Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Travel

Don’t Call it a Cruise Ship: Japan’s Guntû is a Luxury Floating Hotel

Mike Richard
By

1 of 8
guntu floating hotel
guntu floating hotel
guntu floating hotel
guntu floating hotel
guntu floating hotel
guntu floating hotel
guntu floating hotel
guntu floating hotel
Sweden, Iceland, Denmark — all countries that know minimalist design. However, the Scandinavian aesthetic can often feel stripped-down and utilitarian, even austere. The Japanese, on the other hand, take a different approach — one which is just as stripped-down, but with welcoming organic touches that feel at once warm, natural, and intimate. The country’s latest foray into the travel world combines this millennia-old ethos into a beautiful, luxury “floating hotel” unlike any you’ve seen before.

Guntû is described simply as “a little hotel floating on the Seto Inland Sea.” Indeed the exterior shots depict a beautifully understated cruise ship reminiscent of Europe’s most upscale river cruises. There are no garish logos, multi-colored water slides, or 2,000-seat open-air theaters on the back deck. Instead, the look is purposeful, tasteful, and inviting as only the Japanese know how. The slate-colored cladding is punctuated only with the soft, orange glow of the ship’s interior lighting.

Related Videos
Image courtesy of Guntû

Inside, Guntû is awash in warm wood paneling, furnishings, and floors. Every chair, light fixture, and potted plant feels as though it was placed “just so” after months of careful consideration. The intimate vessel houses just 19 guest suites — about as small as a small cruise ship can get. Each room is massive by cruise ship standards, with floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies near sea level. Elsewhere onboard, guests will find a solid list of amenities including a gym, spa, beauty salon, and lounge. The main dining room serves gourmet a la carte Japanese cuisine and housemade sweets, plus a six-seat sushi bar offers sashimi and fresh Setouchi Sushi from the surrounding waters. As the days end, Champagne is served at the upstairs bar amid the setting sun, and a swanky lounge offers Seto Inland Sea-themed cocktails.

Perhaps most interesting about the Guntû cruise is what passengers won’t find. In lieu of daily bingo, shuffleboarding, and afternoon bellyflop contests, the ship aims to provide passengers with a focus on appreciating their natural surroundings. The Seto Inland Sea separates Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū — three of Japan’s four main islands. It’s one of the country’s best-kept secrets — a serene, impossibly beautiful waterway dotted with more than 700 tiny islands. Off-ship activities vary with the season and location, but most revolve around exploring the islands via land and sea. Morning shoreline hikes, “fisherman for a day” tours, and moonlit boat tours amid traditional Noh chanting are all on the menu.

Book your stay aboard guntû now via the official website. Passengers are welcome to reserve stays of up to three nights, with rates around 300,000 yen (USD $2,700) per night. If that seems stiff, just remember the price tag includes all the activities, sushi, and sake you can handle.

Images courtesy of Guntû.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Social Distance in Style at Australia’s Luxurious Lilypad Floating Villa
Lilypad Floating Villa

For most of us, it’s difficult to enjoy self-isolation. Staring at the same four walls, wearing the same sweatpants, and knowing your DoorDash driver and their significant other on a first-name basis are all enough to give even the most hardened agoraphobe cabin fever. If you don’t mind hopping a cheap flight across the Pacific, Sydney offers a self-isolation option that’s almost definitely cooler than your own home.

Lilypad Floating Villa is situated less than an hour from Sydney, off the coast of Australia’s Palm Beach. With one of the region’s best beaches, it’s an area renowned for its natural beauty. Anchored amid an isolated stretch of water with no neighbors in sight, the exclusive houseboat provides the perfect isolation vacation. Plus, in light of the ongoing pandemic, the owners are currently guaranteeing “completely human contact-free packages” for three-, five-, and 14-night stays. In the unlikely event that you grow weary of isolating in your own private luxury villa, stand-up paddleboards and fishing gear are also provided.

Read more
Thailand’s Surreal The Library Resort Is a Bibliophile Traveler’s Dream Getaway
koh samui thailand library resort samui8

Themed restaurants and hotels are often hit-or-miss. Don't get us wrong, the results can be disastrous (see also: Planet Hollywood and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company). In the hands of a sophisticated designer, however, a themed eatery or luxury resort can be extraordinary. Mere feet from one of Thailand’s most famous beaches, one designer hotel is proof of the latter.

Thailand’s aptly named The Library is a rare example of a themed hotel done right. Situated on the island of Koh Samui, the library-inspired hotel is a bibliophile traveler’s dream getaway. Every aspect of the property pulls inspiration from all things book-related in a way that’s obvious and cheeky, but tasteful. The smallest guest rooms, for example, are labeled Pages, while larger suites and private villas are dubbed Chapters.

Read more
Top 5 Travel Trends to Watch for in 2021
worlds best micro hotels citizen m guest room 1

Travel has changed more in the last two decades than in all of the 20th century combined (well, except for that conquering flight thing). With more people traveling now than ever, the ways we fly, cruise, and overnight are going to change in even bigger ways in the next decade. As we look specifically at 2021, here are five trends we expect to impact travel more than any others.
Space Tourism Is Seriously Heating Up

As recently as five years ago, space tourism seemed like a pipe dream. Companies like Space X and Virgin Galactic are making good on their promises to take regular (albeit well-heeled) travelers beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Courtesy of his Blue Origin project, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is promising to launch the first crewed test flights of its New Shephard shuttle into orbit this year. Space X already has plans for 2023 to take one lucky Japanese billionaire around the moon. Last summer, NASA announced that the International Space Station was officially open for business to paying overnight customers. Beyond that, the first-ever purpose-built space hotel -- the Von Braun Rotating Space Station -- is set to open by 2025. The new space race is clearly on.
Designer Micro Hotels Are Officially a Thing

Read more