Takyo Abeke is a Japanese inn located at the foot of the Iwami silver mine in Shimane Prefecture. Over a period of 10 years, owner Tomi Matsuba, has renovated the 230-year-old former samurai residence. By combining and assembling various old items, a new living space was created. For example, an old table from a closed elementary school has been given a new life. And the legs of the desk are made from old train rails. The holes that were in the old shoji have been covered up with an elaborate patchwork of Japanese washi paper, and beautiful old objects are located everywhere in the house… We couldn’t stop taking pictures. Wherever you go there’s beauty. And a certain playfulness can be felt.
　
For dinner, the owner, Ms. Matsuba, and the guests all dine together at a big table in the open kitchen. Everybody Introduces themselves and then we start the dinner. The father of a family from Kansai, seemed embarrassed to eat a meal with people he had only just met for the first time. But I thought that it was a very nice concept. It was a very nice experience to spend time and share a meal with people who we might never meet again. We often reminisce about our stay at Takyo Abeke. Unlike any other inn that we have stayed at.
 

Photos by Nik van der Giesen / Text by Nao Yasuta

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Nik van der Giesen is a photographer and designer from the Netherlands.
Together with his partner Nao Yasuta, they run hitonoto, where they share their love for remarkable places, things and people.
Japanese culture and aesthetics continue to be an endless source of inspiration for his work.

instagram @nvdg81 / @hitonoto_japan