The Three-Storey Building That Holds the Entrance
The Ryokan Ohashi Main Building (旅館大橋本館, Ryokan Ōhashi Honkan) is the three-storey wooden heart of Ryokan Ohashi, an inn built in 1932 in Misasa Onsen, Misasa-cho, Tottori Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on September 3, 1997. With a building area of 625 square meters, it is the largest of the five registered parts of the inn.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Main Building as having its entrance at the left of the ground-floor front, with refined, carefully designed guest rooms on every floor. It stands in the middle of the inn's riverside row: the West Annex lies to its right on the downstream side, reached across the Taiko Bridge, while the Banquet Hall Building and the Annex continue to its left.
Why It Was Registered: The Japanese-Style Exterior
The Ryokan Ohashi Main Building carries registration number 31-0018 and was listed under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. It belongs to the first round of registrations at the inn, on the same day as the Annex (31-0019). The Banquet Hall Building, West Annex and Taiko Bridge were not registered until November 5 of that year, so the five were never listed all at once.
The agency introduces the inn as one of the long-established hot-spring inns of Misasa, with its main building, annex and other wings lined up eave to eave along the Mitoku River. It credits the graceful Japanese-style exterior of the Main Building with expressing the history and traditions of Misasa Onsen. The assessment rests on two things: that exterior, and the quality of the guest rooms on each floor.
One small oddity: the agency's description calls the inn "Ohashi Ryokan," reversing the word order of the registered name, Ryokan Ohashi.
What to Look For in the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building
The Cherry Step and the Rippled Glass
According to the inn, the agarikamachi, the raised wooden step where guests leave their shoes and enter, is a single wide plank of cherry, and the windows still hold old-fashioned rippled glass. Because the entrance is on the ground floor of the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building, that cherry plank is the first thing you set foot on, and the first detail of the building worth stopping for.
The glass is hand-made sheet glass, prized by the inn for its particular clarity and its slight distortions. If the view through a window seems to waver as you move your head, you are looking through the old glass.
Guest Rooms on Every Floor
The only remark the agency makes about the interior is that every floor holds refined, carefully designed guest rooms. The inn explains that each room is named for the wood used in its posts and ceiling; the Nanten room, for example, has an umbrella-shaped ceiling made lavishly of nanten (heavenly bamboo). The inn does not publish which rooms are in the Main Building, however.
Visiting the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building
The Ryokan Ohashi Main Building is the main block of a working inn and is not open for general viewing. Since the entrance is here, both overnight guests and day bathers pass the cherry step on their way in. The guest rooms can be seen only by staying the night; if you want a particular room, ask when you book.
The building is three storeys of wood with no elevator, so the upper floors are reached by stairs. Photography is allowed throughout the inn except in the baths and changing rooms, but guests are asked to keep other people out of the frame. The entrance is busy, so pick a quiet moment if you want a picture. Directions, day-bathing hours and fees for the whole inn are on the Ryokan Ohashi page.
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Q&A
- When was the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building to 1932. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on September 3, 1997, under number 31-0018.
- Were the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building and the inn's other buildings registered together?
- No. The Ryokan Ohashi Main Building and the Annex were registered on September 3, 1997, and the Banquet Hall Building, West Annex and Taiko Bridge on November 5, 1997. The registration numbers run consecutively from 31-0018 to 31-0022.
- What kind of building is the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building?
- A three-storey, Japanese-style wooden inn building with a tiled roof and a building area of 625 square meters. The entrance is at the left of the ground-floor front, and guest rooms occupy every floor.
- What details should I look for in the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building?
- The single wide cherry plank of the entrance step and the hand-made rippled glass in the windows. Outside, look at the Japanese-style exterior that the agency singled out.
- Can I see or photograph the Ryokan Ohashi Main Building without staying overnight?
- There is no general public viewing, but day bathers also enter through its entrance. Only overnight guests see the guest rooms. Photography is allowed except in the baths and changing rooms, as long as other guests and staff are not in the frame.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryokan Ohashi Main Building (旅館大橋本館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 302 Misasa, Misasa-cho, Tohaku-gun, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1997-09-03 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 3 storeys, tiled roof, building area 625 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | In use as the main building of a working inn; guest rooms for overnight guests only |
References
- 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
- Ryokan Ohashi West Annex (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000361
- 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
- FAQ (Ryokan Ohashi official site, Japanese)
- https://www.o-hashi.net/faq
- Photography rules (Ryokan Ohashi official site, Japanese)
- https://www.o-hashi.net/archives/6500
Last verified: 2026.10.08
