Japan’s PokoPoko Clubhouse

Deep in one of Japan’s many forests, there are cottages that elicit thoughts of fairy tales. Located in the woods in Nasu Highlands’ Tochigi region, the PokoPoko Clubhouse is an architectural fantasy. Designed by the Tokyo-based Klein Dytham Architecture, the PokoPoko Clubhouse is the kid-friendly clubhouse to Risonare Nasu Resort which is located two and a half hours north of Tokyo.

The architectural firm was established by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham in 1991; it was further advanced by combining with Yukinari Hisama five years later. Named after the Japanese term “poko poko” which means to stick out, the clubhouse can be seen from far away. The three distinct conical roofs magically peek out from the woodlands of the Nasu Highlands.

The whimsical clubhouse is set within a forest clearing between the resort’s two existing room blocks. The firm’s co-founder Mark Dytham said (courtesy of Dezeen), “The concept of the project was to create a fairytale building in a clearing of the forest. We wanted the building to peek out between the trees and become an icon in the forest, as well as a landmark for the hotel when seen from the road that leads up to it.”

The cottages consist of three interconnected circular plans; the timber cones give the structure a distinctive and unique outline. The interconnected circular plans were designed to facilitate family-oriented activities for the hotel’s guests. Each “cottage” begins as a glass cylinder which is then topped with a conical, timber roof rather than a traditional Japanese pitched roof.

Inside each cone, a series of paired beams runs between a steel ring above the clubhouse’s glass walls with a steel ring around the roof light. The beams are topped with plywood sheets to produce a tension-filled layer that is topped with insulation and a shingle roof. Dytham said, “Local timber was a natural choice in this area of rural Japan. Working with Japan’s leading structural wood company, Shelter, we were able to develop a unique twisting structure.”

PokoPoko was built out of the client’s desire to connect the two hotel buildings on the current site. The vision was centered around the renovation and addition of both buildings and the rooms inside. In 1986, the hotel included a smaller guest house; the addition increased the number of rooms to forty.

A beautiful hard-scaped footbridge is the link between the two complexes. Meandering through a lush forest, it is the perfect entrance to an enchanted place.