An Inn that Established New Standards for Japanese Resorts

The Hoshino area of Karuizawa, in which Hoshinoya is located, is full of nature, bisected by the Yukawa River, a tributary of the Chikumagawa River, and surrounded by an expansive forest full of wild birds. From ancient times, the Hoshino Hot Springs area was familiar as a ‘follow-up bath’ after bathing in the Kusatsu Hot Springs (in Gunma Prefecture), and is currently open to the general public as the Tombo (‘Dragonfly’) Bath, with its history stretching back to 1910’s. Kasuke Hoshino I, who primarily ran a sericultural firm in Saku City in eastern Nagano Prefecture but also operated a lumber firm in what was then Kutsukake (now Karuizawa), decided to go into the hot-spring business as well. After struggling for several years, Kasuke finally found a thermal source in 1914. He then hired a temple and shrine contractor to build a bathhouse and inn, whereupon he started the hot-spring inn business. Removed as it was from the village, the inn initially lacked electricity, so his son, Kasuke Hoshino II, thought of using a wooden waterwheel originally meant to power his family’s lumbermill and converting it into a power-generating station for the inn. After importing a generator from Germany and performing extensive research on it, he discovered how to generate electricity properly through a genuine turbine water wheel. That became the starting point for Hoshinoya Karuizawa, which advertises itself as an ‘eco-resort that uses no fossil fuel’. The pond that is situated in the middle of the guest rooms, and into which water flows torrentially, originally served as a reservoir for the hydroelectric generation.

The beginning was a hot-spring inn in the valley where cultured people got together.

Around the 1910’s, Hoshino Hot Springs in the summertime also served as an epicentre of cultural activity. At the beginning, what was called the Arts Free Education Lecture Course was held in a timber shed by such men as the painter Kanae Yamamoto (1882-1946), who had just returned from France, the poet Hakushu Kitahara, the novelist Miekichi Suzuki, and the pacifist Kanzo Uchimura. The course ended up having a significant impact on Japanese educational circles. Such literary stars as the married couple, Akiko Yosano and Tekkan Yosano, were also frequent visitors, and stone monuments engraved with their words remain on the site today.

There are even more episodes to relate. Kasuke Hoshino III was a disciple of Godo Nakanishi (1895-1984), who founded the Wild Bird Society of Japan in 1934. A lover of wild grass, insects, and birds, he pledged his whole life to the preservation of nature, carrying out various efforts to that end. That spirit has been inherited by Picchio, a local group offering eco-tours and nature tours, including bird and animal watching.

In recent years, Japanese resorts have fundamentally changed their philosophy. While Hoshinoya has drawn attention as a pioneer in that respect, everything goes back to Karuizawa as a starting point. The principles of building a sustainable environment, protecting nature, and developing a silent space for contemplation—all of which were initiated by the founder a century ago and later continued to be maintained by his descendants—are still strong in force today.