Fujinoya Okunoin (ふじ乃や 奥の院 / OKUNOIN), a whole-house rental, opened in Tanabe, Wakayama, in summer 2026. It is the second property of the whole-house lodging brand Fujinoya, operated by GROWLAND Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minabe, Hidaka District, Wakayama; Representative Director Taichi Fujiwara).
Fujinoya is aimed at visitors to Tanabe, the gateway to the World Heritage Kumano Kodo, and offers something different from a hotel or ryokan: time spent together in a single house.
But the goal behind the project goes beyond building lodging. Vacant houses in the area are turned into inns, and the guests who stay in them are encouraged to head out into Tanabe. They visit local restaurants, meet local people and culture, and then set out for the Kumano Kodo.
"Vacant houses become inns, and guests go into town."
Through its lodging business, GROWLAND aims to realize its mission of contributing to the growth of all the "people," "regions," and "industries" it is involved with.
It Started With Housing for Foreign Staff
GROWLAND began with the sales and repair of agricultural machinery and has since expanded into e-commerce, media, staffing, lodging, and more.
The starting point for the lodging business was not a plan to enter the tourism industry. When the company was hiring foreign staff, it wondered whether, instead of only signing an apartment lease for each person, it could acquire a detached house, renovate it, and use it as housing. It began looking into the local housing situation, and that is how the idea took shape.
What it found was that while detached houses in the area are sold at relatively affordable prices, there are also vacant houses that are no longer used. For a company that had been involved with the region through farming and agricultural machinery, the question of what to do with houses no one lives in was a newly recognized local issue.
A New Company Name and a New Standard for Choosing Businesses
When the company changed its name to GROWLAND, it set a new mission:
To contribute to the growth of all the "people," "regions," and "industries" it is involved with
While looking into vacant houses, the company began to ask itself whether it could do something about this issue through its own business. If a vacant house could be more than just reused, and instead become a place where new people visit the area, it might create value not only for the building itself but also for the surrounding community and industries.
Lodging emerged as the candidate in exploring that possibility.
Overseas Trips in a Single House Provided the Hint
Another big hint for the lodging business came from the team's own experiences abroad.
On overseas training trips, the team always stays in lodging where an entire house is rented. The reason is that, unlike at a hotel where everyone returns to their own room, everyone can gather in the living room at the end of the day. They eat together, talk about what happened that day, and plan the next day. Those moments left a strong impression on the trip.
What makes the trip is not the act of staying itself, but spending time together.
The company wondered whether it could offer the same kind of experience in Tanabe, and from there it began considering the whole-house rental format in concrete terms.
Is There Real Demand? Checking the Numbers and Standing at Tanabe Station
The decision to start the business was not based on the impression that the Kumano Kodo must mean lodging demand. The company researched the lodging market and existing facilities in Tanabe, and it spoke with local groups connected to the Kumano Kodo to learn in what numbers and groups travelers visit Tanabe. It also went to Kii-Tanabe Station to see for itself what kinds of travelers use the station.
According to Tanabe City statistics, the city had 409,266 overnight guests in 2024. Of these, 68,695 were foreign guests, a large increase from 39,877 in 2023. Backed by regional attractions such as the Kumano Kodo, many people visit Tanabe from both Japan and overseas.
At the same time, the company concluded that there was still room for the kind of option it had been looking for:
A place where several people, such as family or friends, can gather and stay together in one house
Vacant houses as a local issue, the lodging demand of travelers visiting Tanabe, and the whole-house experience the company itself valued: with these three connected, GROWLAND decided to enter the lodging business.
Fujinoya: Time That Is Neither a Hotel Nor a Ryokan
This is how the whole-house lodging brand Fujinoya was born.
The brand's tagline is:
"Unwind, away from the everyday."
Each stay is a private space in an entire house, unlike a ryokan or a hotel. Guests can spend time at ease with family and friends, and gather in the living room when they return from their outings. The aim is for guests to feel the air of Kumano and the quiet of the night, and to spend their stay as though they had "another home at their destination."
Fujinoya Rooftop (ROOFTOP) opened in May 2026, and Fujinoya Okunoin (OKUNOIN) has now joined as the second property.
Fujinoya Okunoin / OKUNOIN
- Address: 77 Nakayashikicho, Tanabe-shi, Wakayama
- Building type: Entire house (private use)
- Access: About a 10-minute walk from JR Kii-Tanabe Station
- Check-in: 4:00 PM
- Check-out: 10:00 AM
- Parking: Available
- Official website: https://fujinoya.ne.jp/
It is a whole-house rental where guests can relax with the people who matter to them while taking in the atmosphere of Kumano and Tanabe.
Deliberately No Dinner: Sending Guests Into Tanabe
The Fujinoya properties near Tanabe Station have one more distinguishing feature.
The lodging does not serve dinner.
This is not a way of cutting back on service. Rather, it is so that guests can enjoy the town of Tanabe.
Around JR Kii-Tanabe Station is a restaurant district known as Ajikoji (味光路). According to the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau, more than 200 izakaya, snack bars, and other establishments are gathered around Ajikoji, forming the leading dining district in the Kinan area. Many of the restaurants serve locally landed seafood, regional dishes, and drinks.
Rather than finishing every meal inside an inn or hotel, the idea is that since guests are staying in Tanabe, they should head out into town. Walking the streets looking for a place to eat, enjoying local dishes, and chatting with the people who run the restaurants are all meant to be part of the experience of staying in Tanabe.
Not "Keeping In" Guests: A Way of Working With the Community
If the aim were to maximize sales from lodging alone, one approach would be to offer meals and services on site and keep as much guest spending as possible inside the facility.
Fujinoya does not necessarily aim for that.
The lodging provides the place to stay, and guests enjoy dinner at local restaurants. Before and after heading to the Kumano Kodo, they walk around Tanabe and come into contact with local shops and culture. In this way, the spending generated by lodging spreads to the community, not just the inn.
It is not only the inn that grows; more guests also lead to more business for local industries.
This is also Fujinoya's business policy, based on GROWLAND's mission of contributing to the growth of all the "people," "regions," and "industries" it is involved with.
What's Next: From a Place to Stay to a Gateway for Enjoying Tanabe
Fujinoya does not plan to focus only on increasing the number of lodging facilities. One thing it wants to work on is connecting guests with the community even more closely.
Examples include providing restaurant information gathered by staff walking around the area, experiences that let guests learn about the history and culture of the Kumano Kodo before heading out, and information that helps guests get to know the town of Tanabe, along with collaboration with local businesses.
The hope is to make Tanabe a place where people think not only "I stay in Tanabe to go to the Kumano Kodo," but also "I want to spend time in Tanabe too." Fujinoya is meant to grow as one of the gateways to that.
A building that had been a vacant house is gathering people again. Those people head from the inn into the town, meet restaurants and local people, and take home the time they spent in Tanabe and Kumano.
Vacant houses become inns, and guests go into town.
Through Fujinoya, GROWLAND aims to build a lodging business that connects people, regions, and industries.
