Hoshino Resorts debuts LUCY Ozehatomachi — Japan’s first purpose-built mountain hotel — in the heart of Gunma’s highlands, redefining the art of alpine stays with comfort, practicality, and wilderness immersion.
This September, Japan’s mountainous highlands welcomed something entirely new: LUCY Ozehatomachi, the country’s first purpose-built mountain hotel and the inaugural property of the brand-new LUCY line from Hoshino Resorts. Perched at Hatomachi Pass — the most accessible trailhead into the breathtaking Oze National Park located within Japan’s Gunma Prefecture — this lodge redefines what it means to stay in the mountains, offering hikers and nature lovers a rare blend of functionality, comfort, and immersion in the wilderness.
Hoshino Resorts’ LUCY brand is named after 19th-century British explorer Isabella “Lucy” Bird — whose pioneering journeys across the world from Tibet and Kurdistan to China and Japan led her to being the first woman allowed to join the Royal Geographical Society — and is designed to capture the same spirit of adventure for today’s travellers.
Six “LUCY promises” define the brand’s ethos: clean and private sleeping quarters, modern wash facilities, hearty sustenance, constant access to snacks and supplies, reliable connectivity, and small but meaningful activities like a bear-bell workshop before setting off into the wild.
Oze National Park, famed for its vast high-altitude marshlands, winding boardwalks, and ever-changing seasonal landscapes, has long been a draw for day-trippers and dedicated hikers alike. Until now, overnight options have been limited to spartan huts.
Enter LUCY Ozehatomachi.
The new property fills that gap with 25 thoughtfully-designed rooms — including dormitories, twin rooms, and family suites — supplemented by modern essentials: hot showers, bidet toilets, Wi-Fi, and 24-hour food and drink stations. The hotel embraces the practical over the palatial, yet is full of charm. Wood-and-glass interiors open to communal lounges with sweeping marshland views, while hearty meals — think pork miso soup, grilled mackerel, and soft-yolked fried eggs — sustain guests before or after a day on the trails.
Guests can start their trek at dawn, well before the crowds arrive, and watch the marshes come alive in solitude — whether with spring skunk cabbage blooms, summer alpine flowers, or fiery autumn foliage.
With its opening LUCY Ozehatomachi firmly entrenches itself as part of the Oze mountain journey, setting a promising new chapter for Japan’s adventure tourism.
Find out more here: https://hoshinoresorts.com/en/hotels/lucyozehatomachi/.
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