The Two-Storey Block Between the Main Building and the Annex
The Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building (旅館大橋大広間棟, Ryokan Ōhashi Ōhiroma-tō) is a two-storey wooden building of 1932 at Ryokan Ohashi in Misasa Onsen, Misasa-cho, Tottori Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on November 5, 1997. It sits in the middle of the inn's riverside row, between the Main Building and the Annex.
The arrangement inside is practical. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the ground floor holds the kitchen and the upper floor the ohiroma, the large tatami hall used for banquets. Food is cooked downstairs and served upstairs, all within one building of 214 square meters in footprint, under a tiled roof.
The agency calls it large, and the numbers bear that out. The Banquet Hall Building has one storey fewer than its three-storey neighbors, yet its footprint is the third largest at the inn, behind the Main Building (625 square meters) and the Annex (312 square meters).
Why It Was Registered: The Paired Gables
The Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building carries registration number 31-0020 and was listed under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The West Annex and the Taiko Bridge were registered on the same day.
The feature the agency singles out is the great roof, fitted with a matched pair of Chidori-hafu, the triangular dormer gables set into a roof slope. Placed one to each side, they raise two peaks out of a broad expanse of tile. Squeezed between three-storey buildings, the two-storey block could easily have disappeared into the row; the paired gables give its river face a character of its own.
The agency also notes that the interior has been renovated in recent years while the exterior keeps its original appearance. What survives from 1932, in other words, is mainly the roof and the outer shell.
The Hall and Its Stage
Upstairs, the banquet hall of the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building has a stage. The inn's Japanese-language site describes a hall of 100 tatami mats with an ornate stage that recalls the world of kabuki, and its facilities page passes on a story from 1934: a visiting party of performers looked at the stage and declared it good enough to dance on.
The figures do not quite agree, though. Elsewhere on the same site the summary of facilities lists a banquet hall of 50 mats and a mid-sized hall of 30. The recent interior work may have changed the partitions, but nothing published settles the question.
To see the exterior, look up at the roof from the Mitoku River side. The two gables and the layered tiles of the main roof read more clearly from a little distance along the river than from right beside the wall.
Visiting the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building
The Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building is the banquet hall of a working inn and is not open for general viewing. The ground-floor kitchen is off limits, and because the upper hall is used for banquets, staying overnight does not guarantee a look inside. If you hope to see the stage, ask the inn when you book.
Photography is allowed throughout the inn except in the baths and changing rooms, but guests are asked to keep other people out of their pictures, which matters all the more when a banquet is under way. Directions and day-bathing details for the whole inn are on the Ryokan Ohashi page.
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Q&A
- When was the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building to 1932. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 5, 1997, under number 31-0020.
- What is each floor of the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building used for?
- According to the agency, the ground floor is the kitchen and the upper floor is the large banquet hall, which has a stage.
- What should I look for on the outside of the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building?
- The matched pair of chidori-hafu gables on the tiled main roof. The agency highlights them, and while the interior has been renovated, the exterior keeps its original appearance.
- How large is the hall in the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building?
- The inn's own site gives two figures: 100 tatami mats in one description, and a 50-mat banquet hall plus a 30-mat hall in its facilities summary. Check with the inn if the size matters for your plans.
- Can I go inside or take photos in the Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building?
- There is no general public viewing. The hall is used for banquets, so ask the inn when booking if you would like to see it. Photography is permitted in the inn except in the baths and changing rooms, as long as other guests and staff are not in the frame.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building (旅館大橋大広間棟) |
|---|---|
| Location | 302 Misasa, Misasa-cho, Tohaku-gun, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1997-11-05 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 214 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | In use as the banquet hall of a working inn; no general public viewing of the interior |
References
- Ryokan Ohashi Banquet Hall Building (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000360
- Ryokan Ohashi Main Building (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000309
- Ryokan Ohashi Annex (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000310
- History of the inn (Ryokan Ohashi official site, Japanese)
- https://www.o-hashi.net/story
- Facilities (Ryokan Ohashi official site, Japanese)
- https://www.o-hashi.net/facility
- Photography rules (Ryokan Ohashi official site, Japanese)
- https://www.o-hashi.net/archives/6500
Last verified: 2026.10.08
