ABOUT US
"Nature has always been by my side, where I’ve made my home"
Originally from the mountains, I moved to the sea of Ishigaki Island, where I ran a guesthouse and canoe tours. Then, I fell in love with the beautiful Kirigamine Kurumayama area and returned to the mountains.
Hello and thank you for finding HO ALOHA among many accommodations.
I’m Nao Sato, the owner, living surrounded and supported by great nature and wonderful friends.
Kirigamine is a quiet place where you can deeply feel the breath and songs of the four seasons. We hope you will experience the nearby nature, and when you find happiness from something small, both you and we will be filled with joy.
We aim to create such a warm and welcoming place — like knitting and unraveling, then knitting again — constantly learning and building together.
A guest recently returned from a hike and told me, ”I feel like I had forgotten how to live for myself. But now, I’ve realized what truly matters to me.”
Hearing that touched my heart deeply. It’s beautiful. These kinds of moments shared by our guests are the reason I run this inn. I am truly grateful for nature’s love. Sometimes, just walking in the mountains or spending quiet time sensing with all five senses helps forget worries and brings new insights.
For me, paddling a canoe is my favorite time of peaceful nothingness.
No matter what others say, what you truly want to do, you only realize by trying. You can’t understand without trying. Failing is natural. It’s better to try and have no regrets than not to try at all. Through trying, you learn your strengths and weaknesses. Failures teach us valuable lessons and offer chances to reflect. Be brave and try, if that’s what you really want.
If it’s not the right path, knock on another door!
This is my cycle in life — to be excited about what I decide and to keep living with passion.
I hope that children full of individuality and adults who were once children will continue to polish the jewels they hold inside. I sincerely wish for everyone to discover what they love and maybe start something new.
It would be wonderful to talk about these things in the mountains. I look forward to meeting you and helping make your trip a truly special one.
let’s be happy together
just be you.
Hello and thank you for finding HO ALOHA among many accommodations.
I’m Nao Sato, the owner, living surrounded and supported by great nature and wonderful friends.
Kirigamine is a quiet place where you can deeply feel the breath and songs of the four seasons. We hope you will experience the nearby nature, and when you find happiness from something small, both you and we will be filled with joy.
We aim to create such a warm and welcoming place — like knitting and unraveling, then knitting again — constantly learning and building together.
A guest recently returned from a hike and told me, ”I feel like I had forgotten how to live for myself. But now, I’ve realized what truly matters to me.”
Hearing that touched my heart deeply. It’s beautiful. These kinds of moments shared by our guests are the reason I run this inn. I am truly grateful for nature’s love. Sometimes, just walking in the mountains or spending quiet time sensing with all five senses helps forget worries and brings new insights.
For me, paddling a canoe is my favorite time of peaceful nothingness.
No matter what others say, what you truly want to do, you only realize by trying. You can’t understand without trying. Failing is natural. It’s better to try and have no regrets than not to try at all. Through trying, you learn your strengths and weaknesses. Failures teach us valuable lessons and offer chances to reflect. Be brave and try, if that’s what you really want.
If it’s not the right path, knock on another door!
This is my cycle in life — to be excited about what I decide and to keep living with passion.
I hope that children full of individuality and adults who were once children will continue to polish the jewels they hold inside. I sincerely wish for everyone to discover what they love and maybe start something new.
It would be wonderful to talk about these things in the mountains. I look forward to meeting you and helping make your trip a truly special one.
let’s be happy together
just be you.
