Even on the shores of the ocean, many people have heard praises such as Hoshino "daring to talk to Aman" and "one of the reasons why the hotel controls to visit Japan."
Hoshino Group has a number of brands in Japan that focus on different styles and needs, among which the "Hongshinoya" and "Kai" series should be the two most familiar to overseas travelers. As a 100-year-old Japanese resort and hotel management company, Hoshino Group has never stopped moving, and in 2022 alone, a total of 5 new works in the "World" series were released.
Japan officially resumed its free travel yesterday, and I believe that the day when we will meet it again should not be far away. But before that, it's a good idea to review the Hoshino Group's bold creativity and get to know five new titles in the "World" series to add a few check-in options to your next travel list.
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Hoshino Group
One of the top in Japan's hotel scene
Just like Aman's founder Adrian Zecha, Soneva's founder Sonu, and Hoshino Group's current status, it is also inseparable from its fourth-generation head, Hoshino Yoshiro.
Mr. Hoshino Yoshiro is indeed a leader and hero in Japan's contemporary hotel industry - he boldly challenged the operation ideas of traditional Japanese hotels and travel agencies, and with the innovative aesthetics of Hongshinoya, Japan has a hotel luxury brand that can compete with Aman gorgeousness; They acquired a number of old Japanese-style inns that were struggling and dying, and invited star designers including Kengo Kuma to change their spirited new makeup and beautiful new facilities to transform them into a refreshing new hot spring inn "Kyo" series.
Cherry blossom viewing in spring, autumn foliage, and snow coming in winter, step by step should be conveyed by the hotel to every guest who comes to Hongshinoya Kyoto. Converted from an old village, it stands on the cliffside of Arashiyama, and every frame is a scenery that can only be reached by boat, like a "private mansion by the water".
The waterway itself is not worth the fuss, the key to the year-round beauty of this waterway - cherry blossoms in spring, verdant in summer, red maples in autumn, mountains and snow in winter, the 15-minute boat ride is enough to move any well-informed guest.
Although there are only 25 rooms in Kyoto, each room is played with a completely different décor, presented with completely different views, themes, tones and layouts. Each room is covered with expensive Jingtang paper of different colors and patterns, and has been painstakingly developed to develop various styles of seats and beds for guests to enjoy the scenery from the window in the most comfortable and elegant manner.
Compared with the high-end luxury resort experience of Hongshinoya, the World Series captures people's hearts with the comfortable and warm hot spring hotel style.
Most of the series were acquired from other unmanned hot spring inns and reformed to revitalize the traditional sojourn aesthetic. Inheriting the old-fashioned hot spring inn's "one berth and two meals" and "female general service", it combines art workshops with hot spring inns, attaches importance to Japanese style and local traditional crafts and art culture, allowing tourists to appreciate and experience regional culture up close.
Atami, one of the most iconic works in the Kai series, was transformed from a 160-year-old hot spring inn (formerly known as "Penglai"), and the female general who has been in charge of living for many years is still active in the inn, writing daily menus and creating indoor floral arrangements. The female general's circle of friends includes a large number of celebrities including Kengo Kuma, so the hotel has a hot spring blessed by Kengo Kuma when it was renovated.
Located on the high ground of Mount Izu, the inn is built along the mountain and consists of the traditional Japanese "Main Hall" and the classic Western-style "Annex Villa del Sol".
The main building continues the Japanese style of a century-old inn and blends the modern sense of living in a non-traceable way.
The annex Villa del Sol is housed in a classical western-style building designated as a tangible cultural property of Japan, and has a very different style.
The open-air hot spring "Kokubi Waterfall" was designed by architect Kengo Kuma, and is surrounded by forest trees, so you can enjoy the privacy and sea view.
It can be said that "kai" is a hotel that was born to soak in hot springs. If you want to have a niche and comfortable Japanese bathing experience, you can't go wrong with your eyes closed and choose a "world".
