EN / JP

About toutou

Like a river that meanders through the mountains, flowing continuously and silently, abundant water, constantly changing yet remaining unchanged.
No place or space belongs to anyone. Someone happens to use it now, someone else might use it later, or no one might use it at all. It exists because things continue to pass through it. Toutou is one such place.

Toutou opened in 2018. It operates two galleries selling Japanese handicrafts, and a hotel with seven guest rooms dispersed throughout the Kurashiki Historic District. Through crafts and our accommodation facilities, we aim to convey Kurashiki’s rich culture which has been woven across generations. For the next 30 years, we hope to be a place that continues to take on new challenges in order to pass on and protect traditions, so that local residents and those visiting Kurashiki as a travel destination will think, “I’m glad a place like this exists.

Crafts

Toutou maintains two shops in the Historic District where you can see and touch high quality craftwork. We exhibit and sell handmade items intended for daily use; pieces that exist between the everyday and the extraordinary. You can use crafts that complement daily life, selected for their artisenal consideration of human activities and comfort. In Toutou’s accommodations, we have installed works by craftspeople from across Japan as amenities, hoping that guests will directly experience and appreciate the handcrafted works during their stay.

Accommodation

Toutou’s lodging is a hotel consisting of seven guest rooms dispersed throughout the Historic District and its surroundings. Each room has an independent entrance and offers private accommodation, limited to one group per day. Many of the guest rooms are entire traditional buildings, approximately 100 years old or more. We renovate and select furnishings based on two themes: “preserving and conveying the building and the town’s history” and “providing genuine relaxation”, aligning the design and decor with each building’s history and ambience. Guests can spend time experiencing Kurashiki’s history and culture while enjoying moments unique to each room.