KURU Co., Ltd.

This luxury resort is situated on a hillside just outside the picturesque hot-spring district of Yufuin, in Yufu City, Oita Prefecture. The approximately 44,000-square-meter site ranges in elevation from 543 to 585 meters above sea level, offering sweeping views of the majestic Mt. Yufu to the east and the serene Yufu townscape to the south. Leveraging this scenic locale, we designed the guest accommodation facilities based on the concept of a botanical retreat, while the spatial design channels the fundamental beauty of the natural environment to create an atmosphere that can best be described as “primitive luxury.”　

Differences in elevation at the site were incorporated into the layout of the facilities, which include ten villas, a restaurant, and a complex with a nine-room hotel and private dining rooms, creating a sense of harmony throughout the sprawling grounds. Indoor and outdoor garden spaces teeming with trees, herbs, and other greenery give rise to a botanical landscape that blends effortlessly with the property’s surroundings.
The guest rooms are imbued with the innate richness of the natural materials used in their design: the strength of solid wood, the refined elegance of stone, the warmth of earthen walls. The expression achieved through the interaction of these primitive materials endows each room with luxury found in simplicity rather than extravagance. Rooms are also decorated with pictorial artworks that complement the natural elements, enriching the guest experience of “primitive luxury.”

The villas, which were designed as the main attraction of the property, are seamlessly integrated with the surrounding environment thanks to large windows and terraces that afford expansive vistas of the mountains and the city of Yufu. Each villa features a heated infinity pool and an outdoor hot-spring bath, where guests can soak in 100-percent natural, continuously flowing hot-spring water (Onsen) sourced on-site and cooled naturally using a bamboo-constructed framework known as Yumetake, which brings the water to a suitable temperature rapidly without diluting it. These elements create accommodation spaces that are both refined in design and inundated with the power of nature.

In a time when technology allows us to be bombarded with any number of experiences instantaneously and without being physically present, we believe true luxury lies in spaces that encourage us to be mindful of the passage of time and delight in our senses—spaces that reconnect us with the primitive.