Moricho Ryokan Storehouse
The Moricho Ryokan Storehouse (森長旅館土蔵) is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse of the early Showa period in Funakawaminato, Oga City, Akita Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on February 9, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records it as built in the early Showa period, a two-storey earthen-walled kura with a sheet-metal roof and a building area of 74 square metres; registration number 05-0115.
Built to hold the inn's goods and bedding, its black-and-white plaster catches the eye even from the street. Today the whole interior has been turned into a sauna, the "kura sauna" that gives the inn its current name.
Structure and Finish
The Moricho Ryokan Storehouse stands in the northeast corner of the plot, across the garden from the Main Building. It is a two-storey earthen-walled kura with a gabled roof of the okiyane type, set on top of the walls as a separate structure, and that roof is propped on iron-rod brackets (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Using iron rather than timber for the eave braces is a giveaway of its modern date.
The door is on the west side, facing the garden, and each gable end has a single window. The building sits on dressed blocks of Oga stone; its walls are white plaster, with the base and the band under the eaves done in black plaster so that dark bands frame it top and bottom (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The windows facing the street are surrounded by relief work in plaster, which the Agency singles out as the feature that catches the eye. Concentrating the ornament on the street side suggests the kura was meant to be seen, as a kind of signboard for the inn.
Why It Was Registered
The Moricho Ryokan Storehouse was registered on February 9, 2005, together with the Main Building and the Annex, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
The Agency's description picks out the separate gabled roof on iron-rod brackets, the base of dressed Oga stone, the white plaster banded in black, and the plaster relief around the windows on the street side. A service building that still turns a decorated face to the road, it has helped shape the streetscape by Oga Station alongside the Main Building.
What to Look For
From outside, the plaster relief around the street-side windows and the contrast of white and black are what you notice first. Look down and you will see the cut Oga stone of the base.
At the gable ends you can see the iron brackets carrying the eaves of the separate roof. The gap between wall and roof in this kind of construction is generally explained as a way of protecting a kura from fire.
Inside, according to the inn, the space has been fitted out as the "NAMOMI SAUNA KURA", lined in Aomori hiba cypress, with sauna stones of kanaishi, a hard rock found on the Oga Peninsula. There are rest areas upstairs and in the garden, and two cold plunge tubs made from wooden vats handed down from a koji maker are fed with water from Takinokashira, a spring in Oga.
Visiting
Only sauna users can go inside the Moricho Ryokan Storehouse, but you do not have to stay overnight. The storehouse sauna is men-only (capacity 12) from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekdays except Fridays and from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Fridays, weekends and holidays, with last admission at 8:00 p.m.; on the 2nd Tuesday and 4th Sunday of each month it becomes women-only (official website, checked October 2026).
For the open-air rest area in the garden you need a swimsuit or a poncho, which can be rented for 500 yen (official website). Check prices and booking on the inn's website. A sauna is no place for a camera, so take your pictures of the exterior and from the garden side.
The exterior can be seen from the street, which is also the best place to appreciate the plaster relief around the windows.
Q&A
- Can you go inside the Moricho Ryokan Storehouse?
- Yes, by using the sauna, either as a day visitor or an overnight guest; the whole interior is now the NAMOMI SAUNA KURA (official website). There is no arrangement for viewing the building alone.
- Can women use the sauna in the Moricho Ryokan Storehouse?
- The storehouse sauna is normally men-only, with women-only days on the 2nd Tuesday and 4th Sunday of each month (official website, checked October 2026).
- What should you look for at the Moricho Ryokan Storehouse?
- The plaster relief around the street-side windows, the white plaster banded in black, the base of dressed Oga stone, and the separate roof carried on iron brackets (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All can be seen from outside.
- When was the Moricho Ryokan Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Showa period without giving an exact year.
- When was the Moricho Ryokan Storehouse registered?
- On February 9, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Moricho Ryokan Storehouse (森長旅館土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 82 Sakaemachi, Funakawa, Funakawaminato, Oga City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/2/9 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse, 2 storeys, sheet-metal roof; building area 74 square metres |
| Owner | Chuo Kenso Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior in use as a sauna (open to day-use visitors and guests). Exterior visible from the street |
References
- Moricho Ryokan Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004496
- Sauna (Moricho Ryokan official website, Japanese)
- https://morichoryokan.com/sauna/
Last verified: 2026.10.28
