Vacation at a quiet countryside estate. This timber building was lovingly restored with Japanese-style retreats in mind. Enjoy a spacious dining area with six attached tatami rooms surrounded by a wooden corridor. Grill in the yard. Socialize and enjoy a hot pot "nabe" meal at antique wooden tables with warm "kotatsu" blankets. Use of the 1st level and yard, with optional use of the 2nd floor for large group retreats. Walk to Japanese gardens, hot springs and shopping.
The space
Welcome to Kiyomizu House! Enjoy a stay at a silk and castle heritage site built by Japan’s top temple carpenters. Lovingly restored for Japanese-style retreats by the owners, Motoyasu and Renée, who continually work to improve their hospitality and services.
Airbnb guests have private use of the 1st floor, parking area and terrace, with no other guests using the 2nd floor or grounds. However, the owners are required to be on site when guests are present, and will stay quietly in their room on the 2nd floor with a private 2nd floor entrance, and are available to assist guests whenever necessary.
All photos are of the 1st floor and yard. For groups interested in a retreat with catered meals and use of the rooms on the 2nd floor as well, please see our official web site and contact us directly. Bookings through Airbnb are for our private vacation home plan only.
＜Guests & Fees＞
■ ¥8,250 per guest, including 0~1 year olds who should be marked as "children 2-12" when booking
■ 1F Maximum 20 guests
★ 2F Maximum 12 guests for direct reservation retreat plans only
＜Your space＞
Enjoy a unique experience in the largest sericulture (silkworm raising) farmhouse in Gunma that offers an expansive floor plan for an ideal relaxing stay. Don't miss out on the serene 350-year old Kyoto-style garden next door that is free to enter at any time.
■ One group per night on the property.
■ Use of 1st floor 168m²|1800ft² and terrace and parking area: 500㎡|5400ft² for groups up to 20.
■ Tatami Bedrooms
Two large, 16-mat tatami rooms are set up prior to guests' arrival. Up to 10 futons can be set up in each room. Extra large pillows and air mattresses available.
■ Other rooms
○ A large 18-tatami mat room is used as a living room for socializing, resting and eating
○ Kitchen/dining room. Appliances for heating food and utensils for preparing outdoor gas BBQ or indoor "nabe" hot pots for an enjoyable and delicious group dinner using the fresh vegetables, meats and noodles Gunma is known for.
○ Entry hall with a ping-pong table for a little fun
○ Wooden-floor corridor "engawa" surrounding the tatami rooms for luggage
○ Bath & shower room
○ 3 WCs: 2 washlet toilets and 1 urinal
＜Amenities & Services＞
■ Well-furnished interior and yard
■ Meals: Take out, heat up & eat in! Walk to grocery stores. Pots and cookware set up for outdoor BBQ or indoor nabe parties only.
■ Lots of dishes, glassware and silverware. Fridge/freezer, microwave, oven toaster, toaster and kettle for heating and eating. As this is a historic wooden building, no oil can be used in the kitchen. Only soup-based nabe and rice cooking allowed indoors.
■ Well-heated and cooled with an adjustable thermostat on two large wall-mounted machines. Heated tables, extra heaters and humidifiers in winter. Fans and dehumidifiers in summer. Kiyomizu House was designed specifically to keep delicate silkworms cool and alive in the summer, so it is quite comfortable.
■ Towel sets, onsen bag, toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, face soap, body lotion and more.
Note: The neighborhood onsen is closed for renovations until about November 2026. Until then, we recommend Gunma Onsen Yasuragi no Yu, about a 13-minute drive from Kiyomizu House.
■ Free WiFi
■ Parking up to 10 vehicles. Micro-bus OK.
【Services】
■ Recommendations for local sightseeing and eateries. The hosts speak Japanese, English, French and Spanish.
■ Set up the house and yard according to guest requests.
■ Futon and bed setting and clean up.
■ Dry and put away used dishes.
■ Daily general cleaning for multi-day stays. Freshen towels, take out garbage, clean the shower and bath rooms, etc.
＜House Rules＞
Guests are expected to maintain the peacefulness of Kiyomizu's residential neighborhood, and respect that the exquisite interior and one-of-a-kind temple-carpenter timber building is irreplaceable and often irreparable if severely damaged.
As Kiyomizu House is a historic monument that has been converted for group lodging use, the owners will provide the latest version of our House Manual after booking and request that guests kindly adhere to these requests.
＜ Details about Kiyomizu House and its surroundings ＞
【Heritage building related to Japan's silk industry & a 500-year castle history】
■ Architectural Style: 3-story historic building originally used for raising silkworms: Largest of its kind in the primary region of Japanese silk production, Gunma. Unique construction using massive amounts of timber to absorb heat and humidity as well as high windows for ventilation to protect the sensitive silkworms. Most buildings of this kind were 2-story with the ground floor as a residence. The entirety of this majestic building was used for silkworm raising while the owners, descendants of nobility, resided in the neighboring manor house.
■ Construction period: 1940~1947 Timber, no-nail construction by expert temple carpenters using logs from freshly felled trees from all of Gunma’s mountains
■ Non-residential. All space used for silkworm raising from 1947~1990. Largest known private producer of silkworms, and played a central role in Japanese silk production and economy.
■ 2016~2024 remodeled & made comfortable by your hosts, Motoyasu and Renée
【Location】
■ Takasaki, Gunma (geographically in the very center of Japan): 1 hour by shinkansen train from Tokyo. Direct highway busses from Narita and Haneda Airports. 25-minute bus ride from JR Takasaki Station
■ Along the main road leading up to the Minowa Castle Grounds, listed in the top 100 castles of Japan for it’s massive area and important role in the unification of Japa.
■ Next to Kyoto-style castle gardens, thatched-roof water mill as this is a wheat-producing region, mineral hot spring spa, river, park, lake and more.
■ Nearby sightseeing, nature and cultural attractions: Famous temples, mountains and hot spring towns of Mt Haruna and Ikaho. Kokeshi and Daruma doll making workshops. Fruit picking and orchard visits and plum festivals.
Guest access
Guests have complete and private use of the entire 1st floor, which is the size of an average home, yard and parking area.
Other things to note
【Registration for check-in】
✓ In compliance with Japanese private lodging regulations, we must make a guest list with each guest's name and address. To expedite check in, please send this information in advance.
✓ To best serve our guests, we have prepared an online questionnaire for specific requests. Please submit it within a week of your arrival, and communicate any questions or requests as necessary. We are here to ensure you have an enjoyable, carefree vacation.
✓ For non-Japanese who reside abroad, we need to see your passport to confirm your address and nationality and keep a photocopy in our secure file.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Registration Details
M100001921
