Shishi-Iwa House — Nagano, Japan

How might architecture be used to provide a peaceful sanctuary to reflect and restore one’s energy? Or to create a place to stimulate intellectual creativity? Nebulous lofty goals, perhaps, but then again, Japan’s Shishi-Iwa House was conceived by its architect – the Pritzker Prize laureate Shigeru Ban – to be a little out of the ordinary.
Located about an hour’s train ride from Tokyo in Nagano’s mountain resort town of Karuizawa, the two-storey, ten-room boutique hotel is a calm retreat of shaded courtyards, enclosed gardens and vast rooms. Its gently undulating roof almost hidden by the surrounding forest of maples, cherry blossoms and evergreens.
Aimed at both private travellers and corporate bigwigs on an office retreat, the resort draws guests out into the public spaces, luring even the most reluctant couch potato onto sun-lit terraces and a soaring A-framed sitting room – the public spaces lined in timber by Ban and furnished with customised pieces and Alvar Aalto furniture alongside 1960s art by the likes of Masaaki Yamada and Jiro Yoshihara.
Contemplative moments are supplemented by breakfast bento boxes, barbecues of wagyu beef, Karuizawa whiskey and sake tastings in the library, forest treks towards Mount Asama, and scenic biking tours to the Sengataki falls.
ADDRESS
2147 - 646 Shishi-iwa Nagakura
Karuizawa-machi Kitasaku-gun
Nagano
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors
‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 shows
The Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to know
Designing the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Rosewood Miyakojima: ‘Japan, but not as most people know it’
Rosewood Miyakojima offers a smooth balance of intuitive Japanese ‘omotenashi’ fused with Rosewood’s luxury edge
-
A new book captures the kitschy allure of Japanese ‘love hotels’
For his latest project, French photographer François Prost documents the whimsical façades that characterise these erotic roadside venues.
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeys
Stay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu: a soothing onsen hotel
In Japan’s bucolic northeast, Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu breathes new life into a sleepy hot spring village without betraying its ancient roots
-
Shake off the winter chill at these design-led onsen hotels in Japan
Whether you’re heading to the mountains of Hokkaido or the alleys of Kyoto’s Gion district, these immaculately designed onsen hotels will keep the shivers at bay
-
The new hotels you’ll want to stay at in 2025
Where to stay in 2025? Let six of the most-read-about hotel openings of the past 12 months inspire your escape – from a tiny Tokyo bolthole to a Tanzanian safari retreat
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this year
From the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
The most whimsical hotel Christmas trees around the world
We round up the best hotel Christmas tree collaborations of the year, from an abstract take in Madrid to a heritage-rooted installation in Amsterdam