The Hub of an Old Spa Inn
Fubokaku Main Building (不忘閣本館, Fubōkaku Honkan) is the two-storey timber centrepiece of the Yumoto Fubokaku inn at Aone Onsen in Kawasaki Town, Miyagi Prefecture, built in 1907 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 19 December 2014.
It covers 253 square metres and sits near the middle of the site, its ridge running north to south under a sheet-iron roof. A carriage porch with an irimoya (hip-and-gable) roof projects from the centre of the front, and a bay used as a rest room pushes out from the centre of the back.
The date carries a story. Miyagi Prefecture records a tradition that the building went up the year after a great fire swept Aone Onsen in 1906. Of the seven registered buildings, only the three storehouses of 1896 on the north side of the site, which survived that fire, are older.
Two Corridors, Four Quarters
The Fubokaku Main Building is more interesting on plan than in elevation. On both floors two central corridors cross at right angles and cut the building into four quarters, each holding its own rooms.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out one detail: every room has Zashiki fittings of a different design. Alcove, shelving and framing change from room to room, so that no two reception rooms feel the same. The annex built later takes the opposite approach and lines up identical guest rooms.
Registration came under the criterion of contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency credits the building's imposing presence with giving the place the feel of a traditional cure resort, and that is fair: a full two storeys fronted by a gabled porch is how a spa inn announced that it expected distinguished guests.
What to Look For
Start with the porch. Its gable faces forward and sits a storey below the main roof, a formal entrance meant for arriving guests rather than for staff or deliveries.
Inside, stand where the corridors cross. Looking down each arm, the four-part plan makes sense at once. To compare the room fittings, look into neighbouring rooms one after another; the differences show best side by side.
From the south side of the Fubokaku Main Building a covered corridor leads to the Annex, and from there to the Palace Building. The chain of registered guest buildings begins here.
Visiting the Main Building
The building belongs to a working ryokan, and its interior is open to overnight guests. Day visits are not offered. Anyone staying will pass through its corridors and rooms in the ordinary course of a visit.
Photograph with care. Other guests use these spaces, and any room serving as a guest room is private; follow the staff's guidance on where cameras are welcome. If you are not staying, please keep off the grounds.
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Q&A
- When was the Fubokaku Main Building built?
- In 1907. Miyagi Prefecture notes a tradition that it was built the year after the great fire that struck Aone Onsen in 1906.
- Can visitors go inside the Fubokaku Main Building?
- Only as guests of the Yumoto Fubokaku inn. The building is part of a working ryokan, and day visits are not offered.
- What is unusual about the layout of the Fubokaku Main Building?
- On both floors two central corridors cross at right angles, dividing the plan into four quarters, and each room has alcove fittings of a different design.
- Where is the carriage porch on the Fubokaku Main Building?
- It projects from the centre of the front facade under an irimoya (hip-and-gable) roof. A bay used as a rest room projects from the centre of the back.
- When was the Fubokaku Main Building registered as a cultural property?
- On 19 December 2014, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property with registration number 04-0097. The other six Fubokaku buildings were registered the same day.
Basic Information
| Name | Fubokaku Main Building (不忘閣本館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1 Aone Onsen, Kawasaki Town, Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 04-0097 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/12/19 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, sheet-iron roof, building area 253 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (part of the Yumoto Fubokaku inn) |
| Public Access | Working inn; interior open to overnight guests only |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Fubokaku Main Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010247
- Cultural Heritage Online: Fubokaku Main Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/235301
- Miyagi Prefecture: registration of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, 19 December 2014 (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.miyagi.jp/soshiki/bunkazai/touroku-toushin.html
- Yumoto Fubokaku official website: history (Japanese)
- https://www.fubokaku.com/history.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
