Chapel on the Water, Hoshino ResortsTomamu
Tadao Ando built the Chapel on the Water in central Hokkaido in 1988, and it is on every list of the buildings that made his name.
Chapel on the Water, Hoshino Resorts Tomamu is a resort destination wedding venue in Shimukappu, Japan, hosting 2 to 60 guests in the $$$ price range, reached from New Chitose (CTS), ~100 minutes by car. Best months: April, June, July, September.
Chapel on the Water, Hoshino Resorts Tomamu in Shimukappu, open April, June – July, September.
Tadao Ando built the Chapel on the Water in central Hokkaido in 1988, and it is on every list of the buildings that made his name.
A concrete box opens on one side onto an artificial pond, a cross stands in 15 centimetres of water, and the wall slides away so that the congregation looks at the cross against the trees with no glass in between.
Water runs at the altar.
Hoshino Resorts runs it as a working wedding chapel on the Tomamu estate, alongside an Ice Chapel built fresh each winter, and the resort behind it holds two hotels, Risonare Tomamu and Tomamu The Tower, so a guest list sleeps on site and moves by shuttle.
4 notes of our own.
Designed by Tadao Ando, completed 1988
Cross standing in 15 cm of water, the wall sliding open to the pond
Winter Ice Chapel rebuilt each season on the same estate
Two hotels on the estate, Risonare Tomamu and Tomamu The Tower
Best held in April, June, July.
The months the weather, and the local rhythm, is kindest to a stay at Chapel on the Water, Hoshino Resorts Tomamu.
Ask about a date.
Choose a day from the calendar.
Nothing is reserved until the venue confirms. A first note comes back within two business days.
How the weekend usually runs.
Yours will be different, nothing below is required. Every planning begins with the three meals you most want to eat, and builds outward.
- 16:00Arrival at Tomamu, onsen, dinner at the resort
- 06:30Early photographs at the chapel in the first light
- 14:00Ceremony, the wall open onto the pond
- 15:30Drinks in the woods, the party walking back by the water
- 18:00Dinner for the whole group, Hokkaido produce
- 09:00Unkai Terrace at dawn if the cloud sea shows, then departures
Things worth knowing.
CTS · ~100 minutes by car
Guests fly into New Chitose. Our team arranges every transfer.
$16,000
Hoshino Resorts publishes no capacity or wedding price for this chapel. The entry-level ceremony figure is planner-reported; the rest is ours, converted at about 155 yen to the dollar.
See the full figure+
2,500,000 to 5,000,000 yen for 30 guests, about $16,000 to $32,000 (estimated)
$1,000
A one-time licence and setup fee, paid to the venue.
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Not published; Hoshino Resorts ceremony plans have been reported from around 150,000 yen, about $1,000 (planner-reported)
15,000 to 25,000 yen a head for a resort banquet / head
A seated dinner with wine and service, by headcount.
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15,000 to 25,000 yen a head for a resort banquet (estimated)
$195 / person / night
Per person, per night, in the wedding window. Group rates on request.
See the full figure+
Rooms from roughly 30,000 yen per person with dinner, about $195 (estimated)
April, June – July, September
The 4 months the weather is kindest. Shoulder dates soften the light and the rates.
Figures are estimates, modeled from regional rates and public sources, not a quote from the venue. Once the venue claims this page, their own rates take precedence.
Asked along the way.
How many guests can the Chapel on the Water hold?+
Hoshino Resorts does not publish a figure. The building is a single small concrete room opening onto the pond, and the resort describes weddings here as gatherings of a few close people, so plan for a ceremony in the tens and confirm the number directly.
What is the Ice Chapel?+
A second chapel built from ice on the same estate each winter, rebuilt every season, which the resort offers alongside the Ando chapel. It exists only in the cold months, so it is a January or February option rather than a year-round one.
Can we visit before booking?+
Yes, and it is worth doing. The chapel opens to visitors in short morning and evening slots between late April and early November, roughly 6:30 to 7:30 and 20:30 to 21:30, so a site visit has to be timed rather than dropped in on.
Where do guests stay?+
On the estate. Tomamu holds two hotels, Risonare Tomamu, whose rooms run over 100 square metres with a jet bath and sauna, and Tomamu The Tower, and shuttles run between them, the restaurants and the chapel.
How do guests reach Tomamu?+
New Chitose airport near Sapporo is roughly 100 minutes by car. There is also a JR station at Tomamu with a resort shuttle meeting trains, which makes it reachable without hiring a car, unusual for a Hokkaido mountain resort.
Others to weigh.
Ask about dates at Chapel on the Water, Hoshino Resorts Tomamu.
A note to us with a rough season and guest count. Nothing is reserved until the venue confirms. A reply comes within two business days, from a person by name.