Happo-en
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Tokyo hospitality and total-production company built around a 400-year-old Japanese garden in Shirokanedai, known for weddings, banquets, restaurants and cultural events.
Last updated September 28, 2026
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Overview
Happo-en is a Japanese hospitality and total-production company headquartered in Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its identity is inseparable from the roughly 10,000-tsubo (about 33,000 m²) Japanese garden that has occupied the site since the Edo period, a landscape whose name means "beautiful from all four sides and eight directions." The garden's history reaches back more than 400 years, and the modern business began as a single ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant) established on that land. Today Happo-en operates wedding venues, banquet and MICE facilities, restaurants, a pastry shop and bridal-wear services, and it also engages in regional promotion and content production through group companies. The company traces its founding to 1943 and its incorporation to September 29, 1952, with capital of 100 million yen. Its stated corporate philosophy is to be a "home of the heart" for Japanese guests and a gateway to Japanese culture for overseas guests, under the purpose "Nihon wo, utsukushiku" ("Make Japan beautiful"). The founding spirit is expressed in two pledges: to serve the nation's food culture and to serve Japanese tourism. Happo-en describes itself as a comprehensive production enterprise that preserves Japanese history and culture while updating their value for the present. Happo-en's core business is weddings, promoted under the concept "the seasons bless you," with professional teams handling personal hearings, planning and the wedding day itself. It also runs life-event services such as shichi-go-san (seven-five-three) celebrations, location photography and banquets, plus business events and MICE programs. Dining is a major pillar: the group operates restaurants including the all-day dining venue FUDO, the kappo restaurant BUTAI at NEWoMan Takanawa, and a Japanese confectionery/pastry shop, alongside gift offerings. A dedicated bridal boutique, KOTOHOGI by HAPPO-EN, opened on Platinum Street in Shirokanedai in March 2025, and a collaboration with fashion designer Tomo Koizumi produced new dresses in May 2025. After closing for more than half a year from February 2025 for renovation, Happo-en held a grand reopening on October 1, 2025 as "NEW HAPPO-EN," with a new independent ceremony venue, Celebration Hall -The GARDEN-, having opened in the garden on May 3, 2025. The group is led by Chairman Haruyoshi Hase and President Yoshinori Inoue, and employed 370 full-time staff as of October 2023. Happo-en has received numerous awards and certifications, including FSSC 22000 food-safety certification for its cooking operations in February 2020, and it maintains community and educational initiatives such as the Hase Ikuei Scholarship Foundation and a partnership with Fukushima Prefectural Iwase Agricultural High School.
History
The site of Happo-en in Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo, has a history reaching back more than 400 years. In the early Edo period it was part of the residence of Okubo Tadataka (Hikozaemon), a hatamoto of the Tokugawa shogunate. It later passed through the hands of the Satsuma domain as a kakae-yashiki and then as a lower residence of the Shimazu family (Matsudaira Satsuma-no-kami), before coming into the possession of Shibusawa Kisaku in the Meiji era. In 1915, when the businessman Kuhara Fusanosuke owned the property, the current building and garden were laid out. After World War II, Kuhara — then under public office purge — approached Hase Toshiji, who ran ryotei and other businesses in Ginza and Tsukiji, proposing a joint venture to operate a full-scale traditional Japanese restaurant using the garden for overseas visitors and guests. Kuhara himself named it "Happo-en," and it was founded in 1950. Within a few years the business became entirely owned by the Hase side, and operations were put on a full footing. The company's official corporate history dates its founding to 1943 and its incorporation to September 29, 1952, with capital of 100 million yen. The garden's name derives from the phrase "beautiful from all four sides and eight directions" (shihō happō doko wo mite mo utsukushii). The roughly 10,000-tsubo grounds contain a tea house built by Tanaka Heihachi, a silk trader from Yokohama, which was relocated into the garden. Visitors can stroll the garden, and tea is served in the tea room "Muan." The ryotei Kochuan is a central dining venue. Over the decades Happo-en expanded from a single ryotei into a comprehensive hospitality and production enterprise. It became widely used for weddings and parties, and developed banquet, MICE and business-event services. The group structure includes Happo-en Holdings Co., Ltd. and operating companies for exchange-content production, area production (Kego), and human-resource management. Dining operations grew to include restaurants such as ALL DAY DINING FUDO and Kappo BUTAI at NEWoMan Takanawa, as well as a pastry shop and gift business. In March 2025 a dedicated bridal boutique, The Bridal Boutique KOTOHOