“I want visitors to experience a sense of unity between the building and the landscape,” says architect Shigeru Ban.

Arriving is something of a sensory awakening. Visitors feel the breeze and inhale forest scents while wandering along an open-air pathway, wrapped around the building. The flowing skywalk not only creates only a gentle transition from outside to inner world, just like the pathway to a tea house – it also forges a deep connection between nature and architecture.

Inside, a large communal space spans the upper level – home to The Restaurant, The Wine & Whisky Bar, Cigar Room and Forest Terrace. Its clean-lined interior showcases Ban’s signature innovations – from a symphony of interlocked timber trusses to original SSH paper tube furniture. A more intimate atmosphere fills the 12 guestrooms on the lower level, each with hinoki cypress wood bathtubs and private outdoor spaces, organic lines of wood and bespoke textiles.