By Ema Lynnx
A few dozen kilometers from Kobe, on the north coast of the island of Awaji, THE PASONA Nature Retreat It's not quite like a hotel, nor a wellness clinic, nor a traditional wellness center. In fact, it borrows from each of these worlds to offer something else: a contemporary retreat where architecture, gastronomy, sleep, movement, nature, and personalized support all contribute to the same reflection: how to live better today to preserve our health tomorrow?
Open since June 23, 2026, facing Osaka Bay, this new resort with only 57 rooms bears the signature of the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, winner of the Pritzker Prize. He effectively expounds on a profoundly Japanese concept: the Mibyo, this idea that well-being is not simply about not being sick, but is continually built through our habits, our diet, our physical activity, our sleep and our state of mind.
Between sea and mountains, architecture as a first breath
The arrival immediately sets the tone: the resort is nestled between the verdant hills of Awaji and the Seto Inland Sea, near the spectacular suspension bridge (the 2nd longest in the world). Akashi Kaikyō which connects Awaji Island to Kobe.
Shigeru Ban worked specifically around a duality: on the sea side, the architecture prioritizes horizontality, transparency, and continuity with the landscape; on the mountain side, it adopts a more vertical rhythm, marked by large, wood-like columns. Between the two, a vast atrium bathed in natural light connects the different parts of the building. An immense glass wall can disappear, almost physically abolishing the boundary between interior and ocean.
The building thus becomes a kind of link. Between land and water, obviously, but also between a certain ancestral Japanese wisdom and a very contemporary vision of health. The presence of the sea extends into the outdoor spaces, notably along a boardwalk of approximately 300 meters, designed for walking, breathing, practicing yoga, or simply watching the light change over the bay. The resort even has a sea access that can accommodate superyachts.
57 rooms where you also learn… how to sleep
Here, the bedroom is not considered a mere interlude between two activities, and sleep is an integral part of the experience.
The rooms are divided between mountain views and expansive ocean views. The Ocean Deluxe rooms, ranging from 60 to 66,6 square meters, offer the unique sensation of temporarily living above the sea. Each room also boasts its own private bath fed by a natural hot spring, allowing guests to enjoy the onsen without leaving their own private space.
In 23 rooms, the experience goes further with the installation of sensor-equipped electric beds inspired by research presented in the "Future of Sleep" area of the PASONA NATUREVERSE pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai 2025 World Expo. Developed with NITORI and MinebeaMitsumi, this technology detects body movements and adjusts the bed's position to improve comfort throughout the night. It is not a medical device, but rather a very Japanese way of combining technology and quality of life.
This is probably one of the most interesting features of THE PASONA: the technology is present, but rarely spectacular. Rather, it seeks to disappear behind the functionality.
Mibyo, or the art of taking care of yourself before you need it
The core of the experience remains the program Mibyooffered in particular as a three-night, four-day immersion. And, unlike standardized retreats where everyone follows more or less the same schedule, the stay begins even before arrival.
Ten days prior, a questionnaire is used to assess the visitor's habits and general health. The file is then reviewed with the partner clinic before a Mibyo Facilitator and a Wellness Concierge work together to create a personalized program. Upon arrival, a consultation helps refine objectives and gain a better understanding of one's physical and mental state.
The approach is based on four dimensions: Mind, Body, Food and Sleep.
In practice, the days might combine brisk walking along the seafront, morning yoga, individual training, Japanese breathing exercises, Zen meditation, massages, thermal baths, hammam sessions, or thalassotherapy treatments. The thalassotherapy pool utilizes the mineral properties of seawater in exercises designed specifically to relieve joint pain and promote a feeling of lightness.
Three main approaches then allow you to refine your stay: RELAX, to slow down and regain balance after a period of stress; RESET, more focused on rebalancing through diet, movement, and therapeutic baths; and REBUILDwhich emphasizes physical fitness, strengthening and nutritional support.