️QUALIFICATION
・Certified Instructor, Japan Canoe Federation
・Early Childhood Physical Education Instructor
・YMCA Early Childhood Physical Education Lecturer (experience)
(Outdoor Camp Instructor, Health Exercise Practitioner, Disability Exercise Instructor, YMCA Swimming Instructor, Early Childhood Gymnastics Instructor)
・NFD Level 2 Flower Designer
・WP Wedding Planner
・Eiken English Proficiency Test, Pre-1st Grade
・Face Painting Certification, Level 1 & 2
・Maternity Painting Certification, Level 1 & 2
・Licensed Ryokan (Japanese Inn) Operator
・Licensed Food and Beverage Operator
・Disaster Prevention Manager
・YMCA 1-Star Diver
・PADI Scuba Diver (Open Water & Advanced)
・Japanese Red Cross Lifesaving Course Completion
・Japanese Red Cross Water Safety Rescuer
・Wilderness First Aid License (Outdoor and Disaster Emergency Care)
・Interpreter
・PADI Scuba Diver (Open Water & Advanced)
・Japanese Red Cross Lifesaving Course Completion
・Japanese Red Cross Water Safety Rescuer
・Wilderness First Aid License (Outdoor and Disaster Emergency Care)
・Interpreter
MY HISTORY
I graduated from Tokyo YMCA College of Social Sports and Childcare.
After joining Tokyo YMCA, I worked as an instructor and trainer, teaching children physical education, gymnastics, swimming, camping activities, and skiing.
While I enjoyed teaching children in the city’s buildings, I felt a strong desire to connect with kids in the natural world. So, I chose to follow the path of nature and shifted my fieldwork to the mountains and rivers.
This marked the beginning of I Love Canoe, which I founded 15 years ago.
After working and training at an outdoor company, I realized I wanted to offer nature-based canoe tours in a way that truly reflected my vision. Drawing on my experiences and encounters, I built a simple hut and started a tour company with five canoes. This became the starting point for meeting many loyal repeat customers, whose ongoing connections continue to inspire me.
As the business grew, I launched I Love Outdoor Japan, expanding our outdoor activities through all seasons in partnership with others.
We added a café and offered canoeing, rafting, canyoning, caving, snowshoeing, skiing, and kids’ adventure programs.
After 11 years from the mountains to the sea, I opened GUEST HOUSE HO ALOHA and HO ALOHA ADVENTURE’S in Ishigaki Island—a guesthouse where guests can enjoy canoeing. Meeting visitors from all over the world and sharing the joys of nature experiences has been deeply rewarding. Reunions with repeat guests bring great happiness.
Once again, life presented new opportunities. Feeling a strong pull, I found a property in the mountains.
In spring 2025, I will open GUESTHOUSE HO ALOHA 4 SEASONS at 1,600 meters elevation in Kirigamine Kurumayama Highlands, Nagano Prefecture—a guesthouse where visitors can enjoy all four seasons.
What will the next chapter bring?
After joining Tokyo YMCA, I worked as an instructor and trainer, teaching children physical education, gymnastics, swimming, camping activities, and skiing.
While I enjoyed teaching children in the city’s buildings, I felt a strong desire to connect with kids in the natural world. So, I chose to follow the path of nature and shifted my fieldwork to the mountains and rivers.
This marked the beginning of I Love Canoe, which I founded 15 years ago.
After working and training at an outdoor company, I realized I wanted to offer nature-based canoe tours in a way that truly reflected my vision. Drawing on my experiences and encounters, I built a simple hut and started a tour company with five canoes. This became the starting point for meeting many loyal repeat customers, whose ongoing connections continue to inspire me.
As the business grew, I launched I Love Outdoor Japan, expanding our outdoor activities through all seasons in partnership with others.
We added a café and offered canoeing, rafting, canyoning, caving, snowshoeing, skiing, and kids’ adventure programs.
After 11 years from the mountains to the sea, I opened GUEST HOUSE HO ALOHA and HO ALOHA ADVENTURE’S in Ishigaki Island—a guesthouse where guests can enjoy canoeing. Meeting visitors from all over the world and sharing the joys of nature experiences has been deeply rewarding. Reunions with repeat guests bring great happiness.
Once again, life presented new opportunities. Feeling a strong pull, I found a property in the mountains.
In spring 2025, I will open GUESTHOUSE HO ALOHA 4 SEASONS at 1,600 meters elevation in Kirigamine Kurumayama Highlands, Nagano Prefecture—a guesthouse where visitors can enjoy all four seasons.
