Super Hotel Collaborates with Matsumoto City! Creating and Installing Original 'Welcome Boards' Using Pine-Pest-Damaged Red Pine Wood

Super Hotel Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture; President: Kensaku Yamamoto), which operates hotels under the concept of 'Natural, Organic, Smart,' has partnered with Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, to develop original 'welcome boards' using red pine wood (dead pine) damaged by pine pests.

The welcome boards were installed sequentially at 'Super Hotel Matsumoto Ekimae' and 'Super Hotel Matsumoto Oshiro-guchi' starting Thursday, May 21, 2026.

Background Super Hotel has set the realization of regional revitalization through public-private cooperation as one of its core missions. In February 2024, the company launched an Innovation Committee and has been in continuous dialogue with local governments to identify regional appeal. As part of this, they conducted hearings with Matsumoto City regarding administrative challenges and identified the utilization of red pine wood (discolored and degraded due to pine pest damage) as a major issue.

Focusing on this dead pine wood, which was previously considered difficult to utilize, the company collaborated with Matsumoto City under the basic concept of 'Local wood (damaged by pine pests) sawed locally and crafted by a local woodworking shop' to develop original Super Hotel welcome boards.

This development serves as a foothold for collaborating with Matsumoto City and local businesses to elevate Matsumoto's wood into unique wooden products and address the issue of pine mortality.

Original Welcome Board Developed through this initiative, the welcome boards are original wooden products made from red pine wood damaged by pine pests.

The unique dark discoloration of the dead pine is intentionally used as part of the design, expressing the new potential of wood that was previously difficult to value, alongside the texture of natural materials.

The welcome boards feature a space displaying photos of the process from cutting to sawing the red pine, designed to allow guests to learn about regional forestry challenges and the background of wood utilization.

Start of installation: Thursday, May 21, 2026 Facilities: 'Super Hotel Matsumoto Ekimae', 'Super Hotel Matsumoto Oshiro-guchi'

Forestry Resource Challenges in Matsumoto City Identified Through Hearings In Matsumoto City, effective utilization methods for pine-pest-damaged red pine and Larch, which is reaching its harvest period, are challenges.

Red pine damaged by pine pests discolors to a dark blue-black, making commercialization difficult, and processing requires extra time and cost. Although artificial drying technology has improved in recent years, practical implementation remains challenging due to the time and cost involved.

As a result, a 'wood exists but is unused' situation has occurred, leading to neglected forests, unsustainable forestry, and weakened environmental and economic conditions.

This initiative is the first step toward shifting this trend to 'protecting by using.'

Moving forward, the company plans to continue collaborating not only on welcome boards but also on product development centered around 'Red Pine x Wood Resin x Wa-Modern' to help establish a brand image that utilizes Matsumoto City's abundant wood resources.

Driven by the cause of 'drawing out Japan's attractive content for people around the world through cutting-edge technology, realizing regional revitalization through public-private partnership, and energizing Japan,' Super Hotel intends to continue contributing to the promotion of products unique to Matsumoto to the world.