But the intention isn't to turn four days into a military training camp. Quite the opposite. One of the program's most interesting aspects is to help develop habits realistic enough to survive the return home. The final day is therefore dedicated to a review and advice that can be easily integrated into daily life.
When gastronomy becomes a component of care
It would have been easy, in a resort dedicated to health, to reduce gastronomy to perfectly portioned, diet-friendly dishes. THE PASONA takes the opposite approach: pleasure remains central, and the island of Awaji lends itself particularly well to this. Historically renowned for the abundance of its agricultural and marine products, it becomes here the canvas for several top-tier chefs. The resort boasts five restaurants, each with a distinct identity.
À Awaji Mitsuki, Hisato Nakahigashi, fourth generation to head the ryokan Miyamaso near Kyoto, three stars in the Michelin Guide Kyoto-Osaka 2026, revisits the spirit of the tsumikusaJapanese cuisine is based on foraging and seasonality.
Awaji Togei explores the universe of kappowhere the cook prepares the products in front of his guests according to the major gestures of Japanese cuisine: raw, in broth, simmered, grilled or fried.
Awaji Sougo, conceived by Daisuke Nomura, is itself inspired by the shojin ryori, a centuries-old Buddhist vegetarian culinary tradition.
Sushi Minami naturally celebrates the fish of the surrounding waters, while Earths, worn by Kosuke Nabeta, chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Sola in Paris, creates a Franco-Japanese dialogue around techniques such as fermentation, smoking, drying or marinating.
It then becomes clear that the term " wellness gastronomy The use of this term by the establishment does not mean abandoning haute cuisine. On the contrary, it is about reconciling indulgence, local produce, seasonality, and attention to the body.
Baths, silence… but also music
THE PASONA also rejects another convention of contemporary wellness: the one that would have well-being necessarily involve absolute silence.
The resort has its own music area. Hall Kimi, where classical, jazz and Japanese music concerts take place. The program notably features artists from the Music Island Project developed by Pasona Group on Awaji.
The group has also envisioned an entire cultural and experiential ecosystem around the island. Among the nearby locations is... Zenbo SeineiAlso designed by Shigeru Ban, this Zen retreat is famous for its long wooden platform open to the forest, where meditation and contemplative practices take place almost at treetop level. Awaji Nature Lab & Resort complements this approach with agricultural, educational, and culinary experiences centered around a slower way of life.
This resort doesn't really function as an enclave cut off from its territory. The island itself becomes part of the stay.
Awaji, a laboratory of another Japan
This location is not insignificant. Since 2008, Pasona Group has been leading a vast regional revitalization program on Awaji, which began with a project to support young agricultural entrepreneurs before expanding to tourism, gastronomy, culture, education, and wellness. The goal is also to create jobs outside major metropolitan areas and attract new residents to the island. THE PASONA is undoubtedly the most accomplished expression of this strategy today.
The resort adopts the concept NATUREVERSEDeveloped by the group during Expo 2025 in Osaka, the concept envisions a society where humanity, nature, and technology cease to be opposed and instead function together. This idea might seem theoretical, but on Awaji, it becomes much more concrete: sleeping facing the sea in a bed that adapts to the body's movements, taking a thermal bath in your room, enjoying a thalassotherapy session, having lunch with produce picked on the island, meditating in an architecture open to the trees, and then listening to a concert a few hours later.
THE PASONA clearly belongs to the world of high-end wellness: designer architecture, spacious rooms, personal concierge service, Michelin-starred cuisine, private thermal baths, chauffeurs, and treatments and services tailored to short or extended stays. The resort also features a clinic and a support system developed in collaboration with the Kobe University Hospital.
But perhaps its most contemporary luxury lies elsewhere: in the possibility of having time, of really sleeping, of eating without opposing health and pleasure, of walking without necessarily having a place to go… and, above all, of leaving with a slightly better understanding of what one's own body needs: an experience where travel is no longer just about discovering a destination, but about returning, for a few days, to oneself.
Photos: Patrick Koune
