The Connecting Corridor of the 100 Year Old Garden Inn

The Connecting Corridor of Hyakunen Teien no Yado Suisui: A Quietly Elegant Passage Through a Century-Old Garden

Tucked within the busy heart of Kokura, the old castle town of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, stands a remarkable three-room ryokan known as Hyakunen Teien no Yado Suisui. Among its nationally recognized structures, one of the most quietly compelling is the watari-rōka, or connecting corridor. Modest in scale yet rich in craft, this open-air passage links three sukiya-style guest pavilions and carries visitors through a garden that has been cultivated for more than a century. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in February 2022, the corridor invites travelers to slow down, breathe in the scent of pine and moss, and experience a form of architecture designed to dissolve the boundary between interior and landscape.

Historical Background

The story of the corridor is inseparable from the long history of the surrounding grounds, known today as the former Hozankaku Garden (旧豊山閣庭園). The property began in 1889 (Meiji 22) as the residence of Yamamoto Kisaburo, an industrialist and member of the House of Representatives who made his fortune in the coal mines of northern Kyushu. Set on approximately 2,000 tsubo (roughly 6,600 square meters) of land along the Kandake River, a tributary of the Murasaki River that flows through central Kokura, the estate was designed with a pond-stroll garden occupying about 1,000 tsubo, incorporating the dramatic backdrop of Mount Atago as a borrowed landscape.

In 1915 (Taisho 4), ownership passed to Kobayashi Tokuichiro, another self-made industrialist originally from the mountainous Okuizumo region of Shimane. Kobayashi renamed the estate Hozankaku (豊山閣), combining characters drawn from the Hokoku Coal Mine and from his mentor Yamamoto. Under his stewardship the garden became a cultural gathering place, hosting tea ceremonies and haiku circles and welcoming prominent visitors. Historical records note that General Nogi Maresuke, celebrated as both a military leader and a literary figure, stayed in a shinden-style inn on these grounds while inspecting the 12th Division here in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War.

After the Second World War, around 1949 (Showa 24), the estate was transformed into Ryokan Tagawa, a high-end inn that for decades served as one of Kitakyushu's foremost hospitality venues. The garden earned a reputation as a "famous garden of pines" (松の名園) for its magnificent black pine plantings. The present connecting corridor was built in 1962, during the Showa period, as part of the later enlargement of the ryokan's detached guest wing. In 2018 the property joined the MyStays Hotel Management group, and in April 2021 the three detached buildings were reborn as the exclusive three-room lodging Hyakunen Teien no Yado Suisui.

Why the Corridor Was Designated a Cultural Property

On February 17, 2022, the Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the connecting corridor, together with the three adjoining guest buildings Genkai, Kiku, and Sugao, as National Tangible Cultural Properties. The designation honors the ensemble as an advanced example of modern sukiya architecture, in which traditional teahouse-inspired construction was combined with contemporary comforts and inventive design touches.

The corridor itself was praised for fulfilling a subtle but essential role within this composition. Although it is a passage rather than a primary guest space, its design quietly prepares visitors for the refined interiors beyond. Its rustic materials and restrained detailing mediate between the lush garden outside and the polished tatami rooms within, embodying the sukiya ideal of unadorned sophistication. Cultural heritage specialists highlighted the skilled carpentry visible throughout and the way the structure engages the garden without overwhelming it.

Architectural Highlights of the Watari-rōka

The corridor is a single-story wooden structure with a gabled, copper-sheet roof, measuring about 30 square meters in footprint. It is a study in deliberate simplicity, and visitors often find themselves pausing to admire details they might have walked past elsewhere.

Visitor Information and the Surrounding Garden

Because the corridor is part of an operating ryokan, the most rewarding way to experience it is to stay overnight or reserve a meal in one of the three detached rooms. Guests cross the corridor each time they move between their suite, the main building, and the garden, and the changing light throughout the day transforms its character—from the dappled green shade of morning to the lantern glow of evening.

The property sits within the roughly 2,300-square-meter former Hozankaku Garden, which itself was registered as a National Registered Monument (scenic location category) in 2025 under the name Kyū-Hozankaku Garden (Former Ryokan Tagawa). This pond-stroll garden features artificial hills, a cascade of carefully arranged stones, and mature black pines, all framed against Mount Atago in the distance. Koi glide through the central pond and can sometimes be fed during a post-breakfast stroll.

Surrounding Attractions

The location places guests within walking distance of many of Kokura's most beloved sights. Tanga Market, a lively traditional shopping street often called Kitakyushu's kitchen, is just a few minutes away on foot. Kokura Castle and its surrounding Japanese garden, the Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum honoring the celebrated mystery novelist, and the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art Annex are all easily reachable in a short walk. Those interested in shrines can visit Yasaka Shrine near the castle grounds.

The area is also an ideal base for exploring wider Kitakyushu, with Mojiko Retro and its turn-of-the-century port architecture accessible by train, and access to Shimonoseki across the Kanmon Strait for those seeking a day trip into neighboring Yamaguchi Prefecture.