House of Light by James Turrell

Yes it’s small and it’s expensive to visit during the day, but we stayed overnight (even more expensive), and it may have been one of the top five experiences I had in Japan. I recommend reaching out to organize the overnight experience as we did. Do this months in advance. It was not easy to get there but it was incredibly rewarding to be able to watch the sunset, night sky and sunrise from the mediation space. It makes you question our perceptions of beauty just from changes in the hue of the space.

Great experience if you’re exploring the art sites in the area. Beautiful and surreal Turrell’s work. The only downside is the bathroom is very dark and thus a little scary at night, and you may have to share the house with another party (and thus you may not get the main room with Turrell’s roof)

Fascinating and unique experience staying here. We visited in winter so were able to get the whole house for our small group. As it was snowing the roof could not be opened but the sunset light show was still phenomenal.

Just an amazing place! We stayed for the night and we would put this experience on the top 3 most amazing experiences in our 4 trips in Japan in the last 7 years ❤️👊

Amazing work of art and guest house. If you can't stay go for the guided tour around the facility between check out and check in times. Beautiful building both inside and out, with lots of little details. If you can go during fine weather you may be able to see the sky through the viewing hole left by the retractable roof.

Great place, when you Like turell you Must Go there. To stay there for a night Must be a outstanding experience. The Woman at the place was so nice, thank you! Dont miss the Art field around the House

Great experience. It's not an easy spot to get to, though the train journey takes you through some very beautiful countryside. Take a taxi from the station, not the bus, as the walk from the bus stop is steep and not so nice at the end of a day's travelling with your bags. I won't say what to expect. Surprises are part of the experience. The food is excellent (beware of ordering too much). Be warned that there are no chairs - the decor is traditional Japanese. We were lucky enough to be there by ourselves which made things much easier. Not sure what it would be like if full.

This house is supposed to be inspired by the book "In praise of shadows" by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, however it portrays an aesthetic vision which is far from that of the book, rather the opposite... I wished he would have done a house of shadows instead of a house of lights!