Not A Hotel
Japan’s New Luxury of Sharing

(Dream Houses) The Tokyo-based start-up offers impeccable residences dreamed up by the world’s best-known design names, blurring the lines between home and high-end hospitality. From a secluded peninsula retreat created by master Danish architect Bjarke Ingels to a sprawling glass-walled villa forged from the sketchbook of legendary Japanese creative director Nigo, each NOT A HOTEL residence is a masterfully designed abode, serviced like a top-tier hotel. The growing brand is the brainchild of Shinji Hamauzu, a successful tech entrepreneur who founded the company in 2020. With leading Japanese design figures like Sou Fujimoto, Suppose Design Office, and General Design as an initial cast of collaborators, a business model was developed where holiday homes are created as renders on-screen before customers buy them from the plan. When shares of a start selling, construction moves forward. “From a business point of view, this model is very good because if a project doesn’t sell, you don’t have to build it,” says W. David Marx, the company’s Global Communications Director. “Until now, however, a single project hasn’t been canceled. Every single one is sold out.”

NOT A HOTEL operates on a unique co-ownership model, where buyers purchase a share of a residence – as an example, buying a 1/12 share, would allow them 30 nights per year to enjoy it. This flexible structure allows owners to exchange stays with other partial homeowners across the brand’s growing portfolio via a proprietary app. For instance, buying a 1/12 share of the Bjarke Ingels-designed retreat in the coastal area of Setouchi secures a month in one house or the option to book all three villas across the development for 10 days. The system also allows homeowners to swap their stays – making the brand’s growing portfolio available for all customers with a simple click or a swipe on an app.

While several Not-A-Hotel residences are still in development, many flagship properties have already been completed and are fully subscribed, each showcasing a distinct architectural vision. In Miyazaki, Shin Ohori of General Design Co has created a collection of beachfront villas with infinity pools and expansive ocean-facing terraces, blending minimalist design with sweeping coastal views.

In the mountains of Kitakaruizawa, ‘Base’, designed by Yosuke Aizawa, the visionary fashion designer behind White Mountaineering, takes the form of a contemporary mountain lodge. At the same time, ‘Irori’, an eight-bedroom glass-laden retreat, immerses residents in the surrounding forest landscape of rural, snowy Kita-karuizawa. Further north in Tochigi, Suppose Design Office’s ‘Nasu’ property integrates weathered Corten steel and panoramic glazing with features such as an infinity pool, a sauna, and a natural onsen bath—seamlessly blending contemporary architecture with Japan’s rich spa culture. On Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, ‘Earth’, designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects (and opening in August this year), takes an organic approach with its circular form and undulating green roof, merging with the island’s tropical landscape.

The brand’s most ambitious project to date is taking shape in Futtsu, Chiba, Tokyo Bay, a clifftop retreat designed by Tomoaki ‘Nigo’ Nagao. The fashion high flyer, who bought a stake in the company alongside Pharrell Williams in February, has worked with NOT A HOTEL’s in-house team on the landmark project. Here, high-ceiling rooms provide uninterrupted views of Tokyo Bay and Mount Fuji. The property harmoniously blends minimalist architecture with a distinctly Japanese sensibility—featuring a private listening room, a traditional tea space, and an infinity pool that dissolves into the horizon. It’s a natural evolution of the brand’s approach: residences designed with a sharp architectural vision and serviced at the highest level.

As the brand expands and investment pours in, its ability to attract top-tier creative collaborators grows, bringing in new perspectives and thereby forging a new international design language in the process. “NOT A HOTEL has a 30-person in-house architecture team, with a masterful focus on Japanese minimalism,” explains Marx. “And now we’re bringing international talent like Bjarke Ingels and Snøhetta from Scandinavia to add a cutting edge. The result is design that feels entirely new, yet instantly understood.”