Becoming a Hot Spring Destination Chosen for Value, Not Just Fame: Traditional Ryokan 'Hiranoya' in Mitani Onsen, Aichi, Takes on Creating New Value with Shibaura Institute of Technology
Hiranoya ryokan partners with Shibaura Institute of Technology to design a 'Sabbatical Experience'. Redesigned amenities and spaces create a stay focused on self-reflection and recharging.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 19:00
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Over about a year, embodying a 'Sabbatical Experience' as a recharging period for 'the next you'.
"Hiranoya," a long-established ryokan in Mitani Onsen, Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture, has been working on a joint project for about two years with students from Professor Yusuke Ashizawa's seminar at the College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, to concretely design the "Sabbatical Experience" proposed by Hiranoya as a value of stay. As part of this, the space for selecting amenity goods (amenity space) and the guest room booklets have been redesigned, and their operation has commenced.
The "sabbatical" proposed by Hiranoya is a concept inspired by the "Sabbatical Leave," a long-term vacation obtained by university professors at milestones in their research or teaching. It does not simply mean a long vacation to rest, but rather a recharging period to temporarily stop, introspect, deepen thoughts, adjust perspectives, and move forward again towards solving the next challenge or new creation. At Hiranoya, we have overlapped this concept with a ryokan stay, proposing it as a time to deeply observe daily life through travel, reflect on life, and quietly think about one's own future.
In this joint project, we attempted to visualize this philosophy not just as an ideal, but as an experience encompassing actions, discoveries within the facility, and the flow of emotions during the stay. Through the design of pamphlets, facility maps, illustrated wildlife guides, and guest room booklets, we have given shape to the meaning of the time spent at Hiranoya itself.
In a public article by Shibaura Institute of Technology, proposals for the "How to Absorb Hiranoya" pamphlet, "How to Absorb Hiranoya Map (banner)", "Hiranoya Wildlife Guide", guest room booklets, and meditation rooms were introduced as results. In October 2025, the "How to Absorb Hiranoya Map (banner)" and "Hiranoya Wildlife Guide" were completed and installed at Hiranoya. As the value demanded of ryokans can no longer be spoken of solely in terms of functionality and convenience, Hiranoya is refining its stay value not only as a "place to sleep" but as a place to face oneself, regain one's senses, and prepare for the next step.
This project is also an initiative to translate that philosophy into spaces, words, and pathways through collaboration with Shibaura Institute of Technology, exploring new ways to convey local resources and ryokan culture. Moving forward, we will work not only on creating experiential value for Hiranoya but also on creating new value that conveys the charm of Mitani Onsen and the Gamagori area.
■ Background
The catalyst for this project was an industry-academia-government collaboration regional revitalization project launched in April 2024 by Gamagori City, Innovation Partners Co., Ltd., and Shibaura Institute of Technology. The initial student members participated as part of their graduation research, staying in Gamagori City for about a year to build relationships and conduct interviews with the community, working on content creation that leads to the creation of experiential value. The concept of the "Sabbatical Experience" was verbalized during this activity. Subsequently, from April 2025, it progressed into a joint research project between Hiranoya and Shibaura Institute of Technology, and the initiative continues to this day.
■ Comment from Hiroyuki Hirano, President and CEO of Hiranoya
The past roughly two years spent together with the students of Professor Yusuke Ashizawa's seminar at Shibaura Institute of Technology have been a time of giving shape, one by one, to the "Sabbatical Experience" that Hiranoya has cherished, translating it into spaces, words, and pathways.
I believe the value of a ryokan cannot be measured by facilities and functions alone. What kind of time passes, what one feels, and how one can face oneself. I am deeply grateful that the students earnestly embraced such invisible values and visualized them into concrete experiences through repeated dialogue.
The sabbatical that Hiranoya envisions is not mere rest, but a time to stop in order to move forward. To observe daily life deeply through travel, reflect on life, and think about the future self. We will continue to nurture such time as a stay unique to Hiranoya.
■ Comment from Professor Yusuke Ashizawa, Shibaura Institute of Technology
Since the early 2000s, the term Design Thinking has swept the world, particularly starting in the United States, and the role of design is gradually changing along with it. Until now, its central role was translating things into concrete, tangible artifact designs, but recently, its mission has become "finding value and visualizing it."
