Hoshinoya Karuizawa was born as a "village in a valley" with the theme of "Another Japan." It was the first of the six Hoshinoya hotels in Japan to be established, and is the origin of the Hoshinoya brand. Now in its 19th year, the hotel continues to preserve its original Japanese scenery, while also proposing a number of wellness programs that take advantage of the unique features of the Karuizawa area. In this second installment of our Hoshinoya Karuizawa stay, we will thoroughly introduce our "Karuizawa Summer Healthy Stay," supervised by a doctor who is familiar with Karuizawa.

→ Hoshinoya Karuizawa Hotel Review Part 1: Enjoy the "Rice Terrace Afternoon Tea" surrounded by greenery and water at the newly opened "Rice Terrace Lounge"

Hoshinoya Karuizawa has been attracting attention for its various wellness programs since its establishment.

Karuizawa has long been a popular summer resort. In particular, the Hoshino area, where Hoshino Onsen Ryokan, the predecessor of Hoshinoya Karuizawa, was founded in 1914, has been loved by many people not only as a summer resort but also as a health resort.

This is because this area in Karuizawa is home to the pure waters of the Yukawa River, a wide variety of wildflowers, and the wind blowing through from Mount Asama, making it an environment that is good for the mind and body.

This health-conscious trend that has taken root in the Hoshino area has been carried on since Hoshinoya Karuizawa opened, and has attracted attention as a lodging facility offering a variety of wellness programs.

This year marks the third year for the "Karuizawa Summer Healthy Stay" program, which has been improved every year to suit the season. The program has been further enhanced with the addition of a new "Valley Village Walk" tour of the gardens with the gardener.

During your free time, enjoy your holiday in Karuizawa.

The three-day, two-night "Karuizawa Summer Healthy Stay" program includes deep breathing bathing exercises while soaking in the "Meditation Bath," a hot spring exclusively for guests, and morning stretches on the second and third mornings.

A nature experience that involves immersing yourself in the nature of Karuizawa and interacting with the wildflowers that live there through the "Valley Village Walk" and "Flower Mandala Arrangement."

The program can be broadly divided into three parts: the main dining area, "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke," where you can enjoy dishes such as "Mountain Kaiseki" and "Awakening Bowl." The number of participants is limited to one group of two people per day. It is a program that feels completely private.

In your free time, you can relax in your room, soak in the spacious "Hoshino Onsen Tombo no Yu", or go shopping at Harunire Terrace... This is a fulfilling 2-night, 3-day stay where you can fully enjoy your time in Karuizawa while also being mindful of your health.

【exercise】

An advanced spa therapy. "Deep breathing bathing" in the "Meditation Bath"

After checking in, we headed to our room. After taking a breather and looking at the Karuizawa nature outside the window, we headed to the Meditation Bath.

Please request a consultation at the reception desk located at the entrance to the facility. By writing down your daily lifestyle habits and physical condition, you can gain an objective view of your own health.

Following the consultation, you will receive a brief lecture on "deep breathing bathing techniques" before soaking in the hot spring exclusively for guests. This hot spring facility is called the "Meditation Bath." It is truly a hot spring that serves as a space for "meditation."

The cube-shaped bathroom has a part of the wall made of milky white glass, and the rest of the space is white, without any decorative features. The outside light coming in through the glass softly envelops the entire bathroom, and the surface of the water ripples black in response to the light.

One corner of the white wall has been cut into a perfect square, like the nijiriguchi entrance of a tea room, and behind it leads to a space.

As you slowly make your way deeper into the cave, immersed in waist-deep water, the light disappears and you are greeted with darkness.

During the lecture, I was told that there are two types of bathrooms: a "light room" and a "dark room." At first, I was a little uneasy in the darkness, but once I got used to it, a mysterious sense of peace came over me.

As I go back and forth between these two rooms, I take a deep breath from time to time. Using the buoyancy, I stretch from my waist to my thighs, bend over, and do various stretches that I can't do on the floor, recalling the lecture on the "deep breathing bath technique" I received during the consultation.

The hot spring water flows directly from the source and is a little warm at about 40 degrees. However, you will feel a comfortable sweat slowly coming out of your body and your mind becoming more at ease.

"Morning Stretch" is done in a Japanese house surrounded by the chirping of birds.

At 7am, the birds begin to sing as dawn breaks, and the song is already reaching its peak. Surrounded by this song, you can do some "cool morning stretching."

The event takes place in a Japanese-style house surrounded by trees on the facility's grounds. Through the open windows, the cool morning air flows in along with the sounds of birdsong.

