Chiiori is a 300 years old traditional-style house with thatched-roof in Oku-Iya. This remote region, where is at a high altitude with very deep mountain ravine, is often referred as “Tibet of Japan” from their similarity in the landscape. The house was purchased by Mr.Alex Kerr renown as a researcher of East Asian Art and Culture and was named “Chiiori” (House of the Flute ). The name of “Chiiori” was literally made up of “Chi”, an archaic un-used character they found in the dictionary for “Bamboo Flute” and “Iori”, meaning “Thatched Cottage”and its name came up as Alex plays flute. The house is run by The Chiiori Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable tourism, environmental awareness and promotion of the traditional Japanese way of life.