B&B REVIEW : INN SERVES UP A BIT OF OLD JAPAN IN DESERT OASIS.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

The sun had just dipped below the peak of Mount San Jacinto as I pulled into the tiny parking lot of Palm Springs' only Japanese-style bed-and-breakfast inn.

The gate in the low wood fence was locked, so I pushed the doorbell. At the first sound of the ring, Fumiko Cebra dashed from the inn to the gate, leaned over and gently patted both my cheeks with her hands.

``You're finally here!'' she exclaimed with a big grin. ``I'm so glad. We were so worried. Come in, come in.''

I felt welcome at the Sakura Inn before I even walked through the door.

I had spent the day zooming from one Palm Springs attraction to the other - from snowy Mount Jacinto, reached by tramway, to a hot, dry desert adobe in Palm Desert - and the serenity and quiet of the small inn was a welcome respite.

Fumiko's husband, George, who manages the inn and doubles as a bass player with a local jazz band, said both he and his wife wanted to bring a touch of her native land's peacefulness to their desert home, introducing American guests to a new kind of haven and making Japanese visitors feel at home.

(Sakura means ``cherry blossom'' in Japanese, and is their 12-year-old daughter's middle name, he said.)

``Fumiko was born in Hiroshima and went to school in Tokyo,'' George said. ``I lived in Japan for two years. And I fell in love with it. I just love the Japanese style, the architecture. I'm trying to make this like a country inn - kind of like visiting old Japan 100 years ago, once you get out into the countryside.''

Feeling pretty certain I would never travel to Japan to see a real ryokan - a country inn - I had opted for the most authentically Japanese room at the inn - the one with a king-size futon bed on a platform only six inches off the floor, a futon sofa and low table. The rest of the room was overshadowed by a yard-wide, floor-to-ceiling golden object I assumed was some sort of religious shrine - but later learned was a tokonoma, a stylized metal sculpture of an armored shogun, a centuries-old Japanese warrior. It is, I learned, representative of artwork found in virtually every traditional Japanese home.

My room was lit by traditional Japanese-style lamps, the windows screened for privacy with rice-paper screens, tatami grass mats underfoot. A bright orange, yellow and red kimono hung over the bed and airy Japanese prints covered the walls. The bathroom was American-style - and spotless.

As I plunked down on the futon - there's no other way to get on one, unless you're a lithe 80-pounder - I immediately began to wonder if my spirit of adventure had been a bit ... well, too adventurous. Let's be honest, here - futon beds aren't for everybody. Even the most well-padded hips can begin to ache the further they sink into the futon, feeling the hard board underneath.

And getting up again is an adventure unto itself. After a few tries, hampered by arthritic knees and quite a bit more than 80 pounds to lift, I perfected the technique: shift to one hip, then to one knee, then push off with both hands. Voila! - or its Japanese equivalent - you're on your feet.

Outside, the stars in the night sky shone bright, unobscured by Palm Springs' downtown lights: Although Sakura is just a block off the main street, it's on the darker fringes of a residential area. Day or night, the inn's small garden is a peaceful spot. Centered by a small swimming pool and spa, it is decorated with a statue of Buddha, Japanese-style rock lamps, bamboo and citrus trees. At dawn, the garden takes on an unearthly quality, with the mountains acting as a purple, barely there backdrop as the pinks and golds of the desert sky give way to the brightest blue.

The garden is usually the setting for breakfast anytime between 8 and 9:30 a.m., Fumiko said. When I asked for breakfast at 7 a.m. the next day, she promised delivered-to-the-door personal service before flitting off to the airport to meet a group of arriving Japanese tourists.

On the dot of 7 the next morning, there she was, bearing a tray of assorted fresh fruit, a large pastry and a giant muffin, a basket of assorted teas and an electric pot of hot water, which she plugged into an outlet next to a small wicker table, all the time apologizing for her hastiness.

Somewhat surprisingly, Japanese visitors account for only about 20 percent of the inn's guests, George Cebra said. ``Most Japanese want to see American-style hotels,'' he said. ``They see Japanese hotels at home. Our clientele is about 80 percent American.''

But Fumiko keeps busy arranging golf tours for visiting Japanese sportsmen, he said.

Both she and George put whatever they can afford into turning the inn into the hostelry they envision. He recently built a Japanese-style wooden deck connecting the guest rooms and leading to the pool, and plans to extend a roof over the deck so guests can eat outside even when it rains and install a waterfall behind the Buddha statue. Someday, he plans to build a communal-style Japanese bathhouse.

``It all takes time and money - and I haven't had enough of either to do all I want to,'' George said. ``We're trying to make this (inn) as Japanese as we can afford to do.''

B&B Basics

Address: Sakura Japanese Bed & Breakfast Inn, 1677 N. Via Miraleste, Palm Springs, Calif. 92262

Phone: [phone]

Price range: $75 per night per room, double occupancy, October through July 4; $55 July 4 to October; $45 for a single guest.

Number of rooms: 3, 2 with private baths.

House rules: Smoking permitted outdoors only; no pets.

Money matters (credit cards, cancellation policy): Discover card, cash, check; $25 deposit required; refunds for cancellations with seven-day notice.

Check in / check out 2 p.m. / noon

Telephones, television: Both in all rooms. Air conditioners in all rooms.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) At the Sakura Japanese Bed & Breakfast Inn in Palm Springs, visitors can sleep on a futon and enjoy Japanese decor and hospitality.

(2) In the Sakura Inn's garden, visitors can stretch out near the pool and enjoy the quiet, cool mornings.

Carol Bidwell/Daily News

Box: B&B Basics (See Text)