Take an express bus from Kobe and head to the far south of Awaji Island. On December 1, 2026 (Tuesday), the 14-room small luxury hotel BE WANDERLUST HOTEL opens on a hilltop in Ama, Minamiawaji, Hyogo Prefecture. It is run by Valnibarby, a company headquartered in Nishi-ku, Osaka.
Up a mountain road, a ring-shaped building appears, following the ridgeline of the hill. Walk the slope around its outer edge and the sea ahead slips behind the building while new views open between the trees. A landscape that changes with every step is the signature of this hotel.
Seven sea-view rooms, seven mountain-view rooms, and no TV
The architecture is by ADX, whose philosophy is “living with the forest,” with design by STUDIO DIG., landscape design by Yard Works and lighting by Plus y. Valnibarby handled overall production, from concept to food, space and ties with the local community. The roughly 2,640-tsubo site holds just 14 rooms: seven “Setouchi Ocean View” rooms facing the horizon and sunset, and seven “Mountain View” rooms wrapped in trees.
Every room has a terrace, and the interiors are in earth tones. There is deliberately no TV, so the view outside becomes part of the room. Four of the mountain-side rooms have a terrace bath that can be used 24 hours a day while looking at the forest, and the bath amenities are from LE LABO HINOKI.
A panoramic sauna and pool overlooking sea and greenery
The cypress panoramic sauna uses a Finnish MISA stove and is kept at about 95°C. For self-löyly, it uses aroma water distilled from plants that grow wild around the hotel. After the sauna comes a cold plunge of about 13°C, then an open-air rest area facing the sea. A pool sits in the center of the ring, and a fire pit is lit after sunset.
A 12-seat restaurant for hotel guests only: “Restaurant UZU”
Dinner is at “Restaurant UZU,” a 12-seat counter restaurant open only to hotel guests. Awaji Island was one of the “Miketsukuni,” the regions that supplied food to the imperial court in ancient times. The restaurant works closely with producers such as fishers and farmers and turns the island’s bounty into dishes while it is as fresh as possible. Centered on French cuisine, it layers on teppan and charcoal cooking and delicate Japanese techniques.
The course is called “Ichie” (a once-in-a-lifetime encounter). Using ingredients nurtured by the island’s varied terrain of sea, mountain, soil and water, it is composed like a journey through Awaji Island, one plate at a time. Some tableware is one-of-a-kind pottery by local ceramic artists. The dishes are led by Executive Chef 小西智也, who trained at restaurants in Paris and at Jean-Georges Tokyo and Dominique Bouchet, and moved to the Awaji–Tokushima area in 2025.
Walk, pick, visit: stay programs in Minamiawaji
Around the hotel is a roughly 30-minute trekking course. Guests can also join morning yoga or make their own aroma water by picking plants on the grounds and distilling them. Beyond the hotel, there is a harvest experience at a local farm and a “fisher’s meal” experience at a small fishing port. Ingredients met there may end up in that night’s dish. Breakfast is at “TRATTORIA amarancia,” on a clifftop about two minutes away by the hotel’s private car, with a main to choose from: Awaji trout and avocado toast, a salad plate or an American breakfast. In-room breakfast is also available.
Hotel information
- Name: BE WANDERLUST HOTEL
- Opening: Tuesday, December 1, 2026
- Address: AMA SUNSET CLIFF, Ama-nishimachi, Minamiawaji, Hyogo (656-0545)
- Rooms: 14 (7 Setouchi Ocean View, 7 Mountain View), 40 m² plus a 4 m² terrace
- Rates: from ¥90,000 for two guests per room with breakfast (tax included, service charge excluded)
- Check-in / check-out: from 15:00 (last 20:00) / 11:00
- Restaurant UZU: “Ichie” course ¥25,000 per person (tax included, service charge excluded); two seatings at 17:00 and 19:45; hotel guests only
- Access: By car, about 25 minutes from Nishiawaji-Miwara IC on the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway. Park at the TRATTORIA amarancia parking lot, then about 2 minutes by the hotel’s private car. From Kobe Sannomiya, take the “Minamiawaji Fukura Line” express bus to Fukura, then about 25 minutes by taxi from the Fukura bus stop
- Website (Japanese): https://hotel-wanderlust.jp
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/be_wanderlust_hotel