Use abdominal breathing to take in the clean morning air into every corner of your body

"Inhale for 4 beats and exhale for 8 beats."

In response to the staff's instructions, you will take deep, diaphragmatic breaths while stretching your sides and widening your shoulder blades.

When you inhale while lowering your diaphragm and expanding your stomach, clean air will enter every corner of your body.

As you exhale and slowly stretch your body, you will feel like you can bend deeper than usual.

The "Morning Cool Stretch" session lasted about 30 minutes. It was a 30-minute session in which I was enveloped in a strange yet comfortable sensation of absorbing the nature of Karuizawa into myself and at the same time, blending into Karuizawa.

[Nature experience]

A walk through the valley village guided by a gardener who is familiar with the gardens

"When we first opened, this wild rose was just a small tree, but it has grown to this size," he said. "Above this stone wall is completely natural. Below the wall are wildflowers that we have planted and grown."

The "Valley Village Walk" has begun. Our guide is a veteran gardener who has known the area since it first opened.

The gardener, who knows every nook and cranny of the garden, will explain to you the characteristics and fascinating points of the wild plants that you might not have noticed while exploring on your own.

This allows you to feel closer to the nature of Karuizawa. The "Valley Village Walk" is held twice a day, in the daytime and in the evening. You can experience the gardens' changing appearances at different times.

As they guide you, the gardeners pick past-season flowers and collect fallen leaves and petals on the grounds.

The flowers and leaves collected in this way become the materials for making "Flower Mandala Arrangement."

Return to your childhood and play mindlessly with "Flower Mandala Arrangement"

The flowers and leaves you collect with the gardeners can be taken back to your room.

"Flower Mandala Arrangement" is a heartwarming game in which children arrange flowers and leaves however they like.

You can arrange them however you like. Some people arrange them in an orderly fashion, while others just place them randomly based on what they have in hand. There are as many different ways to arrange them as you like.

Once I actually started arranging the flowers, I found it fascinating how the impression changed completely just by slightly changing the position of the flowers, their combinations, colors, and balance with the leaves, and before I knew it, I had been arranging the flowers without thinking about anything.

This moment of clearing your mind also leads to better mental health.

The flowers and leaves that were arranged were then released into the river on the premises. What was born from the nature of Karuizawa was returned to the nature of Karuizawa. While playing, I felt like I was participating in the cycle of nature.

["A bowl of rice to wake up" and "Breakfast on the mountain"]

"A bowl of breakfast" gently reaches your body after "cool morning stretching"

The food served at the main dining area, Japanese cuisine Kasuke, also plays a part in balancing the mind and body from the inside out.

After relaxing your body with the "Cool Morning Stretch," you can enjoy the "Wake-up Bowl" at the newly opened "Terrace Rice Field Lounge." This dish is a corn skewer covered in vegetable broth and garnished with basil.

Vegetable stock made from the skins, roots, leaves, and stems of vegetables that would normally be discarded is rich in flavor and seeps into the body.

The original flavor of these ingredients is perhaps only possible because our bodies have gradually become more balanced after experiencing the "Karuizawa Summer Healthy Stay" the day before.

After the "Wake-up Bowl," we have a "Mountain Breakfast." As we gaze upon the rice terraces gradually shining in the morning light, we enjoy steamed summer vegetables and other fresh vegetable dishes, which give us the feeling of being recharged with new energy.

What I learned from experiencing the three-day, two-night program is that this menu can only have a positive effect on the body if one immerses oneself in the nature of Karuizawa and humbly accepts it.

"It is important to sharpen your five senses and feel rather than think." I came to remember the words of Toshiro Inaba, a doctor and former director of Karuizawa Hospital who also supervised this program, as I ended my three-day, two-night stay.

I felt as if my body had become lighter, and more than anything, I felt the power of Karuizawa's nature closer to me and began to appreciate the plants, flowers, and trees.

Click here for part 1 of my stay report: "Terrace Rice Field Afternoon Tea" enjoyed at the "Terrace Rice Field Lounge".

◆Hoshinoya Karuizawa "Karuizawa Summer Healthy Stay"

・Event period: June 2024st to August 6st, 1

Price: 1 yen per person (tax and 125,800% service charge included) *Accommodation fee not included

What is included: 2 consultations, 1 lecture on deep breathing bathing, 2 morning stretches, 2 walks around the valley village, 1 flower mandala arrangement, 2 breakfasts, 2 dinners

・Reservation method: Reservations accepted up to 14 days in advance on the official website

・Capacity: 1 group per day (up to 1 people)

Eligible: Guests staying at Hoshinoya Karuizawa

text by Sakurako Miyao