Azumi Setoda Revives a 140-Year-Old Setouchi Estate

Azumi announced on 11 December 2020 that its first property, Azumi Setoda, would open on 1 March 2021 on Ikuchijima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea administered by Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. The project brings together Aman founder Adrian Zecha and the Japanese hospitality group Naru Developments.

The ryokan occupies Horiuchi-tei, a 140-year-old compound that was once the headquarters and private residence of a prominent family of salt farmers and ship owners. Its restoration was entrusted to Kyoto-based architect Shiro Miura, a specialist in sukiya-style Japanese architecture. Each guest room has its own outdoor space, whether a private garden, a balcony or both.

Across the street, Miura also designed Yubune, a bathhouse open both to hotel guests and to the public, offering an introduction to Japanese bathing culture with lemon and salt baths that nod to the island’s produce and history.

Dining breaks with ryokan convention: meals are served communally in a main dining room rather than in guest rooms, with three private dining rooms also available. The menu leans on local ingredients and the region’s citrus. “My previous projects have frequently been considered as ‘luxury’… At Azumi, our highest priority is to welcome people wholeheartedly,” Zecha said.

Setoda sits at roughly the midpoint of the 70-kilometre Shimanami Kaido cycling route, on the western side of the Setouchi region and within reach of the art islands of Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima. Azumi is led by founders and directors Yuta Oka and Fumitomo Hayase.