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Onsen resorts feature the best in Japanese architecture, cuisine and customer service


have had a challenging couple of decades. Although the capacity of western-style hotels versus onsen-ryokans is comparable – 800,000 rooms across 9,629 hotels versus 764,000 rooms across 49,906 ryokans – the number of onsen-ryokan rooms has declined over the last 20 years. A key factor in this, says Hoshino, has been resistance to change: “There’s not been enough innovation,” he explains. “There’s such a long tradition in our industry and our fathers are very stubborn… we haven’t made the changes [needed].” However, his company has undergone


sweeping changes since he inherited a single site – the Hoshino Onsen Resort in Karuizawa, central Japan – from his father in 1991. Not only has he rapidly expanded the family business, he’s also modernised resorts and brought the model fi rmly into the 21st century.


LONG HISTORY The company was founded in 1904, when the current president’s great-grandfather, Kuniji Hoshino, started a forestry business in Karuizawa. The area was just developing as a holiday destination, and in 1914 Hoshino opened a hot spring resort. The facility attracted many intellectuals, as well as those interested in the region’s rich wildlife. For years, the resort thrived. But when Yoshiharu Hoshino took over the business,


Spa Business 1 2014 ©Cybertrek 2014


Using naturally hot waters for health and relaxation is a centuries-old passion in Japan


he knew it was time to make some changes. “In the late 1980s, Japan was in the midst of a bubble economy,” he explains, “and there were many new entries in the resort sector.” Faced with growing competition, Hoshino


decided there was strength in numbers and expanded the company through operations. In 1995, Hoshino Resorts Inc opened the Hotel Bleston Court, also in Kaurizawa, before taking over the management of three other resorts between 2001 and 2004. In a strategic


move, Hoshino also developed a unique chain of Japanese-style onsen under the brand name Hoshinoya, while taking on more management contracts for standalone properties. In 2004, the original Hoshino Onsen Resort


was renovated and rebranded as Hoshinoya Karuizawa. Hoshinoya Kyoto and Hoshinoya Okinawa (a new build) followed in 2009 and 2012 respectively. The more contemporary style properties range in size from 25 rooms (Kyoto) to 77 rooms (Karuizawa).


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