21-07-2025
A Private $10 Million Haven Of Wellness In Japan
Portrait of Japan: The magnetically controlled chaos of Shibuya, Tokyo. Shutterstock
To the Western eye, pictures of Japan typically project two contrasting cultures. The hot pink fluorescence of Tokyo's blaring lit-up Shibuya district with its wondrous chaos of commerce and youth. And elsewhere the meditative shade of mossy forests, where small stone bridges lead over streams to traditional dwellings built on the principles of Zen. Which picture you're drawn to today may foretell your future directions... Who knows?
Portrait of Japan: Floating in the stillness of Ago Bay, MOKU distills the rare serenity unique to Japan's Mie Province. TonTon Inc.
Just about every real estate report that crystalizes the desires and priorities of high-net-worth individuals includes the following terms: security, privacy, seclusion . With the digital world delivering the other essential that keeps humans human and businesses revolving— 24/7 connectivity —decisions about where to locate oneself today possess, for some, the privilege of endless choice.(After all those years advocating the old work ethic, HNWIs can finally follow in the footsteps of their children and become digital nomads themselves.)
MOKU's remote location in Japan's Ise-Shima National Park made nearby Kashiko Island the ideal setting for the 2016 G7 summit. TONTON Inc.
For minds in search of proper seclusion, a property has arrived on the market that's unreachable except by helicopter or boat. It's 90 minutes in the air from Tokyo, 30 from Osaka or Kyoto—though bear in mind that such reference points will diminish when you arrive on Masaki Island.
Part of a protected archipelago, Masaki sits within the Ise-Shima National Park in Mie Province—also the setting for the G7 summit in 2016. It's a natural haven, less than a mile long and a few hundred yards at its widest. There's a post office. An aquaculture farm. One road. And then, on the island's north coast, there is MOKU Ise-Shima.
Now for sale, MOKU is what hospitality PR firms would call a boutique retreat. Built to a design by internationally renowned Japanese hotel specialists UDS, it has operated successfully as a business since 2022, welcoming single groups of families and friends who wish for a closer appreciation of nature through the experiential Zen of Reidan Jichi, where sensory discovery is met by mindfulness.
With celebrated sushi chef Yutaka Hori resident on Masaki Island, MOKU also draws influential guests from the mainland who come solely to savor his skills with local ingredients, including the fabled prawns taken fresh from the calm waters of adjacent Ago Bay.
People cross the country to taste Yutaka Hori's signature sushi at MOKU. TonTon Inc.
The protected region of Ise-Shima is a place of deep mythological and spiritual significance. Within it, at the northernmost edge of the mainland lies Ise-Jungū, where legend holds that Princess Yamatohime-no-Mikoto enshrined the sun goddess Amaterasu. Ise-Jungū is Japan's most revered sanctuary. The venerated 2,000 year-old Shinto shrines here don't speak only of the past, but also to the present.
While MOKU is being marketed as a business, it's also primed to become a private home. The single-story five-room house stretches comfortably over 4,000 square feet (370 square meters) on a plot more than four times that footprint—with a private boating dock. Trees and walking paths delineate the curtilage with typical Japanese elegance.
Typically stripped-back Japanese interiors invite reflection. TonTon Inc.
The interior reflects the restraint of Japanese spatial organization. Fuss is eliminated. Wood, stone and other natural elements prevail. MOKU seeks not to emulate opulence—that is not the purpose. Instead, taking its cue from the meditative aspects of Japanese culture, the invitation is for you to embrace a private place where the calm of nature predominates. Stripped-back interior design creates space for the inner sanctum of thought.
This is the proposition of MOKU Ise-Shima. A house is more than a place of shelter, it is a place created for reflection. The bright lights of Shibuya are near enough, if needed.
Where nature takes dominion, emptiness does not exist. TonTon Inc.
Yusei Komatsu of TonTon Inc. holds the listing for MOKU, on the market for JPY 1,4000,000,000 (~$9,700,600) . TonTon Inc. is a member of Forbes Global Properties, the invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
