The Building at the Centre
Set toward the centre-north of the grounds, the main building is among the largest structures at Hanaya Hotel. It runs thirteen and a half ken along the front and six and a half ken deep, a two-storey timber building under an irimoya roof of unglazed pantiles, built in 1918.
Both floors are laid out on the same principle. Each guest room is built around an eight-mat tatami space with an anteroom in front, and every room is given a wide veranda opening toward the grounds.
Hanaya opened in 1917 in Bessho Onsen, established by a hot-spring company that local residents had formed the year before, the first tourism joint-stock company in the prefecture. The main building, raised the following year, became the centrepiece of the growing inn.
Listed for Its Craftsmanship
The main building was added to the register in 2006 under the criterion for structures not readily reproduced, the same recognition given to the inn's finest guest wing. The listing points squarely at the quality of the carpentry.
The alcove settings and other built-in features draw on accomplished joinery, the work of skilled carpenters shaping timber to a high standard. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the result as a refined and high-quality space.
That the same care was applied consistently across a building of this size, room after room on both floors, is part of what makes it hard to reproduce. The listing sets out to protect both the skill and the scale on which it was deployed.
What to Look For
Look closely at the alcove settings and the joinery around them. The precision of the fitted timber, the clean lines of the built-in features, is where the carpenters' skill is most visible, and it is the reason the building is listed.
Notice the wide verandas that wrap every room. This continuous engawa mediates between the tatami interior and the grounds outside, and it gives the main building its unhurried, open feel.
As the centrepiece of a working ryokan, the main building is experienced by staying in it. Its rooms remain in use, so the fine work is best appreciated from within, at the pace of an overnight visit.
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Q&A
- Why is the main building listed as hard to reproduce?
- Because its accomplished joinery and built-in features, applied consistently across a large two-storey building, would be difficult and costly to replicate today.
- How are the rooms laid out?
- Both floors hold guest rooms built around an eight-mat tatami space with an anteroom, and every room has a wide veranda opening to the grounds.
- When was it built?
- In 1918, the year after Hanaya opened, becoming the centrepiece of the inn.
- Can visitors stay in it?
- Yes. As the working inn's central building, its rooms remain in use and are best appreciated from within.
Basic Information
| Name | Hanaya Hotel Main Building |
|---|---|
| Location | 169 Bessho Onsen, Ueda, Nagano Prefecture |
| Category / Listing | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), listed 18 October 2006 |
| Registration No. | 20-0279 |
| Count | One structure |
| Structure | Two-storey timber, hip-and-gable (irimoya) pantile roof; footprint approx. 633 sq m |
| Period | Taisho 7 (1918) |
| Owner | Hanaya Hotel Co., Ltd. |
| Access | About 5 minutes on foot from Bessho Onsen Station (Ueda Electric Railway) |
| Note | Central building of the working ryokan; rooms in use |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース — 花屋ホテル（管理対象ID 00005854）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005854
- 文化遺産オンライン — 花屋ホテル（詳細 190580）
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/190580
- 旅館花屋 公式サイト — 館内・沿革のご案内
- https://www.hanaya.ne.jp/
Last verified: 2026.07.03