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Hoshino Resorts
Hoshino Resort Co., Ltd. (株式会社 星野リゾート, Kabushiki Kaisha Hoshino Risōto) is a Japan-based international operator of ryokan (Japanese inns) and hotels originally established in Karuizawa, Nagano. Founded by Kuniji Hoshino in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, it opened its first hot spring resort in 1914.
Rebranded by Yoshiharu Hoshino in 1995 as Hoshino Resorts, it has expanded across Japan and Asia with a focus on the local charms of each destination and a high level of omotenashi, Japanese-style hospitality. The rebranding supposedly aimed to explore an alternate, modernized Japan, countering the country's gradual Westernization.
Hoshino Resorts has also developed its bridal business through Karuizawa Hotel Bleston Court (formerly Hotel New Hoshino) with the nearby Karuizawa Kogen Church. Noriyuki Hamada, former Executive Chef of Bleston Court Yukawatan restaurant in Karuizawa (currently Head Chef of Ryusen, HOSHINOYA Tokyo restaurant) became the first ever Japanese chef to be recognised at the Bocuse d'Or in January 2013, winning third prize, while former HOSHINOYA Kyoto chef Ichiro Kubota (currently owner and chef of KITCHEN 16) earned a Michelin Star in October 2012.
Hoshino Resorts began life in 1904, as a forestry business in Karuizawa, which had just begun to become popular as a location for holiday villas. Founder Kuniji Hoshino then opened the first Hoshino Onsen Ryokan ten years later in 1914. As natural hot springs were uncovered in the area, Karuizawa became a center for 1920s culture, attracting some of the most notable authors, poets and feminists of the period such as Tōson Shimazaki, Kanzō Uchimura, Akiko Yosano, and Hakushū Kitahara to the "Liberal Education of Art Workshop" held in the area. It began its policy towards energy self-sufficiency as early as 1929, with the opening of its first hydroelectric power plant.
Yoshimasa Hoshino, the second generation heir, was influenced by Showa era poet and ornithologist Godo Nakanishi, who commented that "Until now it has been customary to eat wild birds, but from hereonafter, we will enter a phase in which people will find enjoyment in watching them." Hoshino Onsen Ryokan then began its first guided nature tours, called "Tancho-kai", establishing Japan's first National Wild Bird Forest in 1974 in Karuizawa, and evolving its tours into the 1992 established the Picchio Wildlife Research Center, awarded the first ever "Eco-Tourism" Grand Prize in Japan by the Ministry of Environment on June 5, 2005.
The second half of the 20th century, from the post-war depression through to the increase of international travel, caused a decline in interest in many traditional ryokan. Hoshino Onsen Ryokan rebranded itself as Hoshino Resorts in 1995 when current president, and fourth-generation family member, Yoshiharu Hoshino (星野 佳路, Hoshino Yoshiharu) took the helm. Since 1999, the company has pursued aims to produce zero-emissions resorts, and acquired multiple properties across Japan that had struggled since the 1980s economic bubble burst. It has refurbished, rebranded and incorporated most of its properties into one of its three brands, whilst constructing new properties from scratch in Okinawa and soon in Marunouchi, Tokyo, for its premier Hoshinoya brand.
Hoshino Resorts is currently led by fourth-generation family heir Yoshiharu Hoshino. Born in Karuizawa in 1960, the Keio University graduate went on to Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, obtaining a Masters of Management in Hospitality. Hoshino Resorts operates a total of 83 facilities as of May 2026. He was appointed president of Hoshino Onsen in 1991, but fired six months later when his initial ideas to rejuvenate the business failed. He was recalled in 1995 and has led the company since, further being selected as the first "Charisma of Tourism" by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 2003.
During the initial stages of Yoshiharu Hoshino's management, he first restructured the company, reducing family members on the company board so that more than half would be outsiders brought in on an evaluation system; "The staff worked in poor conditions and the Hoshino family seemed to have special rights," he told the Financial Times. By employing university graduates who themselves can present ideas such as eco-tourism, the company has seen a quick reversal from a period of high staff turnover, to a highly sought after employer with a merit-based remuneration system.
