Wanoi Kakunodate

A storehouse located in a group of samurai residences in Kakunodate, Akita Prefecture has been refurbished into a lodging facility. The concept is "KURA STAY", a cultural experience hotel with the setting that the life at that time was preserved in a storehouse.
Our hotel consists of three warehouses, "Bushigura", "Gakko Kura", and "Tanbutsu Kura", which are rented as one building. The space incorporates Kakunodate's traditional crafts of kabazaiku and iburi gakko production scenes, textile art such as vegetable dyeing, samurai family crests, etc., to provide a local cultural experience throughout your stay. In addition, decorations, etc. are arranged in cooperation with local shops, etc., and by installing guides in the facility, it also plays a role as a tourist base that encourages excursions.

In order to enhance the experiential value of the facility, we were asked to create a story and propose experiences that could only be had in Kakunodate.

We established the concept of "KURA STAY," which allows guests to experience life at that time, and added value to the act of staying there itself by incorporating items that were stored in the storehouse before the renovation into the interior and selecting furnishings related to the history of the samurai residence. We also collaborated with local traditional craftsmen and shops to provide decorative items, which we introduced in leaflets and explanatory captions, thereby strengthening and revitalizing travel around the area.