Kyusendo Vacation Bungalows Kumamoto Artpolis

 

Kyusendo is a cave located along the Kumagawa River, and on the opposite bank is a vacation village with numerous cabins and chalets. Two of them are quite unique and are part of Kumamoto Artpolis.

Kumamoto Artpolis is a prefecture-wide program that attempts to use innovative architecture as part of rural regeneration. There are about 100 projects in total and as I walk through the prefecture I have planned my route to try and visit as many of them as I can. A few days previously I had visited the Manga Museum in Yunomae.

The cube-shaped one is called Mokuban and is constructed out of huge blocks of wood and looks somewhat like a giant version of Jenga. I was able to see inside through the windows.

The second one is called Mokuban R2 and is also made out of wood, though thinner, vertical slats with gaps in between. the whole thing seems to be encased in a type of translucent resin. Photo of the interior look quite nice with lots of light, and at night when lit on the inside it looks cool from the exterior.

Yunomae Manga Museum

 

After leaving my berth for the night I began the 41st day of my walk around Kyushu by taking the train a couple of stops east to the terminal at Yunomae, a small hot spring resort in the mountains of Kumamoto. The next pilgrimage temple was actually west but I was making a small detour to see some things that interested me.

First stop was the Yunomae Manga Museum, kind of a memorial to a local man, Ryosuke Nasu, who was a political cartoonist and caricaturist from the 1930's and 40's. As well as exhibiting his work they also hold numerous manga events and festivals.

It was too early for me to enter, but I was more interested in the architecture. It was one of dozens and dozens of pieces of architecture around Kumamoto that are part of what is called Kumamoto Artpolis, an attempt to integrate architecture and design in a better way throughout the prefecture.

There are a lot of heavyweight architects who have contributed, but, like here, lesser-known architects. Many of the pieces are in quite remote locations but as I have an interest in modern architecture I will be making a bunch of small detours as I pass through Kumamoto to visit as many of them as I can.