Hotarutei is centered around a two-story, wooden farmhouse that boasts a floor space of over 660 square meters. Constructed with substantial beams and pillars, and furnished with a large Zelkova wood main pillar, it exudes a sense of quiet dignity that will captivate any onlooker. Built in the 1850s, only a few short years before the fall of the Shogun, this farmhouse originally served as the residence of a family of wealthy farmers in Tokamachi City, Niigata - one of the snowiest regions in Japan. However, in April 1987, the house was relocated to its current location in Kanbayashi Onsen, Nagano.