Gankutsu Hotel: A Western-Inspired Vision Carved in Stone

The entrance and facade of the Gankutsu Hotel (all photos from 1978).

The main entrance on the first floor.

The spacious central hall boasts a delicately crafted decorative arch.

The ceiling of the central hall.

The main entrance seen from the central staircase.

Takahashi Minekichi, left, and his son Taiji.

Takahashi’s original sketch of the façade of the Gankutsu Hotel.

Gankutsu Hotel Layout

Takahashi’s digging tools.

The central hall.

The back of the central hall looking toward the main entrance.

The science laboratory.

The science laboratory, looking toward the entrance.

The interior of the science laboratory.

A laboratory table.

A table and shelf in the science laboratory.

A first-floor hallway.

Looking down the central stairway from the second floor.

A hallway flanks the central stairway leading to the second floor.

Looking down a hallway toward a second-floor window.

The first-floor hallway. The main staircase is on the left.

A hallway opens onto the second-floor balcony.