residencyA private residency near Tokyo — stay, record, and create in Fujino, Japan
inou studio works as a private residency for artists visiting Japan. You rent the whole property — a recording studio and a separate accommodation building — and stay there while you work. There is no application, no jury, and no fixed programme: you book the dates you want and the place is yours.
It sits in Fujino, Kanagawa, about an hour by car from central Tokyo and roughly 1.5 hours from Haneda Airport. Close enough to fit around shows and sessions in the city, far enough that nothing reaches you while you are here.
What it is
Most residencies ask you to apply months ahead and fit a theme. This is simpler. The studio and the house are booked as one unit, by the day, for as long as you want them. You bring the project; we hand over the keys.
Artists, engineers, designers, and people who live locally have all worked here. If a collaboration would help, tell us what you are looking for and we will see who we can introduce you to.
Where you will be
Fujino (population around 8,000) is known as an art village. Artists were evacuated here during the Second World War, and since the 1990s the area has hosted art projects and residencies. It has spent more than thirty years welcoming artists who moved out from the city, and it is one of Japan’s Transition Movement towns.
It is a decentralised satoyama — dozens of small villages in valleys under the Tanzawa Mountains, surrounded by forest and streams. The studio window faces that range. In practice, the landscape is most of what you will look at while you work.
Studio and accommodation
- Studio building — control room with a large mountain-facing window
- Monitors — NEUMANN KH 750 DSP D Gen.2 / KH 120 II
- Microphones — NEUMANN TLM 103
- I/O — Solid State Logic Big Six
- Compressors — AVALON DESIGN VT-747SP
- Instruments — KOMPLETE KONTROL A61 MIDI keyboard
- Accommodation building — sofa bed and loft, shower and toilet, kitchenette, lounge, deck. Sleeps 3–4
- Parking for three vans
There is more gear on site than listed here. Tell us what your project needs and we will confirm what is available.
Where bigger groups sleep
The accommodation building is simple — a sofa bed and a loft — and it sleeps three to four. When the group is bigger than that, the arrangement we suggest is the whole studio to yourselves by day, and a house nearby at night.
Fujino is full of whole-house rentals: old farmhouses and cottages, some of them taking fifteen or twenty-five people. Hourokusha and Shinkirou are in Makino, the same valley as the studio. Ooda Sanso and Nissoen are in Hizure, closer to Fujino station.
Larger groups (10+)
- Ooda Sanso（おおだ山荘）Whole-house farmhouse rental. Sleeps 25 in the main house, 7 in the annex (Hizure)Website (JP)
- Yuzu no Ie（柚子の家）A 150-year-old farmhouse, renovated. Sleeps 16+, with a 48㎡ room that works for meetings and workshopsAirbnb
- Hourokusha（峰麓舎）Whole-house farmhouse rental. Sleeps 15 across three tatami rooms, fire pit, parking for five. Same Makino district as the studioAirbnb
- Nissoen（日相園）Nine cottages by Lake Sagami. 2–15 people, BBQ facilities (Hizure)Website (JP)
Smaller groups (4–8)
- Shinkirou（神氣龍）Whole-house rental, sleeps 8. Pickup from Fujino station on request. Same Makino district as the studioWebsite (JP)Airbnb
- Fujino House（藤野ハウス）Whole-house rental, sleeps 6. A 12-minute walk from Fujino station, with a supermarket and convenience store three minutes awayAirbnb
- Gallery RoomA separate private room, sleeps 4. Hung with paintings, hot springs nearbyAirbnb
Check rates, availability, and pickup directly with each place — we do not book on your behalf, but we are happy to talk through how to split a group across dates and houses.
Rates
- Day use — $300
- 2 days / 1 night — $500
- Each additional night — +$200
- A week, whole property — around $1,700
Per facility, not per person — studio and accommodation together. These are independent-artist rates; labels, companies, and commercial shoots are priced separately. Check-in is between 10:00 and 21:00.
Who it suits
- Artists touring Japan who want studio time around their dates
- Writing and production trips built around a specific record
- Producers and engineers looking for a quiet stretch of work
- Duos and small teams who want to live and work in the same place
- Anyone who would rather not split the day between a studio and a hotel
Practical notes
A car is needed to reach the studio. The nearest station is Fujino on the JR Chuo line, about an hour from Shinjuku, but you cannot walk from there — tell us in advance if you are arriving by train.
The accommodation has a kitchenette with a kettle, coffee gear, and a fridge. The map below marks the shops, food, and hot springs worth knowing about while you are here.
We correspond in English and Japanese. Email contact@inou.io with your dates and what you are planning.
FAQ
Do I need to apply?
No. There is no application or selection process. Email us with the dates you want and what you are working on, and we will confirm availability.
How long can I stay?
From a single night upward. A 2 day / 1 night stay is $500 and each extra night is $200, so longer stays are straightforward — a week is around $1,700 for the whole property.
How many people can stay?
The accommodation building sleeps 3–4. For bigger groups the arrangement is the studio to yourselves by day and a house nearby at night; see “Where bigger groups sleep” on this page.
How do I get there from the airport?
Roughly 1.5 hours by car from Haneda Airport. A car is the practical way in — the nearest station is Fujino on the JR Chuo line, about an hour from Shinjuku, but you still need a car from there.
Is an engineer available?
Tell us what your project needs when you enquire and we will let you know what we can arrange.
Can I use it for something other than music?
Yes — shoots, writing, and retreats all work here. Commercial shoots are priced separately.
Or email contact@inou.io with your dates.