the Scarlet Room on the second floor and the Carol Room on the third. Yet, they made these rooms available for rent in response to the increasing number of travelers. With a double-bed and two-person tea set exquisitely arranged on a tatami platform, the rooms surround you like a hug that you will remember with longing.

The good flavors of traditional rice dishes

In the morning, Yilan’s famous silver needle noodles cooked on a deep cast iron skillet, various sliced delicacies laid out on white porcelain platters with thin black stripes, and elegantly arranged fresh fruits, all harmonize perfectly with the room’s antique sideboard and cast iron tea kettle. The simple flavors of the traditional rice dishes require little seasoning as they maintain the pure sweetness of the chef’s full-bodied soup base. You savor the memories of former times come to awaken the sleeping spirits of tired travelers.

Open wide both panels of the glass doors and sit on the wooden platform before a tasteful front courtyard, both feet swinging in the air. Sip the icy cold beer in your hand, imbibe the cool summer night breeze, and savor a little bit of slow-travel time.