In the mountains of Taiwan, Hoshinoya Guguan offers a refined hot spring escape

As we drove towards Hoshinoya Guguan, Taichung’s skyscrapers receded into the distance. After passing farmland, we approached the mountains. But unlike the journey to many mountain resorts, this one led downward. Hoshinoya Guguan sits in a valley, so the lower we went, the deeper we moved into shadow. Along the way, the bubbling Dajia River remained in view, catching occasional bursts of sunlight between the peaks.

Opened in 2019, Hoshinoya Guguan is the only property in Taiwan by Japanese hospitality group Hoshino Resorts. It is also one of only two Hoshinoya resorts outside Japan, the other being in Bali. The company began as a ryokan in Karuizawa in 1914, and Hoshinoya is its top-tier luxury brand, with a strong focus on context, history and culture.

At Hoshinoya Guguan, the area’s hot springs take centre stage. It is about a two-hour drive from Taichung, Taiwan’s second-largest city, yet urban life soon feels far away amid the quiet landscape and soothing hot spring waters. The indigenous Atayal Tribe is credited with discovering the region’s springs in 1907. The odourless water is gentle on the skin and flows from the Xueshan Range, drawing the Japanese to build a public bath here during the colonial period from 1895 to 1945.

Repeat monthly guests account for 18 per cent of all visitors at Hoshinoya Guguan. One guest, a staff member shared, has visited more than 50 times “to appreciate the shifting seasons and natural ecology of Guguan”.

ELEVATING GUGUAN’S RESORT SCENE

Guguan had been a popular tourist destination until the devastating 1999 earthquake, after which it lay quiet for two decades. Taiwanese steel magnate Lin Meng-bi, who heads Taichung-based Feng Hsin Steel, developed a keen appreciation for hospitality during his travels. Believing Taiwan lacked a true luxury hot spring retreat, he decided in 2011 to help revive the region with what became the country’s first luxury hot spring resort.

Having enjoyed Hoshino Resorts properties in Japan, Lin reached out to the company about a collaboration. The result is a resort arranged around a tranquil water garden. It was designed by Japanese architect Rie Azuma, daughter of the late architect Takamitsu Azuma. Founder of Azuma Architects & Associates, she has also designed other Hoshinoya properties, including Hoshinoya Tokyo and Hoshinoya Kyoto.

While Azuma prioritises context – history, topography and the particular character of each location – when designing Hoshinoya properties in Japan, her overseas projects focus on expressing “Japaneseness – whether through visible methods or through invisible philosophical approaches”, she explained.

One way she achieved this was by insisting on exacting construction standards similar to those of projects in Japan. While local stone and materials were used, Japanese expertise was brought in for the finer details. “This allowed us to work with local manufacturers while ensuring that Japanese craftsmanship and attention to detail were translated into every piece,” said Azuma.

She also responded to local bathing habits by designing the outdoor hot spring pools in a zigzag formation, creating corners where more privacy-conscious guests could settle in. “Many Taiwanese hot springs require swimsuits, but from a Japanese point of view, this means losing the feeling of openness and taking away one of the best parts of a hot spring. Through its design, I hope guests can feel how much thought was put into this place and how I interpreted nature here,” Azuma shared.

DESIGNING A JAPANESE ONSEN IN TAIWAN

Guguan’s hot springs inspired environmental designer Hiroki Hasegawa, who heads the firm studio on site. Working to the theme of “a water garden in the mountains”, he wove hot spring and other water elements into the landscape. “Located at the highest point of the hot spring town, Hoshinoya Guguan draws in plentiful spring water from the surrounding mountains and circulates it throughout the property. By utilising slight variations in elevation, I ensured that the flowing water is visible from everywhere. My intention was for the gentle sound of water to envelop the site, allowing guests to fully immerse themselves in that atmosphere,” he explained.

At mealtimes, the water garden becomes the dining hall’s focal point, framed by a continuous band of tall glazing. Pathways meander around the trunks of sugi trees – a type of cedar – that originally stood on the site. Ponds, seasonal flowers and small bridges lend texture to the landscape beneath dense foliage. Before and after meals, guests drift through the garden – couples pausing for photographs among the trees, children darting about in search of butterflies and fish.

“The goal of the landscape design was to make the entire property a place where guests feel they can ‘belong’,” Hasegawa said, emphasising that the resort’s outdoor spaces are as important as its indoor ones.

VIEWS OF THE VALLEY

That connection to nature continues in the guestrooms – each has a balcony and a semi-open-air hot spring bath with operable screens framing the mountain view. Most are maisonettes, with a distinct upper bathroom level and lower living level. All are generously sized and bear names such as Shui (water), Yue (moon) and Shan (mountain), evoking the natural world.

I stayed in the latter, which is ideal for elderly travellers or those with young children, as it is set on one level and has two separate bedrooms. The most expansive guestroom is the 216 sq m, three-bedroom Sen (“forest”), which accommodates seven.

DINING AND DISCRETION

The same Japanese sensibility carries through to the meals, which can be served in-room or in the resort’s main dining room on ceramics from renowned Japanese kilns such as Kutani, Bizen and Arita. Of the three breakfast styles – Japanese, Western and Taiwanese – I most enjoyed the last: congee simmered with scallop and chicken broth, topped with milkfish floss and scallion oil chicken.

Chef Kazuto Kawanishi, from Chiba Prefecture, trained in notable kitchens in Japan and Hong Kong before coming to Hoshinoya Guguan, where he serves refined seasonal kaiseki. One memorable dish was Hassun: Seven Treasures of the Mountains, which presented assorted appetisers, including smoked salmon kosode sushi, on a piece of driftwood. A pudding dessert dusted with chestnut brought the meal to a subtly nutty close.

Like hot spring resorts in Japan, everything at Hoshinoya Guguan felt sophisticated yet understated. The spa, hidden behind large doors, offered another example. After a few knocks, the therapist opened the door, confirmed my appointment and led me through corridors flanked by washi-paper screens. In a space inspired by a Japanese tea house, a massage using warm jade stones provided deep relaxation. Post-treatment tea in the spa lounge, overlooking a water feature, felt like a final echo of the resort’s water-centred design.

TRYING OUT ATAYAL CRAFT

When not soaking in the onsen or ambling through Hoshinoya Guguan’s gardens, guests can join activities such as Atayal weaving and mouth harp workshops while learning about local traditions. One afternoon, Atayal instructor Lan Huei-Chen taught us weaving. She also teaches the craft to children in the community on a non-profit basis to help preserve Indigenous weaving traditions.

Each participant was given a mini loom, and it did not take long to get the hang of the process. Even my primary school-age children made their own keychains, each in a unique colour combination.

One morning, we left the resort to explore Basianshan National Forest Recreation Area. Basianshan – literally “Eight Immortals Mountain” – has a temperate climate, and its altitude of 2,366m supports rich forest growth, especially cypress. During Japanese rule, the Basianshan Forestry Centre and Jiabaotai Timber Yard were located in these mountains. Basianshan was one of Taiwan’s three major logging centres during the Japanese occupation, alongside Alishan and Taipingshan.

Echoing this history are remnants of logs and short sections of railway track around the recreation area, at the base of an 8km trail we did not attempt. Instead, we lingered by the water – Guguan sits at the confluence of the Shiwen and Jiabao rivers – while trying to spot local species such as the painted jezebel butterfly and Formosan blue magpie.

We did not spot any of them, but we did notice rock stacks left by other travellers, which my children tried to imitate. The sight and sound of the river made for a soothing morning. Still, it was a warm day, and we were glad to return to Hoshinoya Guguan, which, hidden from public view, felt like a place apart in the mountains.