Tomihisa Akatsuka has lived his entire life on a plateau farm in southwestern Hokkaido raising cattle and growing potatoes.
But the wrinkled, gregarious man has never stayed in the luxury hotel up the road and has only been inside once, when a previous owner invited him and other locals for a tour.
The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa — which boasts commanding views of a caldera lake, the Pacific Ocean and snow-capped mountains — has recently been named the main venue for the 2008 Group of Eight summit.