07/2013
Hokkaido Niseko
Niseko Konbu Onsen Tsuruga Besso Moku no Sho
Task
Overall Planning/Concept Work/Logo Design/Interior-Design Planning/Sign Design
Restaurant Ware Design/Interior wear and Uniform Design/Promotional Tools Design/Furniture - Fixture Coordination
The Warmth of Wood Grain
Konbu Onsen, near Niseko, is in Rankoshi-cho and is part of the Niseko Onsen Area. The name Rankoshi is an elision of the Ainu words "Ranko" and "Ushi," which together mean "Place of many katsura trees." The name for Konbu Onsen is said to come from local Ainu people fixing strips of konbu seaweed to trees on the mountain paths to keep from getting lost. The hot spring is renowned for its beautifying waters. However, unlike the central Niseko area, the mountains here aren't crowded with skiers from overseas.
Quite the opposite; among these mountains, the calm, quiet atmosphere and high quality onsen, and the old fashioned warm Japanese space, helps soothe not only local Japanese but also visitors from abroad.
When naming our ryokan Moku no Sho, we evoked the origin of Rankoshi's name using the slightly archaic word for wood grain, Moku. And so we have made a deeply Japanese ryokan evocative of Hokkaido, and serving food with local Niseko area ingredients.
Konbu Onsen Moku no Sho is deep in the mountains, with a view of Mt. Yotei. Mt. Yotei is called Machineshiri (Woman Mountain) in Ainu, and its shape has also earned it the nickname Yezo Fuji.
We installed a deck with foot bath, which you can enjoy amid the sounds of waterfalls and birdsong.
The entrance door was carved with Moku no Sho's insignia by master carver Masamitsu Takiguchi.
Moku no Sho's entrance and lounge are rich with wooden fixtures. The walls are lined with solid hiba cypress from Aomori, painted five colors and arranged in an intricate design.
The candle fixtures illuminating the hiba walls, the urushi lacquered shingles behind the front desk, the wrought iron objets d'art, and folding screens and hearth hood are all original pieces.
Kaiseki and teppanyaki restaurant Shorai serves dishes made with local ingredients. Tonkori instruments and wood carving from the Ainu people are used in Japanese style arrangements.
We combined classic Japanese tableware with Hokkaido style to serve traditional mountain cooking in a dynamic new way.
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