The Small Building at the Downstream End
The Ryokan Ohashi West Annex (旅館大橋西離れ, Ryokan Ōhashi Nishi-banare) is a single-storey wooden building of 1932 with a partial upper floor at Ryokan Ohashi in Misasa Onsen, Misasa-cho, Tottori Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on November 5, 1997. With a building area of 68 square meters, it is the smallest of the four registered buildings at the inn.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the West Annex as standing on its own to the right of the Main Building, connected to it by the Taiko Bridge. In the long row of buildings that follows the Mitoku River, it closes the downstream end.
Why It Was Registered: Decoration on a Service Building
The Ryokan Ohashi West Annex carries registration number 31-0021 and was listed under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country, on the same day as the Banquet Hall Building and the Taiko Bridge.
At the time of registration, the agency recorded the ground floor as a changing room for the open-air bath and the upper floor as a staff office. Modest duties, yet the outside was clearly given attention. The agency points to triangular openings, small pent roofs and railings that dress up the exterior. Next to the long walls of square windows and eaves on the Main Building and the Annex, the triangular openings belong to the West Annex alone.
The agency ends by noting that the West Annex is fondly regarded, along with the Main Building and the Annex, as one of the inn's buildings. The riverside scene, in that view, is made by the small service building at the end of the row as much as by the big guest-room wings.
What to Look For
Start with the outline: a single storey with a second floor over only part of it. Following the row downstream from the three-storey Main Building, the height drops a step here and the line of the inn comes to a close.
The Ryokan Ohashi West Annex sits just beyond the Taiko Bridge, and the two read as one composition. Look at the lanterns on the road side of the bridge, then let your eye travel downstream, and you arrive at the triangular openings and small eaves of the annex.
One caution: the uses given here come from the 1997 registration description. Whether they date back to construction in 1932 cannot be confirmed from published sources.
Visiting the Ryokan Ohashi West Annex
The Ryokan Ohashi West Annex serves the baths of a working inn and is not open for general viewing. If the registration description still holds, its ground floor is the changing room for the open-air bath, and the inn bans any use of cameras or phones in its baths and changing rooms. The upper floor is recorded as a staff office and is not a guest area.
Only overnight guests and day bathers using the Seseragi baths go inside. Even when photographing the exterior, be mindful of people coming and going from the bath. Directions and day-bathing details for the whole inn are on the Ryokan Ohashi page.
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Q&A
- Where is the Ryokan Ohashi West Annex, and when was it built?
- It stands on its own to the right of the Main Building of Ryokan Ohashi in Misasa, Tottori, on the downstream side of the Mitoku River. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1932.
- When was the Ryokan Ohashi West Annex registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 5, 1997, under number 31-0021, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- What is the Ryokan Ohashi West Annex used for?
- According to the agency's registration description, the ground floor is a changing room for the open-air bath and the upper floor is a staff office. The Taiko Bridge connects it to the Main Building.
- What details stand out on the Ryokan Ohashi West Annex?
- Its triangular openings, small pent roofs and railings. The building covers only 68 square meters, but these touches give its exterior a decorative finish.
- Can I go inside or take photos in the Ryokan Ohashi West Annex?
- There is no general public viewing. The ground floor serves the baths, and cameras are banned in the inn's baths and changing rooms. Only guests and day bathers using the Seseragi baths go inside.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryokan Ohashi West Annex (旅館大橋西離れ) |
|---|---|
| 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, single storey with a partial 2-storey section, tiled roof, building area 68 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | In use as a bath-side building of a working inn; no general public viewing of the interior |
References
- Ryokan Ohashi West Annex (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000361
- Ryokan Ohashi Taiko Bridge (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000362
- 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
