THE PASONA natureverse retreat

THE PASONA natureverse retreat is a 57-room wellness hotel in Iwaya, at the northern tip of Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, roughly across the Akashi Strait from Kobe. Designed by Shigeru Ban Architects for Pasona Group, the five-story, 120,389-square-foot building folds two linear wings into a single D-shaped plan wrapped around a light-filled atrium, a move that lets nearly every room read out to either the forest behind the site or the water in front of it. The program is built around the Japanese idea of mibyo, the state before illness sets in, and pairs long-stay accommodation with a thalassotherapy spa, a fitness gym, an on-site clinic run in partnership with Kobe University Hospital, and sleep programming that uses sensor-equipped beds developed by Nitori and MinebeaMitsumi. Guest rooms are plumbed with natural hot spring water. Dining runs across five venues led in part by Michelin-starred chefs, spanning Japanese, French and Buddhist vegetarian cooking, alongside a cafe, a bar and an over-water outdoor stage. A third-floor event hall built for live performance is glazed with 500 window panes carrying artworks. It is Shigeru Ban's third commission for Pasona on Awaji Island, following a thatch-roofed restaurant and a timber meditation retreat.