A Meiji Guest Wing Built for Taking the Waters
Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku (中房温泉本館菊, Nakabusa Onsen Honkan Kiku) is a two-storey timber guest building of the mid-Meiji era at Nakabusa Onsen in Hodaka Ariake, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 July 2011.
Kiku, meaning chrysanthemum, is the wing's own name. It carries registration number 20-0372, the first of the seven properties registered at the spa that day, and it is the only one of the seven with rooms for guests.
The block runs east to west under a gabled sheet-metal roof, 13 metres long and 5.4 metres deep, with a building area of 123 square metres. A single-storey bathhouse is attached to the west gable end. Rest upstairs, walk down to the bath, climb back up: the daily routine of a healing stay is built into the plan.
An Open South Front
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a veranda running along the south side of each floor, with four tatami rooms set behind it. The whole south elevation is treated as open. On the ground floor the sliding doors come right down to floor level; upstairs there is a continuous run of windows. In a narrow valley where the sun drops early behind the ridges, turning every room to the south makes sense.
The building was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency calls the Main Building Kiku a good example of a modern hot spring spa building. Nothing here is ornamental. What earned the listing is a timber guest wing that keeps the plan it was built with, in the mountain setting it was built for.
Hoyano Shigeo, an architectural historian at Shinshu University, sees a second layer of meaning. Walter Weston, the British missionary who did more than anyone to make the Japanese Alps known abroad, stayed in this building when he came to Nakabusa in 1912. In a later book Weston wrote that the spa would surely become one of the most attractive places among Japan's little-known corners. For Hoyano the wing is a surviving piece of the early history of modern climbing in the Northern Alps.
What to Look For
Start on the south side. The ground-floor openings and the upper windows line up in two horizontal bands, and you can count the rooms along the 13-metre front. With an engawa veranda between the rooms and the outside, the facade has very little solid wall.
Then walk round to the west end, where the roofline steps down to the single-storey bathhouse. The change in height shows exactly where the guest rooms end and the bath begins.
From here the neighbours fall into place: the Former Yukaisho, also Meiji, to the southwest; the Itakura Storehouse to the east; the Storehouse to the southeast. Turn on the spot and a Meiji guest wing and two late Edo stores share the same view.
Seeing the Building
The Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku stands inside a working inn and is not open for casual visits. Its exterior can be seen from within the grounds by overnight guests and by those booking one of the inn's day plans, which include a walk past the registered buildings.
Whether the interior is shown, and how the rooms are used today, is not published; if you want to see inside, ask Nakabusa Onsen when you book. No photography rule is posted, but take care near the bathhouse on the west side. Season and transport details are on the Nakabusa Onsen page.
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Q&A
- When was Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the mid-Meiji era. The registration record gives no exact year of completion.
- Did Walter Weston stay at Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku?
- Yes, according to architectural historian Hoyano Shigeo, who identifies it as the building where Weston stayed during his visit in 1912. The inn's own chronology also records Weston and his wife arriving that year.
- Can visitors go inside Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku?
- Interior access is not advertised. Overnight guests and day-plan users can see the exterior from within the grounds; ask when booking if you hope to see a room.
- How large is Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku?
- It is a two-storey timber building 13 metres by 5.4 metres, with a building area of 123 square metres and a single-storey bathhouse on the west side.
- Why is Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Its open south front, with a veranda and tatami rooms on each floor, is regarded as a good example of modern hot spring spa architecture.
Basic Information
| Name | Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku (中房温泉本館菊) |
|---|---|
| Location | 7226 Hodaka Ariake and other lots, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 20-0372 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2011/07/25 (Heisei 23) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, gabled sheet-metal roof, building area 123 sq m, 13 m by 5.4 m |
| Owner | Nakabusa Onsen Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable within the grounds by overnight guests and day-plan users; interior access not advertised |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Nakabusa Onsen Main Building Kiku
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008685
- Hoyano Shigeo, essay on the mountain culture of Nakabusa Onsen (Nakabusa Onsen website)
- https://nakabusa.com/pdf/historyandnature_03.pdf
- Nakabusa Onsen official website (baths, history, day plans)
- https://nakabusa.com/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
