Kihachiya Ryokan
Kihachiya Ryokan (喜八屋旅館) is an inn in Ogimachi, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, whose Old Building of 1905 and two late Taisho buildings, the Annex (Ura-Sangai) and the Stone Storehouse, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on August 3, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All three are privately owned (Sado City).
According to Sado City, Kihachiya grew out of Izumiya, a shipping house of the Edo period that was counted among the five leading merchant houses when the port of Ogi was opened. After the great fire of Ogi in 1904 the family rebuilt its premises as an inn and went into the inn business in May 1906.
Sado City's townscape survey of Ogi, published in March 2023, gives the Old Building of Kihachiya Ryokan its own entry as a large town house on the seaward side of Asahimachi and calls the 5-storey building a landmark of the town. Part of Ogimachi was selected as a nationally protected historic townscape, an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, on August 15, 2024 (Sado City).
How the Three Buildings Sit
The Old Building of Kihachiya Ryokan faces west onto the road that runs parallel to the shoreline of Ogi Port (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Annex (Ura-Sangai) stands directly behind it to the east, and the Stone Storehouse lies northeast of the Annex, so the buildings step back from the street towards the sea.
The Annex was built for the view of the sea to the east, and the storehouse roof served as a terrace for its guest rooms (Agency for Cultural Affairs); Sado City notes that it was called the "balcony". When the storehouse was built it stood at the very back of the plot, facing the shore.
The Old Building is a Meiji town house with three storeys added in the early Showa period, the Annex a 3-storey timber building with guest rooms on the top floor only, and the storehouse a 2-storey building of Oya stone. Each is described on its own page.
Visiting
Kihachiya Ryokan is about five minutes on foot from Ogi Port (Niigata Prefectural Tourism Association). Sado Kisen ferries link Ogi Port with Naoetsu Port in Joetsu City (Sado Kisen).
The Niigata Prefectural Tourism Association reports that part of the Old Building's ground floor has been converted into Kihachiya Goro Cafe, listed as open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, with other irregular closures. This is the only part of the interior you can enter; check the current opening before you go.
No official information was found on access to the Old Building's upper floors, the Annex or the Stone Storehouse. Sado City's 2023 survey report says the rooms at the back of the Old Building's second floor, the Annex and the storehouse were too badly decayed to be surveyed. Expect to see the buildings from the street.
References
- Kihachiya Ryokan Old Building (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005596
- Kihachiya Ryokan Annex (Ura-Sangai) (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005597
- Kihachiya Ryokan Stone Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005598
- Kihachiya Ryokan, Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Sado City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4958.html
- Survey Report on the Traditional Buildings of Ogimachi, Chapter 4: Individual Buildings (Sado City, 2023, Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/uploaded/attachment/37998.pdf
- Ogimachi Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings (Sado City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/67601.html
- Model course: Sado and Joetsu, Kihachiya Goro Cafe (Niigata Prefectural Tourism Association, Japanese)
- https://niigata-kankou.or.jp/course/detail_50.html
- Sado Kisen official website
- https://www.sadokisen.co.jp/
Last verified: 2026.11.09
Basic Information
| Name | Kihachiya Ryokan |
|---|---|
| Location | 55-1 Ogimachi, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, and other locations |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (3) |
| Coordinates | 37.81631, 138.27976 |
