About the Hakkakutei Lodging Building
The Hakkakutei Lodging Building (八鶴亭宿泊館, Hakkakutei Shukuhakukan) is a two-storey timber guest-room wing built around 1918 on the shore of Hakkaku Lake in Tōgane, Togane City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 28, 2009. It is the oldest of the five registered buildings at Hakkakutei, and the preservation group and its room-rental notices also call it the kyūkan (old wing) or shukuhakutō (lodging wing).
The Hakkakutei Lodging Building joins the New Building on its east side and closes the eastern end of the three buildings that face the lake. Its building area is 98 m², and the Agency for Cultural Affairs records that it was altered around 1979.
A Hipped Roof and an L-Shaped Plan
The roof is hipped and laid with pantiles, with sheet-metal eaves running all the way round beneath it. The Main Building and the New Building next door combine hip-and-gable roofs; the Hakkakutei Lodging Building alone has a roof that slopes down on all four sides.
The plan is an L. A hall takes the west end of the ground floor, and guest rooms fill the east end and the whole of the upper floor. Unlike the Main Building, with its entrance and banquet hall, this was a wing given over mainly to overnight guests.
Why the Lodging Building Was Registered
The Hakkakutei Lodging Building was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape. The agency's description sets it in a row: with the tall New Building at the centre, the Main Building and the Lodging Building stand on either side with different ridge heights and roof forms, and the three together add colour to the scenery of Hakkaku Lake.
The value, in other words, lies less in the building on its own than in the part it plays in the lakeside line of the inn. Set low beside the three-storey New Building, the two-storey hipped wing gives the rooflines their step.
One visit is on record. Togane City notes that in 1946 Crown Prince Tsugu-no-miya, now the Emperor Emeritus, came to the Hakkakutei Lodging Building while a middle-school student at Gakushūin.
Seeing and Using the Lodging Building
Of the five buildings, the Hakkakutei Lodging Building is the one you can still book. The volunteer group Minna no Hakkakukan rents out Sakura Hall, the former wedding annex, together with rooms in the adjoining old wing by the hour. Bookings are normally made at least a week ahead (checked October 2026).
Without a booking, you will need to wait for one of the group's irregular public open days to see inside. The exterior is visible from the lakeshore road, and from the far shore you can pick out the low hipped roof continuing east from the New Building. Directions and general visiting conditions are on the Hakkakutei page.
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Q&A
- When was the Hakkakutei Lodging Building built?
- Around 1918, which makes it the oldest of the five registered buildings at Hakkakutei. It was altered around 1979.
- Is the Hakkakutei Lodging Building the same as the "old wing" mentioned in rental notices?
- Yes. Its registered name is Hakkakutei Shukuhakukan, and the preservation group also calls it the kyūkan (old wing) or shukuhakutō (lodging wing).
- Did any member of the imperial family visit the Hakkakutei Lodging Building?
- According to Togane City, Crown Prince Tsugu-no-miya, now the Emperor Emeritus, visited in 1946 while a student at the Gakushūin middle school.
- Can I rent a room in the Hakkakutei Lodging Building?
- Yes. Minna no Hakkakukan rents rooms in the old wing by the hour. Applications are normally due a week before the date of use (checked October 2026).
- Why is the Hakkakutei Lodging Building a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2009 as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape, because it lines up with the Main and New buildings, each with a different height and roof, to shape the view of Hakkaku Lake.
Basic Information
| Name | Hakkakutei Lodging Building (八鶴亭宿泊館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1406-1 Tōgane, Togane City, Chiba Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2009 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 98 m² (timber, two storeys, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Hakkakutei Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Not open regularly. Rooms rented by the hour. Interior open on irregular public open days |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Hakkakutei Lodging Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007612
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hakkakutei Lodging Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/120484
- Togane City: Hakkakutei, Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Japanese)
- https://www.city.togane.chiba.jp/0000004554.html
- Chiba Prefectural Board of Education: Hakkakutei Main Building and others (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-048.html
- Hakkakuko e Ikō: Room and hall rental (Japanese)
- https://hakkakuko.com/roomforrent/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
