About the Hakkakutei New Building
The Hakkakutei New Building (八鶴亭新館, Hakkakutei Shinkan) is a three-storey timber inn building completed in 1937 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 adjoins the Main Building on the east and has the highest ridge of the five registered buildings at Hakkakutei.
Its building area is just 104 m², about a quarter of the Main Building's, so the Hakkakutei New Building stacks its three floors on a compact footprint. The roof combines hip-and-gable sections in pantiles, and a gable is turned toward the lake as well. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records no later alterations.
Why the New Building Was Registered
The Hakkakutei New Building was registered as a structure that has become a model of its type. The agency's description points to an interior in which every room was given its own ceiling design and its own choice of fine timber.
The 20-mat room on the second floor is the clearest example. Its alcove post is a shibori log of ebony, a log whose surface shows fine vertical ridges. Togane City also picks out this ebony post in the alcove of the second-floor hall as a highlight of the building.
The lakeside view counts too. The agency notes that with the New Building at the centre, and the Main Building to the west and the Lodging Building to the east differing in height and roof form, the three together add colour to the scenery of Hakkaku Lake.
A Ceiling Worth Looking Up At
The ceiling of the stairwell is the detail to look for in the Hakkakutei New Building. A rectangular panel of woven ajiro sits in the middle, with rafters arranged around it. Togane City calls it a karakasa ceiling, after the Japanese oiled-paper umbrella, and places it at the third-floor landing.
Stairwells are usually spaces you pass through without a glance, but here the builders finished even the ceiling. On an open day, stop on the landing and look up.
From outside, the far shore of the lake gives the best view. The gable of the Hakkakutei New Building rises a full storey above the lower roofs on either side.
Seeing the New Building
The interior of the Hakkakutei New Building can be visited on the irregular public open days run by the volunteer group Minna no Hakkakukan. It is not open every day, and open days are announced on the group's website (checked October 2026).
The group's activity reports describe volunteers repairing a water leak in the second-floor corridor and a drain pipe in a ceiling, so upkeep is very much ongoing. The exterior can be seen from the lakeshore road and the path around the lake. Directions and general visiting conditions are on the Hakkakutei page.
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Q&A
- How tall is the Hakkakutei New Building, and when was it built?
- It is a three-storey timber building completed in 1937, the tallest of the five registered buildings at Hakkakutei.
- What wood is used for the alcove post in the Hakkakutei New Building?
- The alcove of the 20-mat room on the second floor has a post of ebony, in the form of a shibori log with a finely ridged surface.
- What is the stairwell ceiling in the Hakkakutei New Building like?
- A rectangle of woven ajiro in the centre, surrounded by rafters. Togane City describes it as a karakasa (umbrella) ceiling at the third-floor landing.
- Where is the best place to see the Hakkakutei New Building from outside?
- From the far shore of Hakkaku Lake, where its three-storey gable stands above the Main Building and the Lodging Building on either side.
- Can I go inside the Hakkakutei New Building?
- Only on the preservation group's irregular public open days. It is not open on a regular basis (checked October 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Hakkakutei New Building (八鶴亭新館) |
|---|---|
| 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 104 m² (timber, three storeys, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Hakkakutei Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Not open regularly. Interior open on irregular public open days |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Hakkakutei New Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007611
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hakkakutei New Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/187513
- 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 (Minna no Hakkakukan, Japanese)
- https://hakkakuko.com/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
