There is a particular quiet that settles over Hakuba in late April, after the lifts stop turning and before the rafting season begins. The snow retreats up the ridgelines, the Matsukawa River runs high with meltwater, and for a few weeks the valley belongs mostly to the people who live here. We have come to think of that quiet as the truest test of a mountain town — not how it performs at its peak, but what it feels like when no one is watching. Hakuba passes that test. It is why we chose to build here, and why almost everything Lycia does traces back to a single question: what does it take for a ski town to become a place people actually live?
A Valley Built for One Season, Learning to Hold Four
Hakuba's modern identity was forged by winter — the 1998 Nagano Olympics put its powder on the world map, and for two decades the valley's economy moved to a single rhythm: build up for December, empty out by April. That pattern is changing, slowly and unevenly, as trail running, mountain biking, river sports, and shoulder-season tourism give the valley reasons to stay busy in July as well as January. We did not create that shift. But we saw it early, and we have tried to build in a way that supports it rather than works around it — properties and experiences designed to make sense in every season, not just the one that fills the parking lots.
Hospitality First, Development Second
Lycia's Hakuba work sits on two legs: Hospitality & Development, and Japan Events. We did not start with a masterplan for the valley — we started with houses. The Nakatsuna Lake House, the Mini House, Panorama Homes A and B, and the Riverside Cottage were each built or renovated one at a time, with the same instinct guiding every decision: would we want to stay here ourselves. Lycia Retreat came later, built for longer stays and slower mornings rather than a single ski week. None of these properties were designed as a portfolio first — they became one because the same principles kept producing the same kind of place.
Events as a Test of Community, Not Just a Season Extender
Islandman, our past live event in the valley, was never meant to be a marketing exercise dressed up as a gathering. It was a genuine attempt to bring people to Hakuba for a reason that had nothing to do with snow — and to see whether the valley's hospitality, its roads, its restaurants, and its hosts could carry a different kind of crowd. They could. That matters more than it might seem, because a four-season community is not built by construction alone. It is built by giving people recurring reasons to return, and by proving, event after event, that the infrastructure of a winter town can flex to meet a summer one.
Why We Build the Way We Do
Everything we do is guided by the same principles: authenticity, quality, and attention to detail. We are not trying to maximize the number of units on a hillside or replicate what has worked elsewhere in Japan's ski regions. Our goal is to create experiences that people genuinely enjoy and remember — a house that feels considered rather than furnished, an event that feels like it belongs to the valley rather than imposed on it. That takes longer than the alternative. It also tends to be the only approach that holds up once the novelty of a new development wears off and what remains is simply whether people want to keep coming back.
What This Means for the People Building With Us
For a second-home buyer, this translates into something concrete: a property that was designed to be used, not just owned, in a valley that is actively working to give you reasons to visit outside of ski season. For a long-term investor, it means partnering with a team that has already put its own capital and reputation into the properties on the ground, and that measures success in returning guests and lasting relationships rather than a single strong quarter. As Lycia continues to grow, we remain committed to building projects that reflect our passion for Japan, meaningful hospitality, cultural connection, and long-term collaboration with like-minded partners.
Hakuba did not need us to become a real place — it already was one, long before the Olympics and long before international buyers found it. What we hope to add is a body of work that fits the valley as it actually is: a mountain community finding its footing across all four seasons, one house, one gathering, one season at a time.
Based in Japan. Inspired by nature, culture, and people.