Photo Gallery

Through the gate, past the noren at the entrance, and into the tatami rooms.
The photographs are arranged in the order you would meet them, from arrival to departure. Click any photo to see it larger.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

── 01

arrival

A merchant’s house
behind a long black fence.

A black board fence runs 120 metres through the middle of Kakuda. The house of a merchant family that once carried the local economy still stands as it was.

MARUKI Saifuku seen from the street — The house from the street. A white-walled storehouse and the black fence run on together. About 1.5 km from Kakuda Station, three minutes by car. Free parking for three cars; for a fourth car onwards we will point you to free parking nearby.

The house and garden at dusk — As the sun goes down, lights begin to come on behind the black lattice doors.

Bamboo lattice gate into the garden — The way into the garden. Open the bamboo lattice gate and you step out to the pond where the koi swim.

Noren curtain at the entrance — The noren curtain reads “an inn in a registered tangible cultural property”. The entrance is just beyond.

── 02

rooms

Slide the fusuma open
and the rooms become one.

Four tatami rooms in all — three connecting rooms downstairs and one upstairs — about 200 square metres, taken by a single group each day. Close the fusuma and each becomes a private room; open them and the floor becomes one hall. Being able to change the shape of the rooms to suit your party is the pleasure of an old Japanese house.

Main room with carved transoms — Look up and there are three transoms carved with pines and waves. The ceiling is high, and the view carries through to the room with the gold folding screen. This is the heart of the house.

Tatami room with a tokonoma alcove — The room with the tokonoma alcove. A hanging scroll, Kutani ware, gold-leaf fusuma and a gold screen — the setting of the family’s most prosperous years, kept as it was.

Upstairs tatami room — The upstairs tatami room. Soft light comes through the shoji. A place to retreat to when you want quiet, away from the floor below. Air conditioning is fitted.

Tatami room just inside the entrance — The room just inside the entrance. A black lacquer screen and a paulownia chest greet you. Even the transom below the shoji is finely worked.

Tatami room with a leather sofa — A room where the light through the shoji turns soft. A deep leather sofa and a low table — a room for doing nothing in particular.

Connecting rooms with the fusuma open — Open the fusuma and the rooms run straight to the back of the house. A sofa in the near room, futons for everyone on the right, and the dining room and kitchen at the far end. Seven guests as standard, up to nine.

Engawa veranda facing the garden — The glass-walled engawa veranda facing the garden. A clothes rack is there for your coats. In the morning, sit down here and look out at the garden.

── 03

theater

At night, the room
becomes a cinema.

A 100-inch screen and a 4K projector. Lie on the tatami and watch a film, put on a concert, show old family photographs to everyone at once. It adds one more way to spend the evening.

100-inch screen projected in the tatami room — Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+ and other apps are installed; just connect to the Wi-Fi. Please note that Japanese terrestrial television is not available.

── 04

bath & bedding

Everything to do with water
has been renewed.

This is what most people worry about when staying in an old house. The bath, washbasin, toilet and kitchen have all been fully renovated. Sleeping, bathing and the toilet are all on the ground floor, so there is no need to use the stairs at night.

Washroom — Two black ceramic basins and two round mirrors, so nobody waits when everyone is getting ready in the morning.

Renovated toilet — The toilet has been renewed as well. It is on the ground floor, so there are no stairs to climb at night.

Washbasin — The washbasin. A hairdryer, toothbrushes, lotion and milky lotion are provided.

Bathroom finished in wood — The bathroom. Shampoo, conditioner and body soap are provided.

Towels for everyone in your party. You can arrive empty-handed.

Amenities — Lotion and milky lotion for sensitive skin, toothbrushes and the like. The small things are here too.

Futons for everyone. Lay them out in whichever of the four tatami rooms you like. Sleeping, bathing and the toilet are all on the ground floor.

── 05

kitchen

Set the table
yourselves.

We do not serve dinner. Instead the kitchen and all the tableware are yours to use. Cook a hot pot with local ingredients, order a catered meal, or simply lay out what you bought on the way. Bringing in catering is free, and we charge nothing for it.