What to Check Before Using a Closed School for Lodging
Three things to check, and how the MEXT survey and casebook count lodging uses
Total guest room floor area for a simple lodging business
33 m² or more
Or 3.3 m² per guest if the number of guests is set below 10 (Inns and Hotels Act Order, Article 1(2))
Floor area used for the new purpose above which a change of use needs confirmation
200 m²
Building Standards Act, Articles 87(1) and 6(1)(i)
Grant rate for developing lodging and similar facilities under the farm-stay type
1/2
Standard cap of ¥25 million per project period (FY2026 budget)
From FY2004 through FY2023, a cumulative total of 8,850 schools were closed, with 74.4% of existing facilities now in active use. The survey's table of main uses has no category for lodging, so this article looks at the six cases in the MEXT casebook that list accommodation as a use.
Before turning a closed school into lodging, check three things. The order is this article's own.
- The zoning, and whether the site is in an urbanization control area. Hotels and inns cannot be built in some zones, and in an urbanization control area a change of use needs permission (see Building, City Planning and Fire Rules to Check)
- Which business type under the Inns and Hotels Act you will be permitted for. Standards for guest rooms, bathing, washing facilities and toilets differ by type (next section)
- Fire safety equipment and the grants you can use (see Available Grants)
Permits and Structural Standards Under the Inns and Hotels Act
Business types, the permitting authority, standards for inn and hotel business and simple lodging business, and the 100-metre rule around schools
Business Types and the Permitting Authority
The inn business means inn and hotel business, simple lodging business and boarding house business. Simple lodging business means a business that provides a facility mainly made up of structures and equipment where the place to stay is shared by many people, and lets people stay for lodging fees, other than boarding house business. Inn and hotel business means a business that provides a facility and lets people stay for lodging fees, other than simple lodging business and boarding house business. To stay means to use such a facility with bedding.Anyone who intends to operate an inn business must obtain a permit from the prefectural governor (or the mayor of a city with a public health centre, or the mayor of a special ward). Whether classrooms become shared rooms or private rooms decides which set of standards applies.
Structural Standards
The structural standards for inn and hotel business facilities and simple lodging business facilities are as shown in the table.| Item | Inn and hotel business (para. 1) | Simple lodging business (para. 2) |
|---|---|---|
| Guest room size | Each guest room at least 7 m² (9 m² for rooms with beds) | Total guest room floor area at least 33 m² (3.3 m² per guest if the number of guests is set below 10) |
| Reception | A front desk suitable for meeting guests or other equipment for properly identifying them (standard set by MHLW Ordinance) | Not set in para. 2 |
| Bunk beds | Not set in para. 1 | Gap between upper and lower bunks of about 1 m or more |
| Ventilation and similar | Adequate ventilation, daylight, lighting, damp-proofing and drainage | Same |
| Bathing | Bathing facilities of adequate scale to meet guest needs, unless bathing is not hindered, for example by a nearby public bath | Bathing facilities of a scale to meet guest needs, with the same exception |
| Washing and toilets | Washing facilities of adequate scale to meet guest needs, and an adequate number of toilets | Same |
| Local ordinance | Standards set by prefectural ordinance (or by the city or special ward with a public health centre) | Same |
The Area Within About 100 Metres of Schools
Where a facility would be located within about 100 metres of the grounds of a school (other than a university), a child welfare facility or similar, and its establishment is found likely to seriously harm the wholesome environment of that school or facility, the permit may be refused. Before granting a permit for a facility in that area, the authority must seek the opinion of, for a public school, the board of education of the local government that runs it, among others. Where schools were merged and one is still in use nearby, check this first.
Building, City Planning and Fire Rules to Check
Confirmation for a change of use, zoning restrictions, permission in urbanization control areas, and item (5)(a) of the Fire Service Act Order
Confirmation for a Change of Use
When a building's use is changed so that it becomes a special building for a use in column (i) of Appended Table 1 and the floor area used for that purpose exceeds 200 m², the confirmation procedure applies, except for changes between similar uses specified by Cabinet Order. Item (2) of Appended Table 1 covers hospitals, clinics with inpatient facilities, hotels, inns, boarding houses, apartment buildings, dormitories and similar uses specified by Cabinet Order, and item (3) covers schools, gymnasiums and similar uses specified by Cabinet Order. The similar uses that need no confirmation include a group of hotels and inns, and schools are not in any group. Converting a school into a hotel or inn with more than 200 m² used for that purpose needs confirmation. The procedure is covered in Abandoned School Use Change and the Building Standards Act.
