This screenshot shows a tweet from Yumoto Hotel Achigawa urging the flying squirrel who came to stay to make a reservation next time.

       NAGANO -- A flying squirrel that fled a central Japan hotel after it was discovered lounging in one of its rooms has been invited back but requested to make a formal reservation in a tweet that's gone viral.

       According to Yumoto Hotel Achigawa in the Nagano Prefecture village of Achi, an employee found the flying squirrel relaxing on the tatami mats of a fifth-floor room on the night of Sept. 26. After possibly sensing the employee's presence, the squirrel reportedly shot out of the window.

       A hotel tweet about the guest who "stayed without permission" went viral, earning more than 24,000 retweets and 154,000 likes by 1 p.m. on Sept. 28.

       But why did it come to stay? It might be because of a nest some flying squirrels built on the balcony of one of the sixth-floor rooms several years ago. The squirrels have reportedly appeared sometimes even after their offspring left the nest.

       "Not a scratch on the wall. A well-mannered guest," said a hotel representative about the Sept. 26 guest. "It did stay 'without permission,' and left without paying, but the attention it has got us on Twitter means we consider the bill paid."

       (Japanese original by Mari Sakane, Nagano Bureau)

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