From Shiguchi’s hot tub—a giant rock, sliced in half, its excavated interior filled with volcanic onsen water—the dazzling whites of the valley are broken only by an ink-line of trees and the scarlet legs of a woodpecker in a nearby birch tree. Such is life at this escapist nirvana in a wild corner of Niseko, on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido. Named after a traditional Japanese carpentry technique that joins beams without nails, Shiguchi is about connection: between humans and nature, art and architecture, and possibly bathers and birds. English artist, collector, and longtime resident Shouya Grigg, who was also behind the area’s beloved Zaborin ryokan, meticulously relocated five old kominka farmhouses from across Japan. Shiguchi’s heartbeat is its gallery and restaurant, Somoza, where impressive woodwork is tempered by shelves of ceramics, abstract paintings, and walls of glass framing valley views.
Days might be whiled away drinking matcha in a floating tatami mat space wrapped in steel screens, discovering Ainu art artifacts in the lower-level gallery space, or talking art with Grigg over dinners of wild Niseko, from foraged mushrooms to melt-in-the-mouth venison. Pathways cut into walls of snow lead to five spacious and atmospheric villas, with high-tech kitchens, rock or cypress bathtubs, and deliciously soft Babaghuri pajamas. Sturdy timberwork is the backdrop for antique furniture, fire stoves, and artworks. But the real privilege here is switching off and tuning in to the rhythms of the woodpeckers. —Danielle Demetriou