Maruyo Hotel
Artisan private villa — equal parts Meiji-era merchant house and contemporary art installation. Intimate, considered, and deeply local. No lobby, no other guests, no staff after check-in.
Book dinner as part of a package — the hotel partners with Kakiyasu Ryotei (7-min walk, established 1871), Hinode clam hot pot (5-min walk), and even a Michelin-starred French restaurant in Nagoya.
Why It Matters
Selected by both the Michelin Guide and Tablet Hotels. One of the rare properties in Japan that books as a single unit only, with the design and art direction treated as seriously as the hospitality. The building itself is over 70 years old, rebuilt post-WWII by the Sato family as a symbol of revival — and every detail, from the cypress bath to the curated wine cellar, reflects that personal investment.
MARUYO HOTEL is a fully private machiya-style villa in Kuwana's old merchant quarter of Senbacho, built on the site of a family lumber company and now in its fifth generation of family ownership. The entire property — two bedrooms, a lounge, dining room, library, open-air cypress bath, and 40 sqm courtyard — is rented exclusively to one group per night, sleeping up to four guests. European and Japanese aesthetics sit comfortably side by side: antique French-Dutch glass doors open onto a private garden, a black plaster tokonoma alcove anchors the Japanese master suite, and curator Nao Masaki's selection of contemporary art and weathered antiques fills every corner.
Where You'll Stay
3 room types available
Entire Property (Full-House Rental)
The hotel only accepts one group per night. The full property includes both bedrooms, the lounge (16.5 sqm), second-floor dining room (40 sqm) with Ibi River and Sumiyoshi Shrine views, library (18 sqm, added 2021), mini bar and wine cellar (8 sqm), shared toilet areas, and a 40 sqm courtyard. Total interior area is approximately 170 sqm. Breakfast is served in-room; dinner options via partner restaurants or in-room service.
170 sqm
Room 0 — Western-Style Room
Inspired by the nearby Rokkaen mansion designed by Josiah Conder — the architect of Tokyo's Rokumeikan — this room pairs white plaster walls with antique French-Dutch glass doors that open onto the private garden. Elegant and comforting, it feels like a Meiji-era Western salon. Comes with a private shower room.
Twin · 24.2 sqmRoom 1 — Japanese Master Suite
The master bedroom of the house, anchored by a striking black plaster tokonoma alcove with a deep blue-black hue that evokes the night sky. A yukimi-shoji sliding screen opens to a tsuboniwa courtyard garden with moss against a black fence. The attached open-air cypress bath flows naturally from the washroom — beautiful under moonlight at night, refreshing under open sky in the morning.
Twin · 40 sqmThe Property
Eat & Drink
5 venues on property
Restaurant
Spa & Wellness
Treatment Menu
On Property
How you'll actually spend your days.
The entire hotel is an art installation as much as a place to stay. Curated by designer Nao Masaki, the collection includes a lounge painting made from a weathered plaster storehouse door, small modern sculptures, and carefully selected antiques. Guests are encouraged to look closely.
The hotel sits in Senbacho, Kuwana's old merchant quarter, once home to up to 120 inns and a historic rice market that set national prices. Walk the streets of what was one of the most economically significant commercial districts in Edo-period Japan.
A purpose-built library room added to the second floor in 2021, with soft stucco curves, elegant sliding screen doors, and a sofa. Quiet reading after dinner or conversation over morning tea.
Through the hotel's curated restaurant partnerships, guests can arrange dinners at Kakiyasu Ryotei (Wagyu, 6-min walk), Hinode (hamaguri clam hot pot, 5-min walk), or Michelin-starred Kochuten in Nagoya (35 min by car). All bookable as hotel packages.
Steps from the hotel is the historic Shichiri no Watashi ferry crossing — the old sea route connecting Kuwana to Miya-juku in Nagoya on the Tokaido road — and the Ichino Torii, the first torii gate of the Ise Grand Shrine's province, rebuilt every 20 years from the timber of the shrine's Ujibashi bridge.
Amenities & Practical Info
The details that matter for planning.
Dinner room service available via the Steak at Edogawa package. Breakfast served in the dining room by staff each morning 8:30–9:30.
Second-floor mini bar and wine cellar stocked with champagne, wine, local Ise beer, and Kuwana mandarin orange juice.
A 40 sqm tsuboniwa-style courtyard garden with moss and black fence, viewable through the yukimi-shoji screens of Room 1.
On-site private parking for up to 3 vehicles, available from 15:00 check-in to 12:00 the following day.
Tour desk for arranging local experiences and transportation.
Concierge assistance available during staff presence (check-in through the following morning). Staff are not on-site overnight.
MARUYO operates an online store at maruyo-hotel.square.site selling curated goods.
Second-floor dining room and library overlook the Ibi River and Sumiyoshi Shrine.
Private open-air soaking bath attached to Room 1, built from cypress and opening to the courtyard garden.
BUILD YOUR MARUYO HOTEL PLAN
Rooms, dining, spa, and resort experiences — organized into one trip plan.
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