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It was fortunate timing that brought together

Hoshino Resorts’ CEO Yoshiharu Hoshino

with architect Rie Azuma, who designs all

his flagship Hoshinoya properties. They were

both studying at Cornell University in the

mid-1980s and, as there were few Japanese

students on campus at the time, they

gravitated towards one another and met to

eat deep-fried tonkatsu pork chops at a local

restaurant. Azuma remembers Hoshino

talking about ice hockey; Hoshino recalls

being impressed by Azuma’s dedication to her

work. ‘I would often walk by the architecture

building. I remember the lights always being

on inside until late at night, and the sight

of Azuma-san working late,’ he reminisces.

Their professional collaboration started

in 1992. By then they were both running their

respective family businesses; Azuma taking

over her father’s architectural practice and

Hoshino taking the reins of what was then

called Hoshino Onsen Ryokan and had been

operating resorts for over 80 years. He soon

turned to Azuma for advice on revamping the

family assets, and her first Hoshinoya resort,

the Hoshinoya Karuizawa, opened in 2005.

Hoshino is clear on why he keeps coming

back to Azuma: ‘Most architects design

buildings, whereas Azuma-san designs the

space. She doesn’t fixate on the colours of the

walls, but rather on aspects like the ceiling

height, or the way the space is built. Interior

designs emphasising the latest styles become

obsolete in five years, but the enrichment

of space itself creates something timeless.’

For Azuma, who is involved from the

earliest stages in any Hoshinoya project, the

site selection is where she decides whether

or not to press go on the design. ‘It needs to

be unique, offer something special, or have

some kind of cultural significance,’ she says.

‘Hoshinoya is about how you spend your time

at the resort, how the design can help you

relax, rather than just big luxurious rooms.’

Having opened the first Hoshinoya

outside Japan, in Bali, last year, the pair are

about to open Omo, a new type of urban

hotel that Hoshino calls ‘a tower bed’. We

look forward to enjoying more Japanese

hospitality wherever this dynamic duo

strikes again. Jens H Jensen

hoshinoresorts.com; azuma-architects.com

Upcoming and recent collaborations

Omo, 2018

Hoshino Resorts’ new city-centre concept,

promising a casual and tourist-friendly approach,

launches with locations in Asahikawa, Hokkaido,

on 28 April, and Otsuka, Tokyo, opening 9 May

Hoshinoya Bali, 2017

Azuma’s sixth Hoshinoya property features

single-storey villas in a jungle setting, connected

by three canal-like pools

Hoshinoya Tokyo, 2016

A contemporary take on ryokan hospitality set

within a 17-storey lattice-clad tower in Otemachi

Hoshinoya Fuji, 2015

Minimalist, glass-fronted, concrete-box cabins

offer glamping with Mount Fuji views

AZUMA AND HOSHINO IN

ONE OF HOSHINOYA TOKYO’S

RYOKAN-STYLE ROOMS

PHOTOGRAPHY: YASUYUKI TAKAGI

Yoshiharu Hoshino

and Rie Azuma

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