Five of the ten villas at HIRUGANO LAPLAND, on the Hirugano Highlands in Gujo City, Gifu, welcome dogs. Up to two dogs per villa; ¥2,000 per night for a dog under 15kg and ¥3,000 over 15kg. At 900 metres the plateau stays cool through the summer, which makes it easy country to travel in with a dog. The five villas…
Five of the ten villas at HIRUGANO LAPLAND, on the Hirugano Highlands in Gujo City, Gifu, welcome dogs. Up to two dogs per villa; ¥2,000 per night for a dog under 15kg and ¥3,000 over 15kg. At 900 metres the plateau stays cool through the summer, which makes it easy country to travel in with a dog.
The village is laid out with five villas on either side of Santa’s Path. The five on the right — Rudolph (red), Dasher (blue), Prancer (violet), Comet (white) and Donner (brown) — take dogs. Each door is a different colour, so you will know which villa is yours as you arrive.
The five on the left (Aurora, Dancer, Vixen, Cupid, Blitzen) do not take dogs, so guests with allergies have somewhere to stay too. Because the buildings are physically separate, nobody has to make allowances for anybody else. Details of each villa are on the Ten villas page.
The dog charge is per dog, per night, added to the room rate: ¥2,000 under 15kg, ¥3,000 over. Discounts, including the opening rate, do not apply to it. Two dogs per villa is the maximum, and we take dogs only — no cats or other animals. Travelling with three or more? Two adjacent villas can be booked together; write to us through Contact.
Most dog-friendly hotels mean “dogs in the room, carried through the corridors”. You mind the neighbours in the lift, and breakfast is somewhere your dog cannot go. A whole house removes all of that. Each villa is two storeys and 82㎡ with an open atrium above the living room; from the moment you close the door you meet no other guest. The kitchen means you can eat in, rather than leaving a dog alone while you go out to dinner. In winter the underfloor heating is welcome to anyone who sleeps on the floor.
The hardest thing about summer travel with a dog is pavement temperature — in a lowland city it can pass 50°C, leaving only dawn and dusk for a walk. Hirugano sits at about 900 metres, and the cooler air means far more hours of the day when you can be outside together.
Winter brings up to three metres of snow. Some dogs could not be happier; short-haired and small breeds will want a coat. The Seasons page shows the year on the plateau.
Food and bowls, lead, crate, pads, towels, and a blanket from home — something that already smells right settles a dog in a strange room faster than anything else. Extra towels for snow and rain. Bring vaccination records if you have them.
Enter your dates, the number of guests and the number of dogs, and the site shows the villas that are free with an indicative price, filtered to those that take dogs — no writing to ask whether a pet-friendly villa is available and waiting for the answer. Full conditions are under Dogs & pets and in the FAQ.
Reservations are handled through Booking.com, where you can see live availability for all ten villas. For anything else, write to us — we answer in English, Japanese and Russian.