Hotels with a deep sense of local charm「THE TOWER HOTEL NAGOYA」

Chubu Electric Power Company’s MIRAI TOWER (former Nagoya TV Tower) towers over the downtown area of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture.Nagoya City approached Tatachu Naito, the “father of earthquake-resistant structures,” to design the tower as a symbol of its postwar reconstruction plan.Naito went through a series of trials and errors under strict conditions, such as the future construction of a subway line directly under the tower and the durability of the antennae that concentrated the TV signals.Finally, in 1954, the tower was born, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as a TV tower that combines function and beauty.In recognition of this achievement, Naito went on to design other famous towers around Japan, including Tokyo Tower and Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka, earning him the nickname “Doctor of Towers.After the 2011 termination of terrestrial analog TV broadcasting and the end of its role as a radio tower, the tower continued to be a symbol of the city, but it had become a problem due to its aging.

Stimulated by the artistic culture of the Tokai region

The plan to solve this problem was to renovate the tower into a hotel facility with seismic isolation.After various simulations and seismic reinforcement work, “THE TOWER HOTEL NAGOYA” opened in October 2020 on the first to fifth floors of the Nagoya TV Tower.The hotel has also attracted attention for being the first hotel in Aichi Prefecture to be certified as a “SLH” (Small Luxury Hotels of the World) hotel, which only hotels that are recognized as small-scale and world-class luxury hotels can join.The hotel has a total of 15 guest rooms, 13 of which are individually designed and full of character on the 4th floor, and two spacious 80m2 suites on the 5th floor.The spacious terraces of the suites offer a panoramic view of Sakae, Nagoya’s most prestigious downtown area.A banquet hall overlooking Central Park is located on the second floor and can be used for weddings and other events.The observation deck is a salon open only to hotel guests from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. the following day, providing a special space where only guests can enjoy the night view.The theme of the “TV tower where you can stay overnight,” a rarity in the world, is “ART × CRAFT × LOCAL.Artworks created by artists associated with the three Tokai prefectures will be exhibited at the front desk, lobby, guest rooms, and other locations, making the hotel a center of culture and art with the ability to accommodate guests.

The hospitality of a luxury hotel and the feeling of visiting a museum at the same time will pique the curiosity of art lovers.In addition, the space, which makes use of the steel frame of the TV tower and has the atmosphere of a registered tangible cultural property, is filled with arts and crafts unique to this region, including Nagoya yuzen, Arimatsu shibori, and other traditional crafts from the Tokai region centering on Nagoya.

Enjoy the ingredients of the Tokai region

The restaurant on the 4th floor of the tower is “glycine,” a French restaurant in Yagoto, one of the most exclusive residential areas in Nagoya, where reservations are not taken.The restaurant offers dishes beautifully presented on tableware made by local artists and using local ingredients in abundance.Lunch and dinner are open to the public, but breakfast is a Japanese breakfast available only to guests.Of particular note is the “Ryu no Hitomi” brand rice served, which is well known among rice lovers for its large grain size (1.5 times larger than Koshihikari rice) and excellent taste.The food is cooked using a vermiculator and served freshly cooked at mealtime.Each dish is so elaborate that it may seem too luxurious for a breakfast, and the number of dishes is enough to fill one’s heart from morning.The cafe “lily” on the second floor offers a wide variety of dishes, including a variety of freshly cooked dishes,Enjoy dishes made with abundant local ingredients, beautifully presented on tableware made by local artists.

Just as in the past, four stations and five waves of television signals were transmitted from this location, delivering entertainment that brightened people’s daily lives, it is still a place that transmits culture, even though its form has changed.Overlooking the center of Nagoya, this place is sure to be a special place for the seasoned traveler to take a breather while still being able to feel the breath of the city and its history.

