A hotel floating in an archipelago, a masterpiece by Togo Murano

Ise-Shima National Park, located on the Shima Peninsula in Mie Prefecture, was designated a national park shortly after World War II. On a hilltop in Kashikojima overlooking Ago Bay, the Shima Kanko Hotel, the first purely Western-style resort hotel after the war, opened. The building, now operating as "The Club," was designed by architect Togo Murano. During the turbulent postwar period, Murano relocated some of the pillars and beams from a naval facility he had previously designed in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, to construct the hotel. In 1969, the new wing, now affectionately known as "The Classic," was completed, making it one of the largest resort hotels in Japan with 200 guest rooms. Traversing various styles such as Japanese, European, and modernism, the building is a uniquely Murano-esque architectural masterpiece. Despite being made of reinforced concrete, it has a Japanese-style exterior with eaves on each floor. With its staggered structure, it is a beloved architectural masterpiece that blends seamlessly into the landscape.

Shima Kanko Hotel
・Architect : Togo Murano
・Location : 731 Shinmei, Ago-cho, Shima City, Mie Prefecture
・Use: Hotel
・Completed : 1951

Text: Yoshinao Yamada

Writer Minori Kai visited the Shima Kanko Hotel overlooking the sea,
A newly written essay on the theme of "the sea and architecture." Please enjoy it.