Part of the furniture: the world’s first Finn Juhl hotel opens in Japan

The world’s first Finn Juhl hotel opens in Japan. Pictured is the basement lounge featuring the Baker Sofa, a couple of Pelican Chairs and a Finn Juhl Cocktail Table

(Image credit: TBC)

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.

Wooden table &amp; chairs in corner of room — One corner of the ground floor lounge with Juhl's Card Table and four Reading Chairs

Seating area in front of large window — The second floor ‘Japan Lounge’ featuring Juhl's Japan Sofa, Chair and Stool

Red leather arm chair next to desk — The Chieftain Room with the Chieftain Chair, 44 Chair, Nyhavn Table and Tray Tale

Seating area with lamp — Ground floor lounge with the Chieftain Chair and Stool and the Poet Sofa

Dining area with tables &amp; chairs — The breakfast room with the Nyhavn Dining Table and 109 Chairs

Red velvet sofa next to writing desk — The Poet Room with the Poet Sofa, Eye Table, 109 Chair and Nyhavn Table

ADDRESS

3020-281 Hokujo
Hakuba
Kitaazumi-gun 399-9301

Originally from Denmark, Jens H. Jensen has been calling Japan his home for almost two decades. Since 2014 he has worked with Wallpaper* as the Japan Editor. His main interests are architecture, crafts and design. Besides writing and editing, he consults numerous business in Japan and beyond and designs and build retail, residential and moving (read: vans) interiors.