Hanazono Japan
Client
Year
1991, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023Services Rendered
Médias
The Hanazono project is located near the village of Kuchan on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan. Ecosign has been working on Hanazono since the early 1990’s with the project changing hands numerous times since then.
The most recent Resort Concepts were completed in 2010. The total commercial space in the village will be approximately 10,000 square meters, including skier services. In addition, there will be commercial space located in two proposed upscale hotels. There is a proposed 5-star hotel located along the village snow front with a GFA of 50,000 square meters and 260 rooms that currently has a program for approximately 8,000 square meters of commercial space. A proposed 6-star hotel (30,000 sq.m. and 150 rooms) is located away from the village, higher up along the ski course with views that will have the village in the foreground and Mt. Yotei (the iconic “Mt. Fuji of Hokkaido”) in the background. The proposed 6-star hotel will be connected to the Hanazono Village by a pulse gondola for daytime and evening operations.
The base area development plans were completed to a level of detail suitable for the local development approval process, at which point the project was passed on to a Japanese engineering firm. In early 2010, Ecosign completed a Resort Area Master plan for the Hanazono ski area, including a feasibility study of the surrounding ski terrain. The plans for the Hanazono base area development were approved in 2010.
2004
Ecosign was retained by the new owner of Hanazono, Nihon Harmony Resorts KK to prepare a detailed master plan for Hanazono that included a village and real estate development plans, a ski area master plan and an evaluation of a potential connection to Weiss Mountain, a retired ski area to the north. The 2004-2005 master plan demonstrated the potential of the ski area to grow into a destination resort with an extensive bed base and real estate offering and was instrumental in attracting a real estate development corporation to purchase the resort in 2007.
2007
In 2007, Hanazono was purchased from Nihon Harmony Resorts KK by Pacific Premium Property Development Ltd (PCPD), a Hong Kong based company. NHR has remained as the operating company under PCPD, the land developer and investor in resort infrastructure. In 2008, Ecosign was retained by PCPD to prepare a new detailed Base Area Village Master Plan for Hanazono’s base area lands including the South Village next to Hanazono Bowl, Garden Hills, a ski-in/ski-out neighbourhood and several low density real estate developments surrounding the golf course. Ecosign prepared detailed building programs, view analysis, shadow studies and commercial space plans for the village and real estate during this planning process. The plans were submitted to Kutchan Town for approval in 2010.
2016
Ecosign prepared lift alignment and terminal grading plans for the replacement of the Hana 1 chairlift and the new beginner gondola in the Hanazono Bowl. These two new lifts were completed in alignment with the opening of the Park Hyatt Hotel and new restaurant.
2017
Growth in Niseko exploded in the 2010s and it became apparent that the expansion to Weiss needed to be included in the overall master plan for Hanazono. With new parameters to plan a four-season gondola connection to Weiss, we re-assessed the area and prepared the formal first Master Plan for an integrated Hanazono-Weiss four-season mountain resort in 2017. Base area lands at Weiss were included in the Master Plan, with a new boutique village in the lower base and a day skier parking lot in the upper base area. The Weiss ski area was designed with two detachable chairlifts accessing high quality beginner and novice trails which had been lacking in Hanazono and other Niseko United resorts.
2019-2021
Base area and real estate detailed planning and land optimization for golf course villa sites, Garden Hills residential neighbourhood and an updated Master Plan for the South Village.
2022
The focus of planning retuned to Weiss with a more detailed base area planning exercise for the boutique village. We included a view analysis, massing study, and further refinement of the Ski Area Master Plan.
2023
In 2023, Ecosign compiled all of the detailed planning and design work we had carried out in the ski area and base area lands of Hanazono and Weiss into a comprehensive master plan. Encompassing all current capacities and development specifications for lifts, trails, parking, restaurants and overnight accommodation, The 2023 Hanazono Weiss Resort Master Plan is a culmination of over three decades of planning and design, providing a roadmap for future growth and development. Hanazono is now the leading resort in the Niseko United group for skier visits and has become one of Japan’s globally recognized mountain resort destinations.