The small but beautiful "Kie" series has a total of 5 new works this year, including the already opened Hokkaido Kakai Borata and Kyushu Kaishi Yufuin, and the remaining two months will also welcome the appearance of Kai Izumo and Kai Yunzen, while Kai Tamatazo will also reopen after renovation within the year.
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Boundary Balto
Opened on January 14, 2022
Kai Boroda is Hokkaido's first kaikai series, and "Borodo" means "Great Lake" in the language of Ainu, a local aboriginal Japanese people. Therefore, the core concept of "conical hot spring inn surrounded by Lake Baldo" was established at the beginning of the design, so that the whole is as close as possible to Lake Balto, and the lake is boldly introduced into the complex, so that all rooms can enjoy a close view of the lake.
The 42 guest rooms are modeled after the houses of Ainu, an indigenous Hokkaido, and each room has a four-corner stove table in the center, where guests can sit on the stove and enjoy a warm holiday.
The walls and cushions are decorated with Ainu motifs, and rustic birch columns and carvings create a bright and welcoming look. Looking out the window, Lake Balodo and a dense natural forest of birch and maple trees.
Inspired by the indigenous culture of the area, the designer also modeled the soup house after the local Ainu architecture, and erected a triangular log structure on the water.
The hot springs in the Balado region are the rare "Moor Spring", a rare spring that contains organic matter from natural plants and has a unique brownish brown color, which is the same as the ingredients required for many cosmetics, so it is also called "the spring of beautiful skin".
The main hot springs in the inn are "△ Yu" and "〇 Yu". "△ Yu" is located in a conical cottage full of Ainu style, and in the open-air bath overlooking Lake Boroto, guests can enjoy the view of the changing seasons; The hot spring roof of 〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇
The restaurant's kaiseki cuisine made with Hokkaido ingredients is a staple of the restaurant, and the rich soup made with seafood is paired with Hokkaido's most iconic ingredients, and the hairy crab Fanlibei seafood pot is also one of the most popular dishes.
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Kai Yufuin
Opened on August 3, 2022
As a mountainous island nation, Japan has long been known for its steep peaks, among which the terraced rice terraces (tanada) that stretch like steps along the slopes are one of the important original landscapes of Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan.
Kengo Kuma's Yufuin Temple is designed to conform to the scenery and place the original terraces of the area's famous original landscape in the center of the hot spring inn, and low-key buildings with farmhouse style are born around this scene. The rhythm of the four seasons not only reflects the most everyday scenery of Yufuin, but also reveals a profound and moving natural atmosphere.
Before planting in spring, when water covers the terraces, it will reflect the blue sky and the surrounding scenery like a mirror; After planting, it will show the freshness of the spread of emerald green seedlings; In summer, mature rice plants sway in the wind; In autumn, the terraces wrapped in rich golden ears of rice present a golden beauty; After the rice harvest, the terraces filled with straw bales are a traditional winter scenery unique to Yufuin. In addition, from autumn to early winter, you can enjoy a dreamy view surrounded by morning mist.
There are a total of 45 rooms, including 2 detached villas.
All guest rooms are made of Nanashima Town, a rare cultivated in the Kyushu Kunito Peninsula, and beds made of local bamboo, so you can be surrounded by the soft aroma of plants and trees as soon as you enter the room.
The lamps in the room are inspired by the "firefly cage", and the spiral basket that was originally used to raise fireflies is transformed into a lamp with a gentle light, creating an atmosphere of fireflies flickering on an early summer night.
Standing quietly among terraced fields, the detached villa offers unobstructed views of the rice fields and the vast sky.
The public hot springs of Kai Yufuin face Yufu Mountain, and the slopes of the mountain that are colored by flowers and autumn leaves according to the season naturally become a bathing landscape. There are two indoor baths, one with warm water and the other with hot water flowing directly from the natural spring. Outside, there is an additional hot spring seating area for further relaxation.
For dining, Kai Yufuin offers kaiseki cuisine that incorporates local food culture and makes full use of the natural blessings of the mountains. The specialty of kaiseki cuisine is shabu-shabu with beef, wild boar, and venison; Shiitake mushroom sauce, watercress salad, and Oita specialty citrus sauce can give meat a different flavor.
