Sumiyoshi Ryokan

About Sumiyoshi Ryokan

Sumiyoshi Ryokan (寿美吉旅館) is an inn built in 1923 on the west bank of the Miya River in Honmachi 4-chome, Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, whose main house, kitchen wing and storehouse were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Property structures on December 3, 2024. The buildings were originally the shop, house and storehouses of the Sumi pawnshop, whose name the Agency for Cultural Affairs records alongside the inn's (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The inn, which writes its name with an older form of the first character, describes itself as a Taisho-era Takayama town house that has long served as a restaurant inn (Sumiyoshi Ryokan).

Three Buildings

The main house, a two-storey timber building of 1923, faces west onto the street, its ground-floor front fitted with the vertical lattice characteristic of Takayama. On its north side is a late-Taisho former miso storehouse, now a kitchen below and a storeroom above; on its south side is the 1923 former pledge storehouse, a heavily built store with earthen doors and iron window grilles (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The main house was registered as a model of design, and the kitchen wing and storehouse as contributing to the historic landscape; the Agency notes that the main house and kitchen wing together help preserve the historic look of the street.

Staying at Sumiyoshi Ryokan

Sumiyoshi Ryokan still operates as an inn, so its interiors are seen by staying there; we found no official information on visits by non-guests. The exterior can be seen from the street along the Miya River. The address is 4-21 Honmachi, Takayama City; telephone 0577-32-0228 (Sumiyoshi Ryokan).