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Hoshino Resorts
Hoshino Resort Co., Ltd. (株式会社 星野リゾート, Kabushiki Kaisha Hoshino Risōto) is a Japan-based international operator of ryokan (Japanese inns) and hotels originally established in Karuizawa, Nagano. Founded by Kuniji Hoshino in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, it opened its first hot spring resort in 1914.
Rebranded by Yoshiharu Hoshino in 1995 as Hoshino Resorts, it has expanded across Japan and Asia with a focus on the local charms of each destination and a high level of omotenashi, Japanese-style hospitality. The rebranding supposedly aimed to explore an alternate, modernized Japan, countering the country's gradual Westernization.
Hoshino Resorts has also developed its bridal business through Karuizawa Hotel Bleston Court (formerly Hotel New Hoshino) with the nearby Karuizawa Kogen Church. Noriyuki Hamada, former Executive Chef of Bleston Court Yukawatan restaurant in Karuizawa (currently Head Chef of Ryusen, HOSHINOYA Tokyo restaurant) became the first ever Japanese chef to be recognised at the Bocuse d'Or in January 2013, winning third prize, while former HOSHINOYA Kyoto chef Ichiro Kubota (currently owner and chef of KITCHEN 16) earned a Michelin Star in October 2012.
Hoshino Resorts began life in 1904, as a forestry business in Karuizawa, which had just begun to become popular as a location for holiday villas. Founder Kuniji Hoshino then opened the first Hoshino Onsen Ryokan ten years later in 1914. As natural hot springs were uncovered in the area, Karuizawa became a center for 1920s culture, attracting some of the most notable authors, poets and feminists of the period such as Tōson Shimazaki, Kanzō Uchimura, Akiko Yosano, and Hakushū Kitahara to the "Liberal Education of Art Workshop" held in the area. It began its policy towards energy self-sufficiency as early as 1929, with the opening of its first hydroelectric power plant.
Yoshimasa Hoshino, the second generation heir, was influenced by Showa era poet and ornithologist Godo Nakanishi, who commented that "Until now it has been customary to eat wild birds, but from hereonafter, we will enter a phase in which people will find enjoyment in watching them." Hoshino Onsen Ryokan then began its first guided nature tours, called "Tancho-kai", establishing Japan's first National Wild Bird Forest in 1974 in Karuizawa, and evolving its tours into the 1992 established the Picchio Wildlife Research Center, awarded the first ever "Eco-Tourism" Grand Prize in Japan by the Ministry of Environment on June 5, 2005.
The second half of the 20th century, from the post-war depression through to the increase of international travel, caused a decline in interest in many traditional ryokan. Hoshino Onsen Ryokan rebranded itself as Hoshino Resorts in 1995 when current president, and fourth-generation family member, Yoshiharu Hoshino (星野 佳路, Hoshino Yoshiharu) took the helm. Since 1999, the company has pursued aims to produce zero-emissions resorts, and acquired multiple properties across Japan that had struggled since the 1980s economic bubble burst. It has refurbished, rebranded and incorporated most of its properties into one of its three brands, whilst constructing new properties from scratch in Okinawa and soon in Marunouchi, Tokyo, for its premier Hoshinoya brand.
Hoshino Resorts is currently led by fourth-generation family heir Yoshiharu Hoshino. Born in Karuizawa in 1960, the Keio University graduate went on to Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, obtaining a Masters of Management in Hospitality. Hoshino Resorts operates a total of 83 facilities as of May 2026. He was appointed president of Hoshino Onsen in 1991, but fired six months later when his initial ideas to rejuvenate the business failed. He was recalled in 1995 and has led the company since, further being selected as the first "Charisma of Tourism" by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 2003.
During the initial stages of Yoshiharu Hoshino's management, he first restructured the company, reducing family members on the company board so that more than half would be outsiders brought in on an evaluation system; "The staff worked in poor conditions and the Hoshino family seemed to have special rights," he told the Financial Times. By employing university graduates who themselves can present ideas such as eco-tourism, the company has seen a quick reversal from a period of high staff turnover, to a highly sought after employer with a merit-based remuneration system.
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