What will the next chapter bring?
HOALOHA SISTERS
Soba noodles, coffee, mountains, sea, water, sky, all of nature, cameras, dogs, art—
I also love the quiet four seasons of Kirigamine.
Each season brings different sounds and paints the world in various colors, full of charm.
Since I was young, my family moved around the world like a traveling circus due to my parents’ work, so I was always close to nature. I used to think it was normal to meet people from all over the world, but it’s really not.
All the values I hold now, my gratitude for nature, the kindness I feel toward people I meet, the ability to discern what’s right, the power to communicate, and the dreams I carry— I realize all of these have been quietly stored in my heart, guiding me forward.
Until I was three, I didn’t know the color black. My mother took black crayons out of my box. I freely painted hair, sky, mountains, and sea in pinks and blues— no “this is the only way” rule at home. I don’t even remember getting scolded! So I guess my heart became colorful.
I love quietly appreciating the unique colors of the people I meet. I also cherish chatting and playing with little guests, and the time spent brewing coffee.
There is a small happiness right in front of us—a little joy. I hope to discover and share these moments with our guests. I quietly support your journey so it becomes a truly joyful one.
Aloha
Since I was young, my family moved around the world like a traveling circus due to my parents’ work, so I was always close to nature. I used to think it was normal to meet people from all over the world, but it’s really not.
All the values I hold now, my gratitude for nature, the kindness I feel toward people I meet, the ability to discern what’s right, the power to communicate, and the dreams I carry— I realize all of these have been quietly stored in my heart, guiding me forward.
Until I was three, I didn’t know the color black. My mother took black crayons out of my box. I freely painted hair, sky, mountains, and sea in pinks and blues— no “this is the only way” rule at home. I don’t even remember getting scolded! So I guess my heart became colorful.
I love quietly appreciating the unique colors of the people I meet. I also cherish chatting and playing with little guests, and the time spent brewing coffee.
There is a small happiness right in front of us—a little joy. I hope to discover and share these moments with our guests. I quietly support your journey so it becomes a truly joyful one.
Aloha
SUP, canoeing, diving, triathlon, track and field, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, camping — enjoying nature is my way of life!
People often say, “Is the brain a muscle too?”
In the past, no matter where our next home was,
I enjoyed expanding my circle wherever I was placed, always excited. I think I naturally learned about diversity and individuality from that time on. Even now, I cherish being true to myself and living with that same feeling overflowing in my heart.
My father and mother are both talented like Tarzan, turning their passions into careers. From my mother,
I inherited great love, and from my father, a push to the limits. I’m grateful to be a “strong double”!
I truly hope many children continue to shine with smiles. I feel a mission to keep telling them, “You can do anything!”
Though I can’t meet everyone in the world, I treasure every miraculous encounter with guests who visit HO ALOHA. Since I’m usually teaching, I look forward to meeting you all during my days off. Let’s enjoy nature together!
You can do it and Dream big together!
Rana
People often say, “Is the brain a muscle too?”
In the past, no matter where our next home was,
I enjoyed expanding my circle wherever I was placed, always excited. I think I naturally learned about diversity and individuality from that time on. Even now, I cherish being true to myself and living with that same feeling overflowing in my heart.
My father and mother are both talented like Tarzan, turning their passions into careers. From my mother,
I inherited great love, and from my father, a push to the limits. I’m grateful to be a “strong double”!
I truly hope many children continue to shine with smiles. I feel a mission to keep telling them, “You can do anything!”
Though I can’t meet everyone in the world, I treasure every miraculous encounter with guests who visit HO ALOHA. Since I’m usually teaching, I look forward to meeting you all during my days off. Let’s enjoy nature together!
You can do it and Dream big together!
Rana
A FLOWER CANT
BLOSSOM WITHOUT SUN AND
EVERYONE CAN’T LIVE
WITHOUT LOVE.
BLOSSOM WITHOUT SUN AND
EVERYONE CAN’T LIVE
WITHOUT LOVE.