Casa Caban Hayama offers a design-led coastal escape outside Tokyo

Just an hour by car or train from central Tokyo, Casa Caban Hayama is a seaside hideaway with sweeping views across Sagami Bay towards Mount Fuji. The hotel is the fruit of a collaboration between Spanish architect and product designer Patricia Urquiola and Japanese fashion and lifestyle company Tomorrowland. Established in 1978, Tomorrowland was one of the Japanese pioneers in blurring the boundaries between fashion and lifestyle. Though it had already dipped a toe into hospitality, Casa Caban Hayama is its first standalone hotel venture. The leitmotif that runs through both the architecture and interiors is ‘weaving’. Throughout the hotel, artworks conceived by Urquiola herself add a playful, singular dimension.

Wallpaper* checks in at Casa Caban Hayama

What’s on your doorstep?

Casa Caban Hayama’s entrance sits at the edge of a quiet residential area of Hayama, while the guest-room terraces and restaurant overlook Morito Beach, with uninterrupted views of the coast. The shore is neither a glamorous Slim Aarons-esque resort scene nor a Martin Parr-esque portrait of popular beach life. With the bathing area, bars and beach huts located a little farther down the coast, there is little to obstruct the view, save the occasional passer-by walking along the sand or sailboats out at sea. It feels almost as serene as Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Seascapes series. Although Hayama is no conventional sightseeing destination, those wishing to explore can visit Morito Daimyojin Shrine nearby. For water sports and other seaside activities, Hayama Marina is within a ten-minute drive.

Who’s behind the design?

About ten years ago, Patricia Urquiola, creative director of Cassina, met with her old friend Hiroyuki Sasaki, chairman of Tomorrowland. The company has its own clothing lines, including the label Caban, defined by a playful approach to essential pieces, and lifestyle collection Tomorrowland Home, as well as concept stores. A conversation between the two creatives soon gave rise to the hotel project. At the time, they were standing on the very site where Casa Caban Hayama would eventually be built, then occupied by a café, the company’s first seaside hospitality venture.

‘I can bring everything together around one cohesive vision, uniting the structure, the materials and the design. I am honoured to be able to express our worldview through the fusion of this location and Tomorrowland. My love for Japan, Tomorrowland and Hiro (Hiroyuki Sasaki) is what this hotel is all about,’ says Urquiola. Inspired by the coastal landscape, the designer drew the meeting of land and sea into a colour palette ranging from earthy tones to ocean blue, alongside organic forms. Craftsmanship and sustainability were values shared by both sides.

The architectural common thread is ‘weaving’ – Urquiola’s nod to Tomorrowland’s origins in knitwear. The idea is expressed through a variety of materials and techniques, each playing with warp and weft. On the building’s façade, the concrete surface is scored with vertical and horizontal lines. It is partly clad in grid-like panels, handwoven in Indonesia using recycled polyethene. For the ceiling in the lounge, Urquiola commissioned Kyoto artisans to reinterpret the interlaced motif in bamboo. In the guest rooms and corridors, the louvres are not conventional horizontal slats but incorporate vertical elements, creating a woven pattern. They provide privacy while filtering sunlight and casting grid-like shadows. The swimming pool floor, meanwhile, is covered in a blue-and-white checkerboard pattern, reminiscent of a tenugui, a traditional Japanese cotton towel.

Another noteworthy feature is suminagashi, the traditional Japanese art of ink marbling. It appears on roof-tile-shaped pieces, which are deceptively made from lightweight resin rather than ceramic. They line a wall in the entrance hall. In contrast, ceramic is used to clad the lounge’s columns, similarly treated using the technique. The furniture and lighting are largely by Urquiola, working with makers including Flos, Moroso, Kettal, Glas Italia, cc-tapis and, of course, Cassina, for which she serves as artistic director, with many pieces customised from existing designs.

Urquiola’s involvement extends to artworks and objects throughout the hotel. In the entrance hall, a geometric light box invites guests to decipher its motif; Urquiola aficionados might recognise an echo of the Loveseat she designed for Moroso. Many of the wall hangings interpret forms found in nature; conceived by Urquiola, they were handmade by cc-tapis. Elsewhere, ceramic objects were personally selected by the designer. ‘By treating the hotel as a vast canvas, I believe we have created a world that embraces its guests gently,’ she says.

The room to book

The Caban Suite is the signature room, spanning 173 sq m, including two rooftop terraces. In the living area, Cassina’s Mon Cloud sofa is paired with a marguerite-inspired rug made by cc-tapis. Their curved lines and understated tones are echoed by a Cimento dining table. In the additional lounge area, rectangular and square ceramic tiles pick up the recurring ‘weaving’ motif in terracotta hues. Throughout, the details come together with a sense of considered cohesion, guided by Urquiola’s meticulous eye.

The Hayama Suite spans 89 sq m, including a 17 sq m terrace, and takes a more eclectic approach. Cassina’s chunky Dudet chairs and a Flos pendant bring a playful note, while lilac accents set against warm copper tones somehow feel Japanese. The Urquiola-designed tapestries add a funky, offbeat note to the space.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The main dining room serves Italian-influenced cuisine enhanced with Japanese finesse, drawing on seasonal local produce. Pasta might come with shirasu (baby anchovies) or Hayama sea urchin, while charcoal-grilled Hayama Ishii beef is another highlight. On the B1 level, Ashitaba offers a change of pace in a minimal setting – uncharacteristic of Urquiola, as it is the hotel’s only space not designed by her.

The traditional Japanese restaurant serves an omakase menu featuring seafood from the Miura Peninsula. Both restaurants are open to non-hotel guests. The lounge bar, meanwhile, is reserved for overnight guests and serves a range of creative cocktails and mocktails; a daily special might be a piña colada mocktail topped with herbs from the garden. Alternatively, guests can take a drink back to their terrace. Each room has a small wine cellar with a curated selection of bottles, while the complimentary bottled water is sourced from the foothills of Mount Fuji.

Where to switch off

The hotel intentionally places greater emphasis on time spent in the room and by the swimming pool than on dedicated spa facilities. Here, far niente is perhaps the best way to unwind, with the stay itself conceived as a retreat. There is no need for yoga sessions or beauty treatments. All fourteen rooms face the sea and have their own terraces. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Forget about a morning shower; opt for an evening bath, just like the Japanese. After soaking in Dead Sea salt and caressing your skin with Japanese products based on botanical or marine extracts, you can slip into extra-soft, extra-long-staple fabrics: the bed linen and pyjamas are made from Egyptian Giza cotton, while the towels are Supima cotton, all designed by Tomorrowland Home.

The verdict

For design lovers, Casa Caban Hayama offers a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in Patricia Urquiola’s world. At the Caban store on the B1 level, footwear and bags designed by Urquiola are also available. Add sweeping coastal views, thoughtful dining and attentive service, and the result is a compelling seaside escape. Above all, the hotel reflects the deep creative affinity between Tomorrowland and Urquiola.

Casa Caban Hayama is located at 955-2 Horiuchi, Hayama-machi, Miura-gun, Kanagawa 240-0112, Japan. Rates: from JPY 177,100, including dinner and breakfast.