Hotel Keyforest Hokuto, Where Keith Haring Meets the Jomon Era

Keith Haring is, alongside Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the street artists that really represents 1980s New York. The world’s first art gallery dedicated solely to exhibiting the works of Keith Haring is located in Kobuchisawa, Yamanashi.

The ‘Nakamura Keith Haring Collection,’ which is surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the Yatsugatake Mountains, was originally established by gallery director Kazuo Nakamura as a place for his personal Keith Haring collection. Nakamura thought that he would like to show his collection publicly, and when discussing opening a gallery, he thought of Yamanashi. As he was taken in by the vitality of Haring’s works, rather than their urban nature, Nakamura decided to locate the gallery in Kobuchisawa. Kobuchisawa is in Nakamura’s home prefecture, where many Jomon Era ruins have been excavated, and is a place that is overflowing with the vitality of nature.

If you step foot inside the modern building and follow the designated route you will be met with the ‘Slope to Darkness,’ which was constructed to work with the natural terrain. If you descend that slope, which is adorned with suspended neon signs, you will arrive at the ‘Room of Darkness.’ Here is a collection of works that are perhaps different from what immediately comes to mind when thinking about Haring; for example, sculptures made from polished, uncoloured aluminum.

As you progress farther along the route you come to the ‘Gallery of Growing,’ where art typical of Haring’s style is hung on the wall. Here you can see representative works that will look familiar to anyone. Beyond this is the ‘Room of Hope,’ a sizeable space with a high ceiling that holds large-scale works. From this level of completeness, which exceeds all expectations, you will feel a great degree of satisfaction. It is easy to understand why art lovers from all over the world come here.

‘Hotel Keyforest Hokuto’ was established jointly with this gallery. The hotel manager, Takaki Hara, explains that “This hotel was built thinking that the visitors who come to the gallery need a place that welcomes them with the same worldview. Guests receive free entry to the gallery when staying at the hotel, so some people make a round trip just to spend time at the hotel and gallery.”

The impactful design of the building was completed by the same architect who designed the gallery, Atsushi Kitagawara. It is said that the architectural concept of this hotel was to combine opposing elements, such as ‘architecture and nature’ and ‘modern and primitive.’  The hotel windows, which take a trapezium as a base and combine all different sizes of glass and marble, were based on Kitagawara’s conceptions of the Jomon Era. The names of the six rooms, including ‘Uose’ and ‘Mitsu,’ are all taken from ‘Woshite Bunken,’ an ancient manuscript written in the language of the Jomon Era.

It has been four years since the hotel opened and nowadays there are many people who are charmed by the establishment itself and come back for multiple stays. To be immersed in contemporary art and Jomon romanticism and have the senses stimulated. There can’t be many hotels like this.