Tomaru

Spend a Night in Marugame

A place to drift through the city and come to rest

‘Tomaru’ is a small inn with just three rooms in Marugame, Kagawa.

After visiting the museum, wander through town.

Step inside a shop that catches your eye. 

Have dinner, take the long way back, and return to the inn through the evening streets.

In your room, look at a work of art, read a book, or simply do nothing.

Eventually, sleep, morning comes. 

Walk through Marugame once more, then the city may look a little different in the morning.

At Tomaru, your stay extends beyond the inn.

For one night on your journey, drop anchor in this city.

Settle into the rhythm of an unfamiliar place and take a little more time than usual to notice the scenery, the art, and yourself.

The streets you walk, the places where you pause, and the night you spend in your room are all part of your stay in Marugame.

Explore Marugame on Foot

Facing the Seto Inland Sea, Marugame carries the layers of its history as a castle town alongside contemporary art, culture, and the everyday lives of the people who live here now.

Leave Marugame Station and walk through the shopping arcade.

Hear the sounds from a storefront, feel the breeze threading its way from the port through the side streets, notice the walls of old buildings, and catch an unexpected glimpse of Marugame Castle between them.

As afternoon turns to evening, and evening to night,

the city slowly changes shape around you.

Rather than rushing from one destination to the next, follow a street that catches your interest and pause at whatever draws your eye.

Instead of treating the city as a backdrop for sightseeing, spend a little time amid its everyday life.

Your stay at Tomaru begins before you even check in.

The Afterglow of the Museum

Near Marugame Station stands the Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art. 

What stays with you after seeing art cannot always be put into words:

a color, a line, a shape, an empty space, or a feeling you cannot quite explain.

Leave the museum and walk through town.

Eventually you arrive at Tomaru and spend time with the art in your room.

Sit down.

Let your mind wander.

Sleep.

In the morning, think again about what you saw the day before.

An evening between looking at art and returning to everyday life gives those impressions time to settle and take on a different shape.

Tomaru is not an inn meant to explain art.

Tomaru is a place to spend the night with the feeling that lingers after seeing art.

Adding Another Layer of Time to an Old Building
Tomaru occupies a reinforced concrete building that has long been part of Marugame. 

Marks on the walls, the uneven texture of concrete, the feel of iron and wood, and light moving across the rooms through the day all remain part of the space.

Rather than covering these traces, we have kept them as part of the building’s history.

The art and furniture sit alongside its materials and light.

Tomaru is intentionally a little unfinished, leaving room for the time and memories of those who visit.

Tomaru leaves space for the time and memories of those who stay here to become part of it.

That openness is an essential part of what makes Tomaru what it is.

Three Rooms, Three Portholes

Tomaru has three rooms, each with a character of its own.

A porthole is a small window set in the side of a ship.

It offers a framed view rather than the whole world.

That small frame can make you more aware of a light or a view you might otherwise miss.

Our rooms are like three small portholes onto Marugame.

From Shikaku (□), sense the shape of the city and the presence of its people.

In Sankaku (△), notice how light and sound change together over time.

In Maru (○), a window opening toward the sky blurs the boundary between inside and out.

Art and furniture have been chosen for each space.

Read, look at the art, write about your travels, sit quietly, or simply rest.

These rooms are places to turn your attention gently back toward yourself.

Discover a different Marugame through each porthole.

Dinner Is Out in Marugame

When evening comes, head into town.

Slip through the curtain of a local bar for a drink, have dinner where the locals gather, or stop at one more place on the way home.

In the morning, get up early and walk out for udon.

You might find somewhere inviting along the way instead of going to the place you planned.

We think of Marugame itself as a spacious dining room and lounge.

We can suggest local places to eat and ways to explore, depending on your mood.

The meals, conversations, and small things you notice on your way back can become as memorable as the famous sights.

We hope you take the time you spend outside the inn home as part of your stay.

From Sightseeing to Sensing a Place

The Japanese word for sightseeing, kanko, literally contains the idea of “seeing light.”

At Tomaru, we call the experience of walking through a place and feeling it with all your senses kanko written with a different character: “a journey of feeling.”

The first sound you hear. 

Something you find yourself looking at for a long time. 

A place where the wind picks up. 

The reason you stop. 

The moment you change your plans. 

Something you eat that day.

Some views stay with you long after a trip, even though they are not landmarks.

Look a little more closely at what you might normally pass by, and you may find a Marugame that is yours alone.

For Those Who Travel This Way

Make room in your travels for an evening with nothing to do. 

Tomaru does not offer lavish service or everything you need under one roof. 

It is a place for people drawn to museums and galleries, architecture and design, the shops of an unfamiliar town, or a little more time with the feeling that art leaves behind.

It is also for those who want a quiet moment on their own.

Walk the streets. 

Look at art. 

Notice the years held in an old building. 

Then, when night comes, do nothing.

Leaving room to do nothing is part of the journey.

If you would like to spend a while in an unfamiliar place and see what the day brings, Tomaru is a small place to come to rest.

For You, Before You Arrive

Tomaru did not appear here as a finished building set apart from the town.

It grew from Marugame itself: its history, its museum and art, an old building, its shopping streets and restaurants, and the people who live and work here.

We brought these existing things together in new ways.

Now the time spent here by our guests becomes another part of its story.

Imagining a place you have yet to see is part of traveling.

Spend a night in Marugame at our little three-room inn.

Which streets will you walk? Where will you stop? What kind of evening will you have?

The view through your porthole has yet to be decided.

Tomaru’s next chapter begins with your visit.