Zoning
When the use of a building is changed, Article 48(1) to (14) (restrictions in use districts) apply. Hotels and inns are not among the buildings that may be built in category 1 and category 2 low-rise exclusive residential zones, category 1 mid/high-rise exclusive residential zones and rural residential zones, and they are listed among the buildings that must not be built in category 2 mid/high-rise exclusive residential zones, industrial zones and exclusively industrial zones. In category 1 residential zones, buildings whose floor area used for purposes other than those allowed in category 1 mid/high-rise exclusive residential zones exceeds 3,000 m² (other than those specified by Cabinet Order) must not be built. Check the zoning of the site with the municipality's city planning department.
Urbanization Control Areas
In an urbanization control area outside development areas with development permission, no one may rebuild a building or change its use so that it becomes a building other than those in Article 29(1)(ii) or (iii) without permission from the prefectural governor. Article 29(1)(ii) covers buildings for agriculture, forestry or fisheries specified by Cabinet Order and housing for people engaged in them, and (iii) covers railway stations and other railway facilities, libraries, community halls, substations and similar buildings needed in the public interest that are specified by Cabinet Order. In this section, the prefectural governor means the mayor within a designated city or core city. If you plan lodging, ask the development permission office whether permission is needed and what the criteria are.
Fire Code Category and Equipment
In Appended Table 1, inns, hotels, lodging houses and similar are item (5)(a), and elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools and similar are item (7). Automatic fire alarm systems are required in item (5)(a) buildings regardless of total floor area. For item (5)(a), sprinkler systems are required in buildings with 11 or more storeys above ground, in multi-storey buildings where the floor area other than parts specified by MIC Ordinance totals 6,000 m² or more, and on basement or windowless floors of 1,000 m² or more and floors from the fourth to the tenth of 1,500 m² or more, among others. Equipment the school did not need may become necessary, so check the drawings with the fire department before design.
Available Grants
Grant rate and caps for facility development under the farm-stay type of the Rural Promotion Grant, and the grants the casebook cases used
Rural Promotion Grant: Farm-Stay Type
The Facility Development Project for Creating Value from Local Resources (farm-stay type) supports development of lodging, dining, and hands-on or exchange facilities that use old houses and similar buildings needed to promote farm stays. The project period is up to two years, the grant rate is 1/2, and the cap is ¥25 million per project period. The cap is raised in cases such as renovating idle assets. The facility development project implemented by municipalities and core corporations supports the cost of developing lodging, hands-on exchange facilities, farm restaurants and similar that use old houses and the like, with a standard cap of ¥25 million. The cap is raised by ¥25 million when idle facilities such as old houses are used, and by ¥75 million when idle assets owned by a municipality are used.Ask the regional agricultural administration office or the prefecture whether a plan to use a municipally owned closed school for lodging qualifies for the raised cap, and what local council and core corporation arrangements are needed. Other programmes are listed in Subsidies for Closed School Reuse: All 6 Ministries Covered.
Grants Used in the Casebook Cases
The grants listed by the six casebook cases differ by case. Shimada used the Regional Revitalization Telework Grant and the Regional Revitalization Temporary Grant for COVID-19, Saga used depopulation countermeasure bonds and the Regional Revitalization Base Development Grant, and Miyoshi used the SME Agency's start-up subsidy and Tokushima Prefecture subsidies. These were the programmes in place when each project started, so check current calls in each ministry's documents.
Six Casebook Cases Used for Lodging
Contract forms and renovation costs of the six cases, how Shimada, Miyoshi and Saga proceeded, and Akizuno Garten in Tanabe
Of the 47 cases in the casebook, six list accommodation in the Use field.| Case | School | Current use | Operator (contract form) | Renovation cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Iizuna, Nagano | Two former elementary schools | Start-up exchange facility and nature experience facility | The town, with a designated manager (converted) | About ¥222M (EAST) and ¥250M (WEST); municipality about ¥277M, subsidies about ¥195M |
| 22 Shimada, Shizuoka | Former Yui Elementary School | Glamping facility | A private company (paid lease) | About ¥406M in total; municipality about ¥6M, operator about ¥376M, subsidies about ¥24M |
| 30 Kainan, Wakayama | Former Daiichi Junior High School | Sports centre | The city (converted; managed by a designated manager since FY2019) | About ¥490M in total; municipality about ¥310M, subsidies about ¥180M |
| 36 Miyoshi, Tokushima | Former Deai Elementary School | Café and hostel | A private company (free lease) | About ¥12.5M in total (subsidy amount) |
| 41 Saga, Saga | Former Fuji Elementary School | Community hub, office and training camp facility | The city, with a designated manager (converted) | About ¥750M in total; municipality about ¥400M, subsidies about ¥350M |
| 47 Uruma, Okinawa | Former Hama Junior High School | Community hub | The city (converted) | About ¥205M in total; municipality about ¥10M, subsidies about ¥195M |
In two of the six cases, Shimada (paid) and Miyoshi (free), a company leases the school; in the other four the municipality converted it.
