A Guest Wing Built on an Island Between Two Streams
Yuki no Mune stands near the centre of Arai Ryokan in Shuzenji, on a patch of ground caught between two channels of water. The streams are drawn from Hana no Ike, the pond at the heart of a garden laid out by the inn's second proprietor. The wing went up in 1899, at the same time as that garden, so building and water were planned as one.
The guest rooms occupy a two-storey timber structure in the shinkabe manner, with the posts left exposed against the plaster rather than buried inside the walls. This is a quieter, older way of building than the enclosed walls of later wings, and it suits a building meant to sit lightly among moving water.
The Bathhouse Is the Part to Remember
What sets Yuki no Mune apart is the bath wing that projects from its southeast corner. Its roof is an irimoya, a hip-and-gable form, but with a gentle upward swell called mukuri along the slope, and a small secondary roof rides on top to let steam and smoke escape. That little smoke vent is a working detail, not an ornament, and it gives the bathhouse a silhouette you will not mistake for a guest room.
The design belongs to an inn that treated bathing as an art. Elsewhere on the grounds, the painter Yasuda Yukihiko designed the Tenpyo Obathhouse in 1934, using aged cypress and modelling the hall on eighth-century architecture. Yuki no Mune is the earlier, homelier cousin of that ambition, showing how carefully the inn thought about the buildings where guests would soak.
What to Look For
Approach from the garden side and watch how the two streams pass on either side of the wing. The sound of water is part of the room, felt before the building is even in view. Because Yuki no Mune sits low and central, it gathers the reflections of the pond and the greenery around it.
Then find the bath wing's roofline. Trace the soft mukuri curve and pick out the little smoke roof perched above it. Registered under the criterion of serving as a model of design, this wing rewards the visitor who looks up as much as the one who looks out at the water.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Shizuoka
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Arai Ryokan Snow Building
- [ Mt. Fuji Views & Atami Hot Spring Resorts ]
Q&A
- Why is the wing surrounded by water?
- It stands between two streams led from Hana no Ike, the pond of a garden created by the inn's second proprietor. The wing and the garden were built together in 1899, so water was designed into its setting.
- What is special about the bathhouse roof?
- The bath wing has a hip-and-gable roof with a gentle upward curve known as mukuri, topped by a small secondary roof that vents steam and smoke, giving it a distinctive profile.
- What does shinkabe construction mean?
- It is a timber-framing method in which the structural posts are left visible against the plaster walls, rather than being covered over. The guest part of Yuki no Mune is built this way.
- How old is the building?
- It dates from 1899, in the Meiji era, and is one of the older registered buildings on the Arai Ryokan grounds, built at the same time as the covered Watari no Hashi bridge nearby.
- When was it registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in September 1998, among fifteen Arai Ryokan buildings, under the criterion of being a model of design.
Basic Information
| Name | Arai Ryokan Yuki no Mune |
|---|---|
| Location | 970 and adjacent, Onsenba, Shuzenji, Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered 2 September 1998; announced 25 September 1998) |
| Registration No. | 22-0017 |
| Built | 1899 (Meiji 32) |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Timber, two storeys, tiled roof; building area approx. 258 m². Bath wing projecting to the southeast |
| Registration criterion | A model of design |
| Owner | Arai Ryokan Ltd. |
| Access | About 10 min by bus from Shuzenji Station (Izuhakone Railway), then a short walk from the Shuzenji Onsen stop |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Arai Ryokan Yuki no Mune
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000776
- Arai Ryokan — Guide to the Registered Cultural Properties
- https://arairyokan.net/bunka.htm
- Arai Ryokan — Wikipedia (Japanese)
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/新井旅館
Last verified: 2026.07.11