How might architecture be used to provide a peaceful sanctuary to reflect and restore one’s energy? Or to create a place to stimulate intellectual creativity? Nebulous lofty goals, perhaps, but then again, Japan’s Shishi-Iwa House was conceived by its architect – the Pritzker Prize laureate Shigeru Ban – to be a little out of the ordinary.
Located about an hour’s train ride from Tokyo in Nagano’s mountain resort town of Karuizawa, the two-storey, ten-room boutique hotel is a calm retreat of shaded courtyards, enclosed gardens and vast rooms. Its gently undulating roof almost hidden by the surrounding forest of maples, cherry blossoms and evergreens.
Aimed at both private travellers and corporate bigwigs on an office retreat, the resort draws guests out into the public spaces, luring even the most reluctant couch potato onto sun-lit terraces and a soaring A-framed sitting room – the public spaces lined in timber by Ban and furnished with customised pieces and Alvar Aalto furniture alongside 1960s art by the likes of Masaaki Yamada and Jiro Yoshihara.
Contemplative moments are supplemented by breakfast bento boxes, barbecues of wagyu beef, Karuizawa whiskey and sake tastings in the library, forest treks towards Mount Asama, and scenic biking tours to the Sengataki falls.
ADDRESS
2147 - 646 Shishi-iwa Nagakura
Karuizawa-machi Kitasaku-gun
Nagano
-
A celestial New York exhibition showcases Roman and Williams’ mastery of lightingLauded design studio Roman and Williams is exhibiting 100 variations of its lighting ‘family tree’ inside a historic Tribeca space
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter LindberghOlivier Flaviano, curator and head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
-
Take a bite: Laila Gohar and The Luxury Collection’s ‘Cakes & Candles’ are a sweet treat for the sensesLaila Gohar’s six cake-inspired candles draw on The Luxury Collection’s hotels around the world – where guests can enjoy matching edible confections
-
First look: Noma Kyoto returns and aims to ‘double-wow’ dinersNoma Kyoto opens on 8 October for a ten-week pop-up inside Ace Kyoto. Thomas Lykke, co-founder of OEO Studio, tells us of the interiors’ autumn-forest inspiration
-
Kengo Kuma’s new Kyoto hotel is ‘a sanctuary of ethereal beauty’A former ryokan inn, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto offers onsen rooms equipped with natural hot spring water, and a contemporary take on a Noh theatre
-
A minimalist teahouse makes a serene addition to a Tadao Ando-designed Kyoto hotelOgata at The Shinmonzen is a contemporary reinterpretation of a Japanese teahouse that sells traditional blends, confectionery, crafts and fragrances
-
Tour the new Four Seasons Osaka, where time stands stillSet within a 49-storey tower, Four Seasons Osaka takes the traditional ryokan experience to new heights
-
Aman Residences Tokyo float high above the Japanese capitalAman Residences Tokyo, Aman Group’s first standalone branded residences, feature dramatic yet serene interiors by Yabu Pushelberg
-
Step inside this rare Shiro Kuramata-designed cocktail bar in JapanShiro Kuramata designed hundreds of bars in his lifetime, but few remain intact. Now fans are making a pilgrimage to Comblé Bar in Shizuoka
-
Find yourself at Six Senses Kyoto, the brand's breathtaking Japan debutSix Senses Kyoto opens its doors boasting tranquil, luxurious interiors by Blink Design Group
-
Dip into Janu Tokyo hotel, Aman’s sociable new sibling brandStep inside the Jean-Michel Gathy-designed Janu Tokyo and discover its state-of-the-art wellness facilities
