NOT A HOTEL MINAKAMI
TOJI
Expertise
Business Development
Project Management
Design
Brand Direction
CG Visualization
Life Cycle Management
Hotel Management
NOT A HOTEL MINAKAMI TOJI is a collection of hot‑spring villas perched atop the mountains of Minakami, Gunma. Designed by Makoto Tanijiri and Ai Yoshida of SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE, it reinterprets the idea of a “modern healing retreat,” where nature and architecture exist in quiet harmony.
The site comprises five independent villas and one restaurant building, forming a small village‑like landscape.
Each villa measures approximately 252 m² and accommodates up to eight guests, featuring an open‑air bath, sauna, wood‑burning stove, and infinity pool—all arranged around a central living space surrounded by water.
Materials such as copper and wood are chosen to age gracefully, embracing the passage of time as part of the architecture’s beauty.
Through this design, the project offers a contemporary re‑imagining of Minakami’s toji culture, inviting guests to immerse themselves in the rhythm of the seasons and the warmth of the land.
Makoto Tanijiri
Architect
Ai Yoshida
Architect
Collaborators
NOT A HOTEL ARCHITECTS
Spec
Building Name
NOT A HOTEL MINAKAMI TOJI
Location
Ishikura, Minakami Town, Tone District, Gunma Prefecture
Completion
2025/2
Design Period
2022/5~2023/7
Construction Period
2023/11~2025/2
Site Area
9,854.26㎡
Total Floor Area
252.28㎡
Yuichi Saito
Senior Project Manager
Once a flourishing hot spring town, Minakami is now home to a new kind of modern onsen hamlet—set atop a mountain like a hidden gem waiting to be unearthed.
In collaboration with SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE, we aimed to create a space that amplifies the passage of the seasons and the shifting atmosphere, awakening primal human senses. Realizing a living space enveloped in water and onsen was a major challenge, but through rigorous design and careful consideration of safety and maintenance, we succeeded in crafting an experience unlike any other.
Using materials such as copper panels and large timber roof structures—chosen for how they gracefully age and blend with the landscape—the architecture weaves together the memory of the land with a contemporary aesthetic. We hope this space becomes a vessel for carrying on the culture and pride nurtured by Minakami’s historic onsen district into the next 50 years.