Okutsuso Main Building

The Heart of the Okutsu Onsen Streetscape

The Okutsuso Main Building (奥津荘本館) is a hot-spring inn of around 1935 in Okutsu, Kagamino Town, Tomata District, Okayama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 2, 2018 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 328 square metres, altered around 1955 and in 2004; registration number 33-0307.

A Full Two-Storey Front on the Street

The Okutsuso Main Building is an inn in the centre of Okutsu Onsen, a full two-storey timber building facing east onto the street under an L-shaped pantiled hip-and-gable roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs). At the north end of the front, the main gable rises above a cusped-gable entrance.

Lattices run along the whole ground floor, and the deep eaves on projecting beams give the front a strong sense of depth (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes that its layered front of lattices and deep eaves forms the core of the historic townscape of the spa, and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

Look for the gable rising above the cusped-gable entrance and the run of lattices on the ground floor (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is an inn owned by Okutsuso Co., Ltd. (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on its operation or on visits was found.