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Auberge is a French word that refers to a restaurant with accommodations in the suburbs. In Japan, French cuisine became popular during the high-growth period, and auberges began to open in rural areas in the 1980s, in the midst of the bubble economy. The difference between an auberge and a hotel is that an auberge is a facility where meals, not lodging, are the objective. The best part of an auberge is that you can taste the local ingredients and rest comfortably because it is basically located in a place rich in nature.

Taste the food and rest well in Gifu

Auberge Genju opened in August 2020 along the Seseragi Kaido (Seseragi Road), which connects Hida Takayama and Gujo Hachiman in the northern part of Gifu Prefecture and is famous for its autumn leaves. The hotel is located in the “Furusato Park” in Kiyomi-machi, Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, a mountainous area at an elevation of 800 meters above sea level. The dome-shaped paramodern building with a beautiful curved roof clad in red rust warmly welcomes guests. The concept of “paramodern ” was proposed by Shuhei Endo, one of the internationally acclaimed contemporary architects who designed this auberge. The characteristic design of corrugated steel plates (a corrugated building material) is in harmony with the surrounding mountains and river while maintaining functionality to withstand large amounts of snowfall, and the texture and aroma of the Hida cedar and cypress used abundantly in the building provide a high quality of comfort. The hotel is located in the Hida area of Hida City.

The foundation of the hotel is “Shokugaku”, or the enjoyment of food.

Owner Nobuhiro Kojima’s concept of cuisine is “shindo fuji. He carefully selects ingredients from the nearby cities of Takayama, Gujo, and Gero in the hopes that his customers will become healthier by eating seasonal ingredients from the land. He makes numerous trips to the production sites, and based on the words of the producers and his own experiences there, he creates dishes that are full of nourishing flavors to nourish the body and soul. The basis of his cuisine is “Shokuraku,” a food culture advocated by Masatake Fukumori, a potter at Doraku Kiln, an Iga pottery kiln that has been in operation for seven generations in the village of Iga, Mie Prefecture, and is known as the “Rosanjin of our time. He walks in the fields and mountains, listens to the whispers of nature, picks trees and flowers and arranges them, and enjoys cooking according to the season. Eat well, drink well, laugh well, and sleep well. In order for guests to experience “Shokuraku,” a redefinition of Japanese food culture, I needed to understand the essence of the bounty of this land better than anyone else. And so, at Tokuyama-zushi, one of Japan’s leading Japanese-style auberges, he continues to learn from the owner, Hiroaki Tokuyama, how to deal with the local climate and ingredients, embodying “Shokuraku” on a daily basis.

The next day, after a peaceful sleep after being satisfied with dishes using mountain delicacies, wild game, and river fish nurtured in nature-rich Gifu Prefecture, the murmuring of the Maze River and the air created by the mountains stocked with natural beech forests will lead you to a refreshing awakening. This is an exceptional experience that will bring a sense of “peace” to a mind and body exhausted by daily life. The special cuisine and travel experience in a secluded place will give you a precious time away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the notifications on your smart phone to come back to yourself.

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HOTEL RIDGE, a blissful experience for all five senses

Located in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture, on a hilltop in Setonaikai National Park overlooking the scenic Naruto Straits below, HOTEL RIDGE is an exquisite lodging with only 10 guest rooms on a spacious site of approximately 70,000 tsubo (approximately 1.2 acres), catering to a limited number of guests.
Surrounded by rich nature, HOTEL RIDGEis a private oasis where guests can enjoy a relaxing and blissful time, feeling the great outdoors while gazing at the tranquil waters of the Seto Inland Sea, based on the concept of “experiencing bliss with all five senses.
All of the 10 carefully selected guest rooms, all with ocean views, will be renovated in April 2019. The 10 rooms in the five buildings consist of four Japanese-style rooms and six Western-style rooms, each with a different design. Each room is furnished with artwork based on the concept of the room and furnishings unique to the Awa region, allowing guests to feel the comfortable local climate. The view of the Seto Inland Sea from the room’s deck, where you can feel the sea breeze on your skin and enjoy the view of the Seto Inland Sea spread out before you, will stimulate all five senses in a pleasant way.

