<a href="https://shiguchi.com/en">Shiguchi</a>, new lodgings in Hokkaido, Japan, just opened a scant nine months ago, but its roots are much older.
Photography by Shouya Grigg.
Shiguchi or traditional timber joints are deceptively simple but can take decades to perfect and carpenters must not only master many differently shaped wooden joints and specialist tools but also...
...develop an understanding of the vagaries of the wood climate and environment At the heart of their expertise lies the Japanese concept of monozukuri the dedication to making things well
Somoza Restaurant
The retreat’s restaurant, Somoza, is housed in a 150-year-old kominka, which means “old house,” which also displays works of Japanese craft.
The gallery and restaurant space.
The first of the guest houses, Fu (“Wind”), sleeps five and features rough-hewn exposed beams and glass.
Fu
The passageway leading to the sleeping quarters upstairs.
The primary bedroom on the ground floor is done in a mix of organic and industrial materials; just beside it is en-suite bathroom with a hinoki wood bath.
“‘Kominka’ means old house and generally refers to a distinctive style of house built of local natural materials such as wood, clay, and straw often found in rural Japan,” according to Grigg.
Ka
Ka (“fire”) sleeps 8; here, a bedroom has views “across the valley to the Hanazono Bokujo grazing pastures and beyond to the distant mountain range.”
The guest house also features a private onsen.
Sui
The open-plan kitchen and living area of Sui (“water”).
The house has a private bath, carved from a stone basin.
The guest house has a king-size bed on the first floor and an eight-mat tatami room on the second.
The open living area in the Chi (earth) guesthouse, with stone floors, a wood stove, and sweeping views.
Chi
“Villa interiors are decorated with a seasonal selection of antique and modern ceramics, contemporary paintings, and sculptures from the private collection of Shouya Grigg,” the artist and owner of Shiguchi.
The sleeping area is set apart by exposed timbers, which also form an open closet.
Every guesthouse has a private onsen, this one with a dramatic arched faucet.
Ku
Finally, Ku (“void”), with a wood stove and a supply of firewood at the ready.
One of Ku’s two tatami rooms.