Shimada: A Proposal Call Before the School Closed
After the closure of Yui Elementary School at the end of FY2020 was decided, no local or public use could be found, so with local consent the school was listed on the Minna no Haiko Project website. Within a month several companies had enquired, and in November that year the city published guidelines for a public proposal call, announcing the preferred negotiating partner the following month. A project agreement was signed in June 2021 and a lease in September 2021, and the facility opened in February 2022. Twenty-one tents of five types stand on the schoolyard, and the school building has bathrooms, a playroom and telework facilities. Because proposals were sought before the school closed, the operator could not freely inspect the inside of the building, which the city thinks limited the accuracy of the proposals. At a local briefing, concerns were raised about the farming environment of the surrounding tea fields, and the operator explains this to guests in advance.Miyoshi: Widening a Call That Drew No Applicants
At the former Deai Elementary School, a community café opened in 2014 and a hostel opened in spring 2016. The city had been inviting applications to use closed schools but received none; the department in charge of closed schools and the department in charge of attracting businesses then worked together, using the website and hosting inspection tours to widen the call, which led to the decision on this use. The operator said that because the business was started remotely from Tokyo, detailed procedures were hard to handle.Saga: One Call from Basic Policy to Operation, with the City Converting the School
The former Fuji Elementary School, closed at the end of March 2013, centres on simple lodging that can hold around 145 people, with a community space, satellite office space, meeting rooms, hot spring facilities, a gymnasium and an artificial turf ground, and can be used for sports and corporate training camps. Building on discussions in a use study group centred on local residents, the city ran a proposal call for a joint venture able to support the basic policy, design and operation together, and arranged for the operator who would run the facility after completion to have a say in its development.Tanabe: Akizuno Garten
Akizuno Garten, in Tanabe, Wakayama, is an urban-rural exchange facility created in November 2008 when local residents invested, bought the disused local elementary school from Tanabe City and renovated it. It has a farm restaurant, lodging, a confectionery workshop, a hands-on building that uses the old wooden school building, and a mandarin orange museum. The operating company is an agricultural corporation established in June 2007, which says 489 people founded it to support the community.How to Reuse a Closed School: Survey Counts, MEXT's List of Closed Schools Seeking Uses, the Property Disposal Procedure, and National Subsidies
Survey counts and why uses stay undecided, MEXT's list of closed schools seeking uses, when property disposal needs only a report or no treasury repayment, and the national subsidy list
Subsidies for Closed School Reuse
Cost shares and eligible applicants, checked against MEXT's April 2026 list and each ministry's documents
Abandoned School Use Change and the Building Standards Act
The floor area that triggers confirmation for a change of use, and when fire compartments, smoke control and interior finish rules apply, checked against the statutes
Closed School Renovation Costs: Breakdown by Cost Item and Case Examples
How to think about renovation costs by structure, interiors, building services, fire safety equipment and accessibility, with amounts from MEXT's case collection.
What to do next
When developing a school reuse plan and renovation budget, check the following matters.
| # | What to check or consider | Responsible team or contact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find operators interested in using the building. Ask about their intended uses and requirements, and use the responses to develop the reuse plan | Market sounding and local operators |
| 2 | Check the seismic assessment and asbestos survey results. If surveys have not been conducted, determine their scope and how to commission them | Facilities team |
| 3 | Estimate renovation costs from the survey results and compare them with demolition costs | Design office |
| 4 | Check the property disposal procedures. For subsidized school buildings, check MEXT approval or reporting requirements against the intended use and disposal restriction period | Board of education and MEXT |
| 5 | Explain the proposed reuse to alumni and community groups and hear their views before announcing the use | Alumni and neighbourhood associations |
Check operator interest and requirements before finalizing the use, and take prospective demand into account when developing the reuse plan.
References
Inns and Hotels Act (Act No. 138 of 1948) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Order for Enforcement of the Inns and Hotels Act (Cabinet Order No. 152 of 1957) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Order for Enforcement of the Building Standards Act (Cabinet Order No. 338 of 1950) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
City Planning Act (Act No. 100 of 1968) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act (Cabinet Order No. 37 of 1961) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
FY2026 Budget: The Farm-Stay Promotion Type — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (2026)
Outline of the Farm-Stay Type within the FY2026 Measures for Creating Value from Local Resources — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (2026)
Promotion of Nōhaku (farm stays) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (2026)
Casebook on Repurposing Closed Schools (Minna no Haiko Project) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2023)
FY2024 Survey on the Utilization of Closed School Facilities (as of 1 May 2024) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2025)
Akizuno Garten — Akizuno Garten (2026)
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