A Villa Built to Watch the Moon Rise
Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan (箱根小涌園貴賓館, also written Kihin-kan), the former villa of Baron Fujita Heitaro (藤田平太郎), is a single-storey wooden residence in Ninotaira, Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, completed in 1918 and placed on Japan's national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 20 November 2001.
Fujita Heitaro was the eldest son of Fujita Denzaburo, founder of the Fujita business group, and himself headed Fujita-gumi. When he chose this slope above the Kowakidani hot springs, Hakone was filling with the second homes of politicians, peers and financiers. Land here was not scarce, and a man of his means could have built almost anywhere on the mountain.
According to the operator, he picked this particular plot for the moon.
The house faces roughly east. From the principal room, named Tsuki-no-ma (月の間, the Room of the Moon), the sightline runs straight toward Myojogatake, the peak known for its summer fire festival, with the ridge of Myojingatake off to the left. The moon climbs out of that skyline. Fujita had the main room glazed on three sides so that the ascent could be followed from inside, seated, without stepping onto the veranda.
Registered, Not Designated: What the Status Means
Japan runs two parallel systems for protecting historic buildings, and the difference matters when reading about this house. Important Cultural Properties (重要文化財) are designated by the state, which brings tight controls on any alteration. Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (登録有形文化財) are registered, a lighter framework introduced in 1996 for buildings roughly fifty years old or more that remain in daily use. Owners keep considerable freedom to adapt the interior, which is precisely how a baron's drawing room can now hold restaurant tables.
Kihinkan carries registration number 14-0059 and was entered in the thirty-first round of registrations, with the public notice issued on 4 December 2001. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single criterion: that the building is a model of design quality (造形の規範となっているもの).
That phrase points less at ornament than at planning. The entrance sits at the northern end. From there the reception rooms run southward in sequence, while the service wing (kitchen, staff areas) is set to the west across a small interior courtyard. Corridors link the rooms rather than opening one into the next. Anyone who has walked through a traditional Japanese house will recognise how unusual that is: the older pattern strings rooms together directly, so passing to the far end means crossing every room in between. Separating circulation from occupation was a modern move, and it is the reason the Agency's description calls the layout adept.
The construction is recorded as timber, single storey, roofed in tile with sections of zinc-coated steel sheet and copper, covering a building area of 860 square metres.
The Craftsman and the Client
Design and site supervision are credited to Imai Heishichi (今井平七), whom the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls one of the master craftsmen of the modern period. The present operator describes him as having worked on the Meiji Palace within the Imperial Palace grounds; that connection is not confirmed by the national database, so treat it as the house's own account rather than an established fact.
What is documented is the client's eye. Fujita inherited his father's appetite for antiques and was known as a serious collector of tea utensils and paintings, with strong opinions about buildings and gardens. He specified costly materials for the interiors and kept the garden deliberately plain, so that nothing competed with the sky above the ridge. The result reads as restrained rather than lavish, which is the harder thing to pull off.
The garden survives alongside the house. So does a converted storehouse on the grounds, now fitted out as a small two-floor gallery called Geijutsu-gura (芸術蔵, the art storehouse), showing around sixteen works at a time by painters including Yamamoto Kyujin and Togo Seiji. Diners may view it during their visit.
From Private Retreat to Public Inn
The turn came after the war. Ogawa Eiichi, who founded Fujita Kanko and became its first president, acquired the villa and opened it in 1948 as an inn under the name Hakone Kowakien, working from a conviction he stated plainly: buildings that had belonged to a privileged few should be opened up, so that ordinary travellers could look at them and rest in them. Guests slept in these rooms for decades afterwards.
Around the original villa a resort grew, and eventually swallowed the view to the right, where Mount Sengen once showed above the trees. Today the grounds hold the Yunessun bathing complex, the ryokan Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu, and the Mori-no-Yu open-air baths.
Kihinkan itself now operates as a soba restaurant. Lunch runs from 11:30 to 15:00, with last orders at 14:30; the evening service from 17:00 to 22:00 is reserved for guests staying on the property. Dishes range from cold or hot soba at 2,600 yen to a set of grilled eel with soba at 5,800 yen, and the buckwheat comes from Hokuryu in Hokkaido. Lunch seats are taken by telephone on 0460-82-8050. Anyone dining at Kihinkan may also use the Mori-no-Yu baths on the Yunessun site.
