Azumi Setoda is a Community-Focused Ryokan

The first property of the new brand co-founded by Adrian Zecha, Azumi Setoda is a contemporary ryokan on the small island of Ikuchijima in the Seto Inland Sea, designed by Kyoto architect Shiro Miura in a restored historic compound

A remote Japanese fishing island with tasty lemons and a shrinking population may sound like an unlikely place to experience a new generation of luxury hospitality, yet this is precisely where Azumi Setoda recently opened its doors.

It’s the first hotel in the new Azumi brand, dreamt up by cult hotelier and Aman founder Adrian Zecha and Naru Developments, which presents a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional ryokan inns across Japan.

Describing his discovery of ryokan while living in 1950s Tokyo as a Time magazine correspondent, Zecha says, ‘Ryokan can be viewed as a “retreat”, but a small and family-run one, not institutionally managed. There’s harmony and art to that balance. The attention to detail, pursuit of harmony and the human touch fascinated me and we hope to bring an element of this to the forefront of what we do.’

Located on Ikuchijuma island in Japan’s western Seto Inland Sea near Hiroshima, 22-room Azumi Setoda meshes traditional aesthetics with a modern design edge and community focus. Shiro Miura, the Kyoto architect renowned for his contemporary teahouse-inspired sukiya style (also behind Malda Kyoto), renovated a 140-year-old residential compound that was once home to one of Setouchi’s most important families. ‘The restoration was driven by the goal of rebalancing the relationship between moisture, wind and light, using primary materials of wood, stone and soil,’ Miura explains. ‘I worked alongside the Azumi team for a long time to ensure the right harmony between traditional design and modernised comfort.’

Hidden behind a dark timber facade is a minimalist network of light-catching enclaves in tactile textures like white washi paper, shikkui paster, local granite and light hinoki cypress. An interior garden has striking six-metre-high walls of interlocked sugi cedar wood fences, known as kakine, wrapped around an expanse of stone and moss plus a trio of pines, a willow and a cherry tree.

Nearby is Azumaya, a meditative room with walls of glass and an engawa-like wooden veranda fringed with a garden by Osaka-based landscapers WA-SO Design. The room — which staff refer to as Zecha’s study — is imbued with a sense of yohaku, a deeply Japanese aesthetic concept of empty space, be it on the edges of a page or in an architectural form. This tranquillity also pervades the guestrooms, with white paper yukimi shoji screens and swathes of wood furnishings by local artisan Doi Mokkou and rectangular wood bathtubs.

Community ties and revitalisation are further driving forces. Just opposite the street — repaved by Azumi — is Yubune, a sento bathhouse for both guests and locals that also offers 14 low-key guestrooms).

The island is already emerging as a hub: Soil Setoda — created by an Azumi co-founder — opens in a renovated storehouse nearby in April, with interiors by STUDIO DIG and housing Japan’s first Overview Coffee Roaster, as well as an activity centre, work lounge, restaurant and budget guestrooms.

As Zecha explains, ‘Azumi’s role in each destination is to dig deeper into that particular place’s cultural roots. For Setoda, this will be reflected in everything from the design, service, food and beverage to the wellness and cultural programming. This spirit is something that the ryokan has inspired in my past work and something I am bringing back with me for Azumi.’

Text / Danielle Demetriou
Images / Tomohiro Sakashita