Zuku to Chie Takes Over Hakuba Ham, Shifting Tourism Income Local

TL;DR: Hospitality group Zuku to Chie will inherit Hakuba Ham manufacturing from October 2026, aiming to keep more revenue local.

Zuku to Chie—a Hakuba-based hospitality operator behind the renovation of several Iwatake properties—announced today that it will take over the manufacturing and sales business of Hakuba Ham, a locally produced cured-meat brand, from Azumino Shokukobo LLC effective October 1, 2026. The succession was finalized on September 30.

Zuku to Chie already uses Hakuba Ham extensively across its facilities, which include Hatago Maruhachi, Shoya Maruhachi Dining, Square8 HAKUBA RETREAT by UNPLAN, and THE GAKUSUI HAKUBA IWATAKE. By bringing production in-house, the company says it's trying to lift the share of revenue that stays in the valley rather than flowing to outside suppliers—and then reinvest that margin into more local jobs and projects.

The existing production team, recipes, and quality standards will carry over unchanged. Azumino Shokukobo's representative, Tokiwa Daichi, had been leasing workshop space from Zuku to Chie inside a former gift shop in Iwatake since 2019; that workshop will now be operated directly by Zuku to Chie.

Key Facts

• Succession date: September 30, 2026; new operations begin October 1, 2026.
• Zuku to Chie co-representatives: Satoru Ota and Hiroshi Wada.
• The Hakuba Ham workshop occupies a renovated former souvenir shop in the Iwatake Nitta district, part of Zuku to Chie's cluster of repurposed buildings since 2018.
• Zuku to Chie's mission statement: "Update tourism in rural Japan" (イナカの観光業をアップデートする).
• The group's portfolio now spans accommodation, dining, retail, and—from October—food manufacturing.
• Recent projects include CITY COFFEE HAKUBA (tenant attraction), High Village HAKUBA (former Aburaya inn), and the 160-year-old Shoya Maruhachi farmhouse conversion.

What This Means for International Buyers / Visitors

Zuku to Chie's move into food production is less about ham and more about economic structure. When Hakuba's lodges and restaurants import ingredients from Nagano City, Tokyo, or offshore, tourist spending leaks out. By owning the production line, Zuku to Chie captures margin it used to pay a supplier, and—crucially—can redeploy that margin into the next building rehab or payroll expansion.

For property buyers watching the Iwatake Nitta area, this succession is a signal that one of the valley's most active operators is betting on vertical integration and long-term presence. The cluster model—linking a guesthouse, dining hall, coffee shop, butchery, and hotel within walking distance—creates stickiness that isolated chalets can't match. If you're weighing an investment in or near Iwatake, the fact that a hospitality group is now committed to producing its own charcuterie there suggests they're planning to stick around and fill beds year-round.

Background

Zuku to Chie entered Iwatake in 2018 when the district was losing minshuku and shops to closure. Rather than building new, the company leased or acquired dormant structures—storehouses, a defunct inn, a shuttered souvenir stand—and converted them into commercially viable uses. The Hakuba Ham workshop was one of those early conversions in 2019, initially leased to Azumino Shokukobo. Now the company is folding that tenant operation into its own balance sheet.

The stated goal isn't just revenue but "regional business infrastructure"—the press release frames this as the "strategic first step" toward producing other food categories locally and lifting in-region procurement rates across the group. Whether that extends to dairy, vegetables, or bakery goods isn't specified, but the template is clear: own the supply chain when possible, keep the margin, reinvest locally.

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