Arriving in Nagano in pursuit of legendary Japanese powder snow in 2001, we were amazed at the quality of life and depth of culture in Japan. What was meant to be a year or two life experience blossomed into a career in hospitality.
The first project was Sierra Resort Hakuba. This 74 room resort hotel in the Northern Japanese Alps had no previous experience with marketing to, and taking care of, foreign guests. After 4 seasons working with the owner and management we were consistently ranked top hotel in the valley and continue to enjoy a large base of repeat guests year after year. The service style we implemented at Sierra is the benchmark in the area.
Further projects in the Hakuba Valley were Morino Chalets and Big Bear Apartments and Chalets. Under our tutelage, both of these operations now have great online presence and broad repeat customer bases.
The final project in Hakuba was the Wadano Forest Hotel. This 30 room hot spring hotel was supposed to be ‘turn-key’. Contracted to start on Dec. 4 for a Dec. 20 opening, it was described as ‘ready to go’. On arriving at the hotel for the first time, we found it far from ready. Our skills in general carpentry, plumbing repair, boiler repair and managing Japanese tradesmen onsite were put to the test. This was our shortest, but hardest and most markedly successful hotel opening to date. By the end of the first season the hotel turned a profit and was ranked #3 out of 118 hotels in the valley.
After 17 winter seasons in Hakuba, we’d had enough of snow. We first came to Ishigaki in February, 2018 to take a look at tropical Japan. It was love at first sight! We had to move here. But how? By a great stroke of fortune, in March of the same year – just a month after coming to take a look at the island for the first time – we were approached by a foreign investment group with previous experience of our work through their properties in Nagano in regards to their latest purchase: A small resort hotel on Ishigaki. And they needed someone to open it and run it for them.
All licensing and registering accomplished, Ishigaki Sunset Cove Hotel opened on July 4, 2018. The first season was to be a test year to learn the idiosyncrasies and potential of the property. It turned out to be much more successful than even we anticipated. Ishigaki Sunset Cove Hotel is now on the scene with a great online reputation and hundreds of happy customers.
Now, what can we do for you?