Gajoen, Kagoshima

Tateo Tajima was born in 1945 in a spa ryokan at Myoken Onsen in Makizono, Kagoshima Prefecture. Graduating from Toyo University, he worked as a banker before establishing Wasurenosato Gajoen in 1970, modeled on the traditional villages that were being forgotten. In 1994 he started to clear bamboo forest for a new project, which eventually opened in 2004 as Tenku, a hilltop resort designed to delight all the senses with its natural beauty, richness, and its clear views of the Kirishima mountain range. Tajima sees the business of resorts as making guests human again, and aims at providing an out-of-the-ordinary luxury experience that would be unthinkable elsewhere.