Volume One of Kakuriyo, Bed & Breakfast for Spirits sets the stage for the series. Aoi Tsubaki is a college student who had been reared by her feckless, womanizing grandfather, Shiro Tsubaki, who died about a month ago. Shiro was able to see ayakushi (a type of Yokai, or supernatural creatures). He had great spiritual powers (which doesn't mean that he was a saint -- the man fathered children all over Japan). Aoi has inherited them.

Aoi's mother abandoned her at an orphanage because of Aoi's powers. Shiro may not have met the normal standards of a fit person to rear a child, but Aoi loved him. She soon learns that her grandfather did something that will impact her life.

Aoi meets a hungry ayakashi sitting on the steps of a torii. She gives the spirit her lunch. That good deed will lead to Aoi being sent to Kakuriyo, the spirit world. She meets the hungry ayakashi. He is Kijin, also known as 'Ōdanna', a high ranking ogre. Kijin is the master of the Tenjin-ya, a bed and breakfast inn for Spirits. Even with two horns and crimson eyes, he's quite handsome. That doesn't mean that Aoi is thrilled when he tells her she's his bride.

Back when Shiro was a young man, he incurred an enormous debt (roughly one million dollars) at the inn because hewent on a drunken rampage. Given the choice of working off that debt at the inn or being eaten by Kijin, Shiro proposed that his future granddaughter with the strongest spiritual powers would become Kijin's bride. Aoi is the only one of Shiro's granddaughters who can see ayakashi, so she's the only candidate.

Aoi doesn't want to marry an ogre she just met, so she proposes working off the debt herself. Kijin accepts -- if she can get a job at Tenjin-ya. She has to get the job herself.

Most of the inn's staff, especially the general manager, are against the marriage. One of them, Ginji, a nine-tailed fox, shows her kindness. He also explains things to Aoi. Kijin is a Hachiyo, one of the eight ayakashi who manage the eight domains of Kakuriyo that connect to other worlds. Kijin is in charge of the Northeast domain. If Kijin is the senior master of Tenjin-ya. Ginji is the young master. He tells her about the other major positions and what kind of ayakashi fill them.

Aoi starts looking for a job the next day. Not only is the young proprietress unwilling to hire Aoi. she ordered another manager not to hire Aoi. Akatsuki, the general manager, hated Shiro, so he hates Aoi.

Aoi wanders around until she finds an empty shop in the courtyard. She meets Ginji again there. He tells her it was a popular tea-house, but closed after the manager left. Every business started in that building has failed and the staff would get injured. The most recent business was a casual Japanese restaurant, so there's food in the building.

Aoi is hungry and asks if she can cook something for Ginji (and eat some of it herself). He agrees. This is a food-themed manga, so we get to learn how to make the dishes Aoi makes. Good thing she has the power to operate the magical small appliances. Ginji is impressed with her cooking. Seems Shiro taught Aoi to cook the light and sweet flavors that ayakashi like.

Ginji offers to let Aoi sleep in the back room of the failed restaurant. As we learn, Ginji has known Aoi since she was a little girl. Aoi remembers a masked ayakashi who was kind to her when she was a child. Could Ginji be that ayakashi? If he is, he's not telling.

There's a brawl going on inside the main building because a retired Tenju among the Tengu having a banquet got drunk and insulted the head chef's cooking. (The head chef is very good, but refuses to vary the menu. Some guests find the food boring.) That retired Tengu the Hachiyo of the Western fortress. That means he's the same rank as Kijin.

This volume does not end happily, although no one dies. I enjoyed it so much that I've ordered the next three volumes. ( )

Talking about food and spirits and ogres huh?

Sounds like my kind of shoujo!

Aoi is young (19? Maybe 20?) but level headed and since this is a supernatural shoujo of course there's a lot more to it then "my deceased grandpa was a deadbeat and bartered me off to pay his debt". Already Ginji, the nine tail fox, and Ōdanna, the ogre to marry Aoi are acting suspect. ( )