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The luxury Sankara hotel&spa Yakushima is a Japanese-French fusion auberge-style resort that will open in March 2010 on Japan’s world natural heritage island, Yakushima. In addition, just as sankara will be the first luxury property to debut on Yakushima, it will also premiere as the 25th member of the Japan’s exclusive Ryokan Collection, a consortium of only the finest boutique hotels and select Japanese-style
inns or ryokan.
sankara is a Sanskrit word meaning bounty from heaven. General Manager, Jiro Sato, who is also the founder of its hotel management company, Five Works co., ltd. joins sankara after years of experience in the luxury hotel business. He explains that the name was chosen because “sankara makes guests feel as if they are experiencing a piece of heaven that has fallen to earth.” The intimate resort has so much to offer, yet “our philosophy is to harmoniously coexist with the natural environment of Yakushima Island.” The hotel is situated on elevated ground surrounded by tropical rain forest. It is an ideal location with panoramic glass windows, offering guests an immersive perspective of the island’s environs right from their dinner table.
Fresh gourmet dining is an integral part of the experience. The two guest-exclusive restaurants include: their signature French restaurant for dinner only and a casual dining facility for breakfast and dinner. There is also a pool-side cafe offering drinks and light meals. Renowned Executive Chef, Chiharu Takei, who apprenticed at a 3-Michelin Star restaurant in France, comes to sankara after serving as Executive Chef at Mikuni Marunouchi restaurant in Tokyo. Chef de Cuisine, Tsutomu Seshimo, served most recently as Master Chef at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. Both will create innovative dishes inspired by French cuisine with an emphasis on selected local products and ingredients, including fish and marine stock from nearby waters, as well as organically farmed produce and wild indigenous plants.
The sankara spa will indulge guests with five private treatment rooms with a variety of original aromatic Asian herb oil-based therapies. Treatment counseling is complimentary. The 29 spacious guest rooms include five cottage-style suites and 24 villas offering the most luxurious and comfortable stay of any exotic retreat. Each guest room is decorated in chic tones elicited by the warm, natural wood and enhanced by a private balcony affording the splendid views of Yakushima and its pristine world heritage. Additional facilities include an out-door swimming pool and library room. The room rate including dinner, breakfast, service charges and taxes for two adults will range JPY90,000 – JPY180,000 for suite and JPY40,000 – JPY90,000 for villa.
Hiroki Fukunaga, Managing Director of the Ryokan Collection, a consortium of boutique luxury Japanese inns and small luxury Japanese hotels, explains that the decision to admit sankara as the 25th member of this exclusive accommodations group even before its opening was simple. “We have over 250 criteria upon which we evaluate our members, including: service quality, aesthetics, amenities, activity options, security, and foreigner friendliness. We knew sankara’s management company, and their concept. Our guests are looking for a priceless experience, and this is what sankara will offer.”
TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific editorial team has an experience of over 35 years in B2B travel journalism as well as in tourism & hospitality marketing and communications.