The indoor baths in the guest rooms are comfortable, but for a more relaxing experience, the spa and esthetic treatments are not to be missed. The 100% free-flowing simple spring water, pumped up from 1,500 meters below the ground, has a smooth and mild spring quality that blends well with the skin, and is said to be effective in treating skin diseases, neuralgia, sensitivity to cold, and fatigue. There is also a deck overlooking the straits, where you can relax and soak in the seasonal sea breezes.

Relax with an ocean view of the Seto Inland Sea

Within the hotel’s spacious grounds, visitors can enjoy the charm of the tasteful architecture of Banri-so, with its dry landscape garden and tea ceremony room, and Mitsui Suishoen (former Mitsui Takatatsu Villa) Annex, a wooden house designated as a Tangible Cultural Property.
The “Banri-so,” with its white walls surrounding a dry landscape-style Japanese garden reminiscent of the Great Wall of China, can be used by guests as a luxurious dining room. One cannot help but be impressed by the many kaiseki dishes served in this atmospheric space, which are decorated with seasonal and unique Awa ingredients. Breakfast, too, is a gorgeous way to start a perfect day, filling the body and soul with sumptuous dishes that will energize you for the day ahead.

The “Mitsui Suishoen (former Mitsui Takatatsu Villa) Annex,” with its exquisite shimmering sunrise through the window glass, is open for tours for guests. Visitors are invited to tour the annex, where rare architectural techniques can be seen everywhere, and fully immerse themselves in this fantastic world.

If you want to enjoy Western food as well, go to ” California Table”. The restaurant’s superb location, stretching from the Naruto Straits to the Seto Inland Sea, will impress you as if you were visiting a resort on the West Coast, and will further enhance the appeal of its creative French cuisine, which makes abundant use of seasonal, local ingredients.
The hotel’s name is also derived from the California wine “RIDGE, ” which is to be enjoyed together with such a sophisticated space. This historic brand won first prize at the 30th anniversary tasting of the Paris Showdown, and a wide variety of wines are available, all of which are deeply flavored gems. It is a good idea to find your favorite wine from the unique lineup.

The restaurant is an exquisite space that creates a calm and relaxing flow of time, as if you have entered a time warp from the hustle and bustle of everyday life into a different world. It will promise you an extraordinary trip with a pleasant sense of openness.

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Open-air bath overlooking the Seto Inland Sea from the terrace

Yumesenkei Villa Amahara, located on the east coast of Awaji Island, is the newest addition to Hotel New Awaji’s villa, Awaji Yumesenkei, whose symbolic phrase is “The sea you wanted to see is here.
Awaji Island is the birthplace of Japan and the birthplace of the nation as described in the beginning of the Kojiki, the oldest extant chronicle of Japan. Inspired by the passage “Takamagahara, the place where the gods reside,” the inn was named “Amahara” (meaning “heavenly field” in Japanese), and is a place where you can spend your time as you please.
All 18 guest rooms have deck terraces and private open-air baths, and all rooms have views of the Seto Inland Sea. Two separate maisonette villas, “Matsuki” and “Umisaki,” have deck terraces leading to a private pier, allowing guests to go directly down to the beach from their rooms.

Enjoy the hot springs and relax at your leisure.

Spa Terrace Suigetsu, a facility shared by Hotel New Awaji and Awaji Yumesenkei, draws in hot springs of different qualities from the “Furumoe Onsen,” a naturally nigori hot spring with a source on the premises, and the “Sumoto Onsen,” with a source on Mount Mikuma, allowing guests to enjoy the two hot springs. In addition, the Garden Lounge, available only to guests of Amahara, offers after-dinner digestif service, a library, and Internet access. You can freely choose where and when to spend your time at “Tianyuan” according to your own mood. There may be something you have not found yet, something you have always wanted to see.

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