In this context, I am sincerely grateful for the very precious experience of being able to challenge "finding value" together with Hiranoya. Also, there are many other planned initiatives...
"Hiranoya," a long-established ryokan in Mitani Onsen, Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture, has been working on a joint project for about two years with students from Professor Yusuke Ashizawa's seminar at the College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, to concretely design the "Sabbatical Experience" proposed by Hiranoya as a value of stay. As part of this, the space for selecting amenity goods (amenity space) and the guest room booklets have been redesigned, and their operation has commenced.
The "sabbatical" proposed by Hiranoya is a concept inspired by the "Sabbatical Leave," a long-term vacation obtained by university professors at milestones in their research or teaching. It does not simply mean a long vacation to rest, but rather a recharging period to temporarily stop, introspect, deepen thoughts, adjust perspectives, and move forward again towards solving the next challenge or new creation. At Hiranoya, we have overlapped this concept with a ryokan stay, proposing it as a time to deeply observe daily life through travel, reflect on life, and quietly think about one's own future.
In this joint project, we attempted to visualize this philosophy not just as an ideal, but as an experience encompassing actions, discoveries within the facility, and the flow of emotions during the stay. Through the design of pamphlets, facility maps, illustrated wildlife guides, and guest room booklets, we have given shape to the meaning of the time spent at Hiranoya itself.
In a public article by Shibaura Institute of Technology, proposals for the "How to Absorb Hiranoya" pamphlet, "How to Absorb Hiranoya Map (banner)", "Hiranoya Wildlife Guide", guest room booklets, and meditation rooms were introduced as results. In October 2025, the "How to Absorb Hiranoya Map (banner)" and "Hiranoya Wildlife Guide" were completed and installed at Hiranoya. As the value demanded of ryokans can no longer be spoken of solely in terms of functionality and convenience, Hiranoya is refining its stay value not only as a "place to sleep" but as a place to face oneself, regain one's senses, and prepare for the next step.
This project is also an initiative to translate that philosophy into spaces, words, and pathways through collaboration with Shibaura Institute of Technology, exploring new ways to convey local resources and ryokan culture. Moving forward, we will work not only on creating experiential value for Hiranoya but also on creating new value that conveys the charm of Mitani Onsen and the Gamagori area.
■ Background
The catalyst for this project was an industry-academia-government collaboration regional revitalization project launched in April 2024 by Gamagori City, Innovation Partners Co., Ltd., and Shibaura Institute of Technology. The initial student members participated as part of their graduation research, staying in Gamagori City for about a year to build relationships and conduct interviews with the community, working on content creation that leads to the creation of experiential value. The concept of the "Sabbatical Experience" was verbalized during this activity. Subsequently, from April 2025, it progressed into a joint research project between Hiranoya and Shibaura Institute of Technology, and the initiative continues to this day.
■ Comment from Hiroyuki Hirano, President and CEO of Hiranoya
The past roughly two years spent together with the students of Professor Yusuke Ashizawa's seminar at Shibaura Institute of Technology have been a time of giving shape, one by one, to the "Sabbatical Experience" that Hiranoya has cherished, translating it into spaces, words, and pathways.
I believe the value of a ryokan cannot be measured by facilities and functions alone. What kind of time passes, what one feels, and how one can face oneself. I am deeply grateful that the students earnestly embraced such invisible values and visualized them into concrete experiences through repeated dialogue.
The sabbatical that Hiranoya envisions is not mere rest, but a time to stop in order to move forward. To observe daily life deeply through travel, reflect on life, and think about the future self. We will continue to nurture such time as a stay unique to Hiranoya.
■ Comment from Professor Yusuke Ashizawa, Shibaura Institute of Technology
Since the early 2000s, the term Design Thinking has swept the world, particularly starting in the United States, and the role of design is gradually changing along with it. Until now, its central role was translating things into concrete, tangible artifact designs, but recently, its mission has become "finding value and visualizing it."
In this context, I am sincerely grateful for the very precious experience of being able to challenge "finding value" together with Hiranoya. Also, there are many other planned initiatives...