Booking ahead is sensible, particularly for the private rooms, and celebration menus for four or more require seven days' notice with a single group per day.
Getting There, and What to Look For
From Hakone-Yumoto Station, Hakone Tozan Bus or Izuhakone Bus reaches the Kowakien stop in about twenty minutes; the entrance is directly across the road. From Odawara Station the same buses take roughly forty minutes. Parking is available on site.
Once inside, three things repay attention. The corridor from the entrance is long and deliberately so, drawing the walk southward before any room opens. The window glass in places is original Taisho-period sheet, which distorts the garden slightly as you move past it. And in Tsuki-no-ma, the alcove fittings and the ceiling reward a slow look upward before the food arrives.
Photography inside is generally accepted for personal use, though the room is a working restaurant and other diners deserve consideration. Confirm with staff before photographing the artworks in the storehouse gallery.
The best hour, if the calendar allows, is not lunchtime at all. It is the evening of a full moon in autumn, which is available only to those sleeping on the grounds.
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Q&A
- Can visitors go inside Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan, and is there an admission fee?
- There is no admission charge and no separate tour. The building operates as a soba restaurant, so entry comes with a meal. Lunch runs 11:30 to 15:00 with last orders at 14:30, and telephone reservations are taken on 0460-82-8050. Dinner service between 17:00 and 22:00 is limited to guests staying on the Hakone Kowakien grounds.
- When was Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan built, and who was it built for?
- It was completed in 1918 as the villa of Baron Fujita Heitaro, president of Fujita-gumi and eldest son of the group's founder Fujita Denzaburo. Design and supervision are credited to Imai Heishichi. The building later became an inn in 1948 under Fujita Kanko's first president, Ogawa Eiichi.
- Is Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan a National Treasure or an Important Cultural Property?
- Neither. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, registered on 20 November 2001 with the number 14-0059. Registration is a lighter form of protection than designation, intended for buildings still in everyday use, and it allows the interior to be adapted for functions such as a restaurant.
- How do you reach Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan from Hakone-Yumoto Station?
- Take a Hakone Tozan Bus or Izuhakone Bus bound for Motohakone or Hakone-machi and get off at Kowakien, about twenty minutes. The site is immediately across the road. From Odawara Station the ride is roughly forty minutes, and there is parking for those driving.
- What should visitors look for inside Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan?
- The principal room, Tsuki-no-ma, is glazed on three sides and aligned toward Myojogatake so that the rising moon can be watched from a seated position. The plan is worth noticing too: rooms are linked by corridors rather than opening directly into one another. The converted storehouse gallery on the grounds shows about sixteen paintings at a time and may be viewed by diners.
Basic Information
| Name | Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan (Former Fujita Heitaro Villa) / 箱根小涌園貴賓館（旧藤田平太郎別荘） |
|---|---|
| Location | 1297 Ninotaira, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 14-0059; criterion: a model of design quality |
| Year Designated | Registered 20 November 2001; public notice 4 December 2001 (31st round of registration) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey; tile roof with sections of zinc-coated steel sheet and copper; building area 860 m² |
| Owner | Fujita Kanko Inc. |
| Public Access | Open as the restaurant Soba Kihinkan. Lunch 11:30–15:00 (L.O. 14:30); dinner 17:00–22:00 for staying guests only. Reservations 0460-82-8050. No separate admission fee. |
| Built | 1918 (Taisho 7); design and supervision by Imai Heishichi |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs — Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan (Former Fujita Heitaro Villa)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002527
- Cultural Heritage Online — Hakone Kowakien Kihinkan (Former Fujita Heitaro Villa)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/115607
- Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu official site — Soba Kihinkan, history and features
- https://www.ten-yu.com/kihinkan.html
- Hakone Kowakien Mikawaya Ryokan official site — Soba Kihinkan and the art storehouse
- https://www.hakonekowakien-mikawaya.jp/kihinkan.html
- Hakone Navi — Soba Kihinkan
- https://www.hakonenavi.jp/spot/1326
Last verified: 2026.08.13