Rooms Added in a Boom
The Hanaya Hotel Building 50 is a two-storey timber wing of the early Shōwa period at the ryokan Hanaya in Bessho Onsen, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, entered on the national roll of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 18, 2006. The Shōwa era began in 1926; the inn had opened in 1917.
It stands west of the main building and runs on from the south side of the central wing. A hip-and-gable roof of pantiles covers a frontage of 6 ken, and the floor area is 181 square metres.
Inside are two guest rooms placed side by side, each an 8-mat zashiki with an anteroom in front, arranged as detached quarters. The name comes from a room number, and Hanaya still identifies its rooms by number today.
Why the Inn Was Growing
The official description calls the Hanaya Hotel Building 50 (花屋ホテル五〇番棟) an addition built during a period of brisk trade in the early Shōwa years. The inn fills in the background. Ueda had become a centre of the silk industry, known as the silkworm capital, and merchants came from outside the prefecture to buy silkworm eggs, filling the lodgings at Bessho Onsen.
The criterion recorded is that the building serves as a model of design, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs notes accomplished sukiya craftsmanship in it. Rooms put up quickly to meet demand did not come at the cost of the work.
Hanaya says it repeatedly refused proposals to rebuild in reinforced concrete during the Shōwa decades. The survival of timber wings such as the Hanaya Hotel Building 50 follows from that refusal.
What to Look for
The siting is the first curiosity. These are detached quarters, yet the wing continues directly from the south side of the central block, so it is neither wholly separate nor part of a corridor of rooms. The logic of the whole property, wings linked by covered walks, meets the logic of the single detached room right here.
Sukiya carpentry works by restraint rather than display. Posts are slender, arrises are handled quietly, ornament is sparse. In the Hanaya Hotel Building 50, the craft shows up in proportion and fit rather than in anything that announces itself.
From outside, the hip-and-gable roof runs the length of the 6 ken frontage. Standing west of the main building, the wing can be viewed across the garden at an easy angle, and the pairing of two zashiki with anterooms between shows up in the rhythm of the openings.
Visiting the Hanaya Hotel Building 50
These rooms are in use and there is no arrangement for viewing them. Going inside means booking a stay, and Hanaya states that room requests are accepted only for rooms listed by number on its website, so anyone hoping for this particular wing should telephone before reserving.
Without staying overnight, the way into the buildings is a day-use lunch or dinner reservation, which reaches the dining spaces but not the guest rooms. The hot spring baths are not open to day visitors alone. Callers with no booking are admitted to the entrance lobby only, on prior notice from a staying guest, and not after 6 p.m.
For overnight guests, check-in is 3 p.m. with arrival requested by 6 p.m., and check-out is 11 a.m.; those staying more than one night may remain in the building between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A bathing tax of 150 yen and an accommodation tax of 200 yen are settled in cash.
Bessho Onsen Station on the Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line is about 5 minutes on foot, roughly 30 minutes by train from Ueda Station. By car, allow around 35 minutes from the Ueda-Sugadaira interchange; parking on the grounds is free and no shuttle operates. The complex is timber, with no lift and many steps. No photography policy is published.
Q&A
- When was the Hanaya Hotel Building 50 built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Shōwa period, an era that began in 1926. As the inn opened in 1917, this wing came about a decade later.
- Why was the Hanaya Hotel Building 50 added?
- The official record describes it as an addition made during brisk trade in the early Shōwa years. The inn explains that Ueda had grown into a silk-industry centre and that merchants buying silkworm eggs filled the hot spring lodgings.
- What is the layout of the Hanaya Hotel Building 50?
- Two guest rooms side by side, each an 8-mat zashiki with an anteroom, arranged as detached quarters. It is a two-storey timber building with a 6 ken frontage under a hip-and-gable pantile roof, covering 181 square metres.
- Can guests stay in the Hanaya Hotel Building 50?
- The rooms remain in service, but Hanaya accepts requests only for rooms shown by number on its website. Call the inn before booking if this wing is what you want.
- What is the designation status of the Hanaya Hotel Building 50?
- It is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registered on October 18, 2006 under number 20-0289. The quantity is one building and the criterion is that it serves as a model of design.
Basic Information
| Name | Hanaya Hotel Building 50 (花屋ホテル五〇番棟) |
|---|---|
| Location | 169 Bessho Onsen, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on October 18, 2006 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber construction, tiled roof, building area 181 square metres, 6 ken frontage |
| Owner | Hanaya Hotel Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | A guest room wing in a working ryokan. The interior can be seen only by staying guests |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Hanaya Hotel Building 50
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005873
- Ryokan Hanaya, Guide to the Registered Buildings
- https://www.hanaya.ne.jp/kannai.htm
- Ryokan Hanaya, Frequently Asked Questions
- https://www.hanaya.ne.jp/faq.htm
- Ueda City, Designated and Registered Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.ueda.nagano.jp/soshiki/shogaku/1317.html
Last verified: 2026.09.09