Gaggan Anand and Bill Bensley are opening a hotel in a 200-year-old sake brewery in Japan

Just when Japan’s hotel scene seemed impossible to make any more tempting, along comes this: Gaggan Anand and Bill Bensley are teaming up on a new hotel inside a 200-year-old sake brewery in Osaka Prefecture.

Set within the grounds of Daimon Brewery, a working sake brewery founded in 1826, the upcoming Gaggan Hotel at Daimon Sake Brewery will be located at the foot of the Ikoma Mountain Range. It'll be nestled in between Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. 

The project is expected to feature just 15 suites, each measuring around 70 square metres, with no more than 30 guests staying at a time. Instead of the usual check-in-and-wing-it approach, the hotel is being planned as an all-inclusive, highly curated stay, with meals and itineraries arranged in advance. Guests will reportedly be able to choose from dining options and plan parts of their stay before arriving, leaving more time for sake, soaking and doing absolutely nothing.

Food is, naturally, a major part of the draw. Gaggan Anand remains one of Bangkok’s most influential chefs, known for turning fine dining into something far more playful, theatrical and rule-breaking. His Bangkok restaurant Gaggan also recently ranked highly on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, keeping him firmly in the region’s culinary spotlight.

Then there is Bill Bensley, the designer behind some of Asia’s most memorable hotels, including Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia, Rosewood Luang Prabang in Laos and Capella Ubud in Bali. Expect storytelling, maximalism and plenty of theatrical detail rather than quiet beige minimalism.

The hotel is slated to include three dining concepts, gardens, an onsen, wellness programming, a spa, a distillery, sake tastings and arts and crafts workshops. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with completion targeted for 2028 to 2029.

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