In furniture circles, it's a well-known fact, that the Japanese have a soft spot for Finn Juhl; there is an exact replica of the Danish designer’s private home in the city of Gifu, and in Hokkaido, retired professor Noritsugu Oda has amassed what is perhaps the world’s largest private collection of Juhl furniture, including a one-of-a-kind prototype sofa in maple, teak and oak that he bought from Juhl’s widow in the late 1990s.
Now, Japan can also boast a small Finn Juhl hotel – the first of its kind – in Hakuba, a village in the Japanese Alps, just outside the city of Nagano. ‘For me, it's the ideal immersive Finn Juhl experience anywhere in the world,’ says Oda, who visited the hotel on its opening night.
The concept of Danish furniture maker, OneCollection, who produces and sells Juhl’s furniture (much of it made in Japan) the hotel - which pulls double duty as the company’s showroom - is housed in a 40-year-old former hotel, that has been reshaped to double the size of the rooms, adding en-suite bathrooms in the process.
Each of the six rooms - all named after a Finn Juhl masterpiece - and all the public areas are dressed with Juhl classics such as the ‘Poet’ sofa, ‘Chieftain’ chair, sideboards, tables and more, while his drawings and sketches grace the walls throughout. The rest of the interior meanwhile, follows a Scandinavian sensibility with white walls, stripped timber flooring and double casement windows.
The three public lounges invite guests to linger, explore and celebrate the furniture, and the basement bar has the added attraction of complimentary drinks throughout your stay.
One corner of the ground floor lounge with Juhl's Card Table and four Reading Chairs
The second floor ‘Japan Lounge’ featuring Juhl's Japan Sofa, Chair and Stool
The Chieftain Room with the Chieftain Chair, 44 Chair, Nyhavn Table and Tray Tale
Ground floor lounge with the Chieftain Chair and Stool and the Poet Sofa
The breakfast room with the Nyhavn Dining Table and 109 Chairs
The Poet Room with the Poet Sofa, Eye Table, 109 Chair and Nyhavn Table
ADDRESS
3020-281 Hokujo
Hakuba
Kitaazumi-gun 399-9301
-
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildingsThe JJ Walser House has sat derelict for six years. But preservationists hope the building will have a vibrant second act
-
Buy a slice of California’s mid-century modern history with this 1955 Pasadena houseConrad Buff II Residence has been fully restored and updated for the 21st century
-
Loewe’s latest perfume smells like the start of spring, with notes of blossoming violetLoewe’s Casa De Campo perfume, the latest in its Un Paseo Por Madrid collection, pays tribute to the city of Madrid in bloom
