What was once the former Nishimura Folk Museum, a 140-year-old kominka, or old Japanese-style folk house, that served to enlighten about Kosa Town’s culture, has been renovated into Yadoya Kugurido.
Despite suffering damage from the Kumamoto earthquakes in April 2016, this kominka-turned-lodging-facility was built through a kominka makeover workshop participated by architects who hold this place dear to their hearts and individuals from other prefectures together with those from in and around Kosa Town. The facility is reserved itto-kashikiri, meaning guests have the entire building to themselves.
Entering through the kugurido, a small wicket door and the object after which the facility is named, leads to an interior that retains many of the original building’s beams and pillars. The scent of wood is comforting, and the space brims with the warmth of wood. It is a hideaway of a lodge that operates on the concept of “staying as if you live there.”
At the lodge’s restaurant, which is located at the side of the building and accessed through a different entrance, customers can treat themselves to an authentic Italian lunch or perhaps a full-course meal incorporating ingredients local to Kosa Town and Kumamoto Prefecture, prepared by a chef who learned the ropes in Italy.