A luxury hotel featuring a restaurant supervised by Zaisuke Hasegawa of “Den” has opened in Karuizawa!

Karuizawa has long been a beloved summer resort, fostering a unique culinary culture where Western culture and abundant local ingredients intertwine. To satisfy visitors who wish to experience this charm, a hotel has been created with a restaurant supervised by Zaisuke Hasegawa of "Den."

In a luxurious space surrounded by nature, return to your true self.

On July 22nd of this year, the luxury hotel "ESSENCE KARUIZAWA" opened, featuring suite rooms, each equipped with a private sauna. It's surprising how such a tranquil world surrounded by greenery can be found just a 5-6 minute drive from Karuizawa Station.

The name ESSENCE, meaning "essence," was chosen with the hope that guests would return to their true selves here. As you walk along the long approach from the entrance to the hotel building, you get the feeling that pieces of everyday life are slowly peeling away. The moment the doors open, a time to rediscover yourself begins. Surrendering yourself to nature, your heart races with excitement as you imagine each experience that awaits you.

Upon arrival, guests check in while enjoying an original welcome drink in the lobby: ginger and cardamom mixed with green tea. The hotel is filled with the scent of an original aroma based on cypress wood, created by Tomoko Saito, a leading aromatherapy fragrance designer, providing a sense of peace and relaxation for both mind and body.

The guest-only lounge offers complimentary drinks and food, and it's exciting to think of spending a different kind of time there than in your room. You can immerse yourself in reading at the counter desk overlooking the larch forest through the large windows, or enjoy a drink while listening to music from a premium audio system on a comfortable sofa.

Enjoy luxury in a suite with a private sauna in every room.

All 12 rooms here are suites, each with a private sauna. Upon entering the room, you're greeted by a view of the Karuizawa forest that resembles a landscape painting. The space is decorated in calming tones to highlight the beautiful green of the forest.

They offer rentals of board games, binoculars, telescopes, and yoga mats, as well as a wide variety of blankets and pillows including non-allergenic, buckwheat hull, and memory foam options. They also provide shoe dryers, hair irons, and steam irons, making it a truly luxurious experience. Whether you're gazing at nature from the terrace or sinking into a large sofa, you'll realize just how comfortable it is to spend time in this relaxed atmosphere.

For sleep that soothes both mind and body, we provide top-of-the-line mattresses from Japan Bed Co., Ltd. "Clad in original loungewear developed in collaboration with the recovery wear brand 'VENEX,' and gently restore your mind and body. Treat sleep as an important part of your stay experience, and surrender yourself to deep sleep."

The dressing room connecting the sauna and bathroom is also noteworthy. It's not just the beauty of the furnishings; the original pouch contains stylish amenities, and bath salts are placed next to it. Supporting the ultimate relaxation experience are a sauna hat, sauna poncho, and salt candy, all created in collaboration with the sauna-specific brand "TTNE." The minibar even has a complimentary "Oropo set."

With such complete facilities, even those who aren't sauna enthusiasts would want to experience it. Warm your body at your own pace in the sauna, where you can freely change the lighting, then take a break on the terrace. It's a luxurious time to reflect on yourself amidst the tranquility of the forest.

The essence of "Den" and the bounty of the land, all in one dish.

As the sun sets, it's time for the much-anticipated dinner. One of the reasons to come here is to dine at "SHIN," a restaurant supervised by Zaisuke Hasegawa of "Den," where Hiroshi Tanaka, who honed his skills under Hasegawa, showcases his culinary talents. With what he inherited from Hasegawa and Tanaka's own sensibilities, he elevates ingredients from Karuizawa and other parts of Shinshu into dishes that can only be tasted here.

"SHIN" is a forest-inspired space with a high ceiling featuring impressive rows of wooden beams, a hackberry wood table and green chairs, and a harmonious blend of natural light streaming in through large windows and the soft glow of "Zettel'z," a lighting fixture by German designer Ingo Maurer suspended from the ceiling. The clever placement of walls in several locations and tables of varying shapes creates a sense of openness while maintaining a degree of privacy.

The restaurant's name was chosen to reflect Chef Tanaka's belief in "telepathy" and "cooking from the heart."

The menu offers an 8-course omakase meal, from appetizer to dessert. While the salad and earthenware pot rice evoke the atmosphere of "Den," Mr. Tanaka's meticulously crafted dishes, which generously incorporate abundant ingredients from Karuizawa and Shinshu, gently permeate the senses and delight the body.

Today's soup features a bonito broth, topped with golden snapper coated in cornstarch dissolved in water and deep-fried, served with mozuku seaweed from Miyako Island, and garnished with longan sudachi citrus. The strong acidity of the soup gives it a crisp finish that awakens your senses.

The salmon is aged for 6 days and the amberjack for 5 days, resulting in a sticky texture and rich umami flavor. The combination with the tangy seaweed vinegar makes it a perfect accompaniment to sake.

The eel, whose flavor has been brought out by aging for four days, is fried to a crispy skin and a fluffy flesh. When you think of eel, you usually think of kabayaki (grilled eel with sauce), but fried eel soaked in a spicy sauce made with shishito peppers is a perfect match.

Using Japanese culinary techniques, the freshness, texture, and sweetness of each seasonal vegetable are brought out. The only seasonings are salted kelp and yuzu. While it evokes the style of "Den," this dish shines with the unique sensibility of Mr. Tanaka, who knows Shinshu vegetables well.

One of Shinshu's premium wagyu beef varieties, "Apple Wagyu," is raised on feed supplemented with Shinshu apples and is cooked to perfection, resulting in a moist and tender texture. It pairs perfectly with a sauce made from the same apples.

The meal concludes with "Tsukiakari" rice from Nagano Prefecture and mushroom "Takikomi Gohan" (rice cooked with mushrooms). The rice, infused with the rich aroma and umami of the mushrooms, has just the right amount of stickiness, and each bite reveals a hint of sweetness.

The dessert is a fresh ginger mousse topped with watermelon jelly, brown sugar kudzu starch, and melon. It is served with brown sugar syrup made from sugarcane grown in Gunma Prefecture. The refreshing taste and subtle tang of the fresh ginger lightly conclude the course meal.

A hearty and flavorful breakfast awakens both mind and body!

The rice used for breakfast is "Gorobei Rice" from Saku City. Grown with the pure water of Mount Tateshina and rich clay soil, this rare rice is characterized by its strong stickiness, sweetness, and firm grain texture.

The menu features exciting dishes such as grilled black cod in yuzu marinade, seared mentaiko (spicy cod roe), sea urchin and yuba (tofu skin), Shinshu beef roast beef with onion sauce, and tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet). Enjoying freshly cooked rice and a variety of side dishes for breakfast is a luxury only available when traveling. Slowly savoring these flavorful dishes will awaken your body from within, making for a refreshing start to the day.

As you spend time in the forest, you can feel yourself gradually drifting away from everyday life. You can refresh your body in a private sauna and savor the blessings of Shinshu. There's no need to do anything special. Just respond to what your mind and body crave. "ESSENCE KARUIZAWA" will make that happen. As part of the second phase of the plan, an expansion of the accommodation and restaurant buildings, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates, is scheduled for around 2029. You'll want to come back here even more.

*The menu is as of the time of the interview. It may change depending on the season.