Tadao Ando is well known for his attention to nature and his attention to the relationship between the inner and outer Spaces of buildings.

The site slopes down to the river in a clearing in a beech forest, where nature, an obvious element in all of Ando's buildings, begins to emerge from the water on this Japanese church through the subconscious.

Facing west, the church is surrounded by mountains and trees, and the resort hotel is located to the east. The church, with two overlapping cubic forms, is adjacent to a large pond, from which a small natural channel is ascended. The two larger cubes serve as chapels and are joined by a semicircular spiral staircase to the entrance of the smaller cubes. To separate the church from the hotel behind it, a long L-shaped wall runs along the south and east sides of the building, parallel to the pond.

In order to enter the church, visitors need to enter the fiberglass cube at the northernmost end, which contains four large cement crosses that pull upward. The path leads to and around these crosses and down to a deep spiral staircase that connects with the large cube of the chapel below. Once inside, visitors are struck by the view of the pond and hillside trees through the operable glass walls. The other three walls are made of concrete, which also forms a cross in the middle of the pond.

Ando succeeded in designing a sacred space through ritual and circuitous entry routes, and the L-shaped walls make the church stand out and separate from the hotel behind it, becoming a secluded and protected space. The natural surroundings of the church add to the experience of the building, especially during the months between December and April when the local area is covered with snow and ice. The church is one of the most desired wedding destinations for young Japanese women and holds many weddings each year. The large glass walls are closed most of the time to protect against weather damage. But for the ceremony, the glass walls are opened to connect guests with the seemingly infinite nature outside.