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Izumo
The opening is scheduled for November 16, 2022
Izumo is located where you can see the Westernmost Higokuchi Lighthouse on the Shimane Peninsula and Izumo Matsujima Island on the other side of the cape. In front of the hot spring inn is the endless Sea of Japan, and the view of the Nichimioki Lighthouse dyed red by the sunset.
This is also a hotel where you can fully experience the essence of Izumo mythological culture and hot springs. From Kai Izumo, it takes about 5 minutes on foot to reach Nichimiku Shrine, and it takes about 20 minutes by car to reach Izumo Taisha Shrine.
The 39 guest rooms are nicknamed "between the colorful seas" because they can enjoy the ever-changing sky and sea. Through the huge picture window, each room can enjoy a slightly different view of the sea color, and the décor is inspired by the changing colors of the sea on the Shimane coast.
The outdoor hot springs of Izumo are also inseparable from the sea, and you can soak in the hot pools to see the Sea of Japan and the unpredictable sky illusion when you look up, and you can look down on the beautiful scenery and the shallow shoals dotted with small islands. The chloride-rich hot spring water is a great way to warm and relax.
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Kai Tamatsukuri
Reopened on November 16, 2022
Izumo is the old name of present-day Shimane Prefecture, and in classical Japanese literature, it is recorded as a stage for Japanese mythology. It is said that every November, the gods of Japan gather at the Izumo Taisha Shrine.
Good things often happen to visitors to this area, whether for work or personally, so it is also known as the "mecca of bonding". Izumo, which references one of Japan's oldest hot springs, Tamasuko Onsen, is waiting for someone who is destined to visit the land of the gods.
Located in the town of mythology, Izumo is carefully designed with the theme of the town of Japanese mythology, whether it is from interior decoration, meals, and special activities.
All rooms are in a traditional Japanese style, and the floral decorations on the alcoves change with the seasons; There is an open-air bath made of cypress wood, so you can enjoy the natural high-quality hot spring water without leaving home. Depending on the season and type of lodging, we also prepare sake meal products with a skin-beautifying effect. The open-air hot spring in the guest room is used to take care of the skin and is more effective.
The open-air hot springs surrounded by nature are even more unrestrained, and there is a shrine in the middle of the large communal bath, which makes you sigh that the "land of gods" really lives up to its name.
Shimane is backed by mountains and the sea, and the cuisine is naturally full of delicacies from the mountains and the sea. Fresh sashimi, sushi, grilled salmon, steamed chestnuts and pickled side dishes, decorated with seasonal flowers, are sure to feel blissful with every bite. If you come in winter, you also offer Matsuba crab, a specialty of Shimane Prefecture.
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Jie Yunsen
The opening is scheduled to take place on November 25, 2022
Unzen Onsen in Nagasaki Prefecture is a strong sulfur hot spring surrounded by steam in Unzen Amakusa National Park. Kai Unzen introduced this spring water and opened the first Kai series of inns in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Interestingly, historical Nagasaki developed through cultural exchanges between many countries and has a long historical relationship with many overseas countries. Therefore, in the world of Yunsen, you can see the fusion of representative elements of Japan, China, the Netherlands and other countries.
In addition to the Nagasaki-style décor, the 51 guest rooms are decorated with elements such as orchids and tulips, and if you stay in a room with an open-air hot spring, you can directly see the steam of Unzen Jigoku Onsen.
The large communal bath is designed with stained glass techniques from the Netherlands, so bathing in the hot springs with the unique smell of sulfur often brings exotic surprises. When the outside light comes in, the colorful and bright light reflects on the water, shining beautifully.
The design of each resort is integrated with the local style and the surrounding natural landscape, rich but not obtrusive, in the series of careful works, we see Hoshino's enduring creativity and appreciation, but this creation, low-key does not offend, does not try to overshadow the original existence, so that the traditional sojourn aesthetic is revived.
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