KINTSUGI HOUSE, TAJIMI
Feel like a local at Kintsugi House Tajimi, a newly established lodging where you can fully experience Tajimi, a city known for its pottery and tiles.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, many tourists have once again begun to visit Tajimi for events like the Pottery Festival and attractions such as the Mosaic Tile Museum. However, the city has faced a persistent issue: a shortage of accommodation options.
Being only a 40-minute train ride away from Nagoya, a city with a population of two million, Tajimi attracts many day visitors.
In December 2024, a new accommodation opened in Tajimi: "Kintsugi House Tajimi." It’s a renovated old townhouse, formerly a sushi restaurant, located twelve minutes on foot from Tajimi Station. This facility offers exclusive rental of the entire building.
In this article, we speak with Kintsugi House Tajimi’s owner, Iion Fukazawa, about the origins of the facility and his journey from living in Australia to opening an inn in Tajimi. We also introduce the inviting spaces and amenities that make the inn a destination in itself.
Being only a 40-minute train ride away from Nagoya, a city with a population of two million, Tajimi attracts many day visitors.
In December 2024, a new accommodation opened in Tajimi: "Kintsugi House Tajimi." It’s a renovated old townhouse, formerly a sushi restaurant, located twelve minutes on foot from Tajimi Station. This facility offers exclusive rental of the entire building.
In this article, we speak with Kintsugi House Tajimi’s owner, Iion Fukazawa, about the origins of the facility and his journey from living in Australia to opening an inn in Tajimi. We also introduce the inviting spaces and amenities that make the inn a destination in itself.
A place to enjoy life with ceramics and tiles
Iion Fukazawa, proprietor of Kintsugi House Tajimi, is also a ceramic artist.
Fukazawa lived in Australia from the age of one. He spent seven years in Tokyo from age twelve, then returned to Australia to study ceramic design at university. Later, he launched his own ceramics brand and, seeking further mastery, joined the Ceramic Lab at the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Centre (Ishoken) in 2019. After graduating, the pandemic interrupted his plans to return to Australia to start a pottery school. From 2020, he spent four years working as a staff member at the Design Laboratory.
The Shinmachi building. One of many city centre locations where ceramic artists meet.
As things turned out, Fukazawa continued living in Tajimi. He became acquainted with more locals, and found comfort in the gentle, craft-centred community unique to the town. He hosted around fifty friends, some from overseas, in Tajimi for over five years. However, the birth of his daughter two years ago made hosting friends at home difficult, which then motivated him to want a local guesthouse.
"Unable to return to Australia during the pandemic, I built new connections while remaining in Tajimi. Starting a guesthouse just felt like the natural next step," Fukazawa says.
"Unable to return to Australia during the pandemic, I built new connections while remaining in Tajimi. Starting a guesthouse just felt like the natural next step," Fukazawa says.
Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage Site in Gifu Prefecture, is a popular destination for international visitors.
According to the “Tourism Accommodation Statistics Survey” published by the Japan Tourism Agency in February 2025, Gifu Prefecture ranked eleventh nationally with approximately 2.3 million international visitors in 2024. It’s one of the most visited prefectures in the country. Yet most of these tourists head for destinations such as Hida-Takayama or Shirakawa-go; the number visiting Tajimi and the wider Tono region remains low.
Fukazawa felt Tajimi lacked focused promotion and services to convey its culture in English to inbound foreign tourists. Drawing on his own history, he started working on plans in 2024 for a guesthouse that would connect Tajimi with the rest of the world. He conceived Kintsugi House Tajimi, addressing problems such as empty homes and the struggling ceramics industry.
Just as Kintsugi joins broken pieces together, the inn aims to create new value by connecting Tajimi’s people, town, and tourism. Operations began in December 2024.
Fukazawa felt Tajimi lacked focused promotion and services to convey its culture in English to inbound foreign tourists. Drawing on his own history, he started working on plans in 2024 for a guesthouse that would connect Tajimi with the rest of the world. He conceived Kintsugi House Tajimi, addressing problems such as empty homes and the struggling ceramics industry.
Just as Kintsugi joins broken pieces together, the inn aims to create new value by connecting Tajimi’s people, town, and tourism. Operations began in December 2024.
The concept: “Restoration and Connection,” inspired by the art of kintsugi
Kintsugi House Tajimi is located just south of the Toki River.
Kintsugi House Tajimi is a whole-house rental accommodation aimed at local and international guests. Situated in Aoki-cho, Tajimi, between Tajimi Station and Honmachi Oribe Street, it stands just south of the Toki River—a neighbourhood popular for cafes, curry shops, eel restaurants, and charming izakayas.
Guests are invited to sample the town’s eateries, since breakfast is not part of the accommodation.
Guests are invited to sample the town’s eateries, since breakfast is not part of the accommodation.
The two-storey wooden building, with its sleek black exterior, was once a sushi shop built in the Showa era (1926 - 1989). True to the spirit of kintsugi, its renovation has infused new beauty through restoration.
The living room features lighting made with handmade Mino washi paper.
Displayed alongside other objects are pieces created by Fukazawa.
Fukazawa and a carpenter friend constructed the garden visible from the living room window. High fences provide privacy for the inn, even though it's in a residential zone. The deck is a brilliant spot to enjoy a cold beer while watching the sunset.
The bathroom also has TAJIMI CUSTOM TILES, showcasing local products. Fukazawa himself handcrafted the washbasins in the toilet and bathroom.
Upstairs, there are two bedrooms—one Japanese-style, one Western-style—large enough for up to six guests. Though newly renovated, the rooms retain the robust beams and historical character of an old farmhouse.
A place to dwell and experience daily life in a ceramics town
The inn accommodates up to six guests and offers a unique opportunity to experience Japanese and ceramic culture. Fukazawa also offers optional personal guided tours, such as potter’s studios and factory visits according to guests’ requests—he has even assisted foreign visitors searching for a particular artist’s work.
You book on Airbnb, and all tour-related communication occurs within the Airbnb messaging system. The nightly rate is ¥28,000 per house (for 1–2 guests, +¥5,000 per extra person), up to six guests total.
You book on Airbnb, and all tour-related communication occurs within the Airbnb messaging system. The nightly rate is ¥28,000 per house (for 1–2 guests, +¥5,000 per extra person), up to six guests total.
"Business hotels generally have rooms that accommodate two guests, and they tend to have limited communal spaces."
Why not make Kintsugi House Tajimi your base and truly experience Tajimi like a local?
Why not make Kintsugi House Tajimi your base and truly experience Tajimi like a local?
Contact: Kintsugi House Tajimi
Address: 2-22 Aoki-cho, Tajimi City
Booking: www.kintsugihouse.jp
Photos by 加藤 美岬 (Misaki Kato)
Address: 2-22 Aoki-cho, Tajimi City
Booking: www.kintsugihouse.jp
Photos by 加藤 美岬 (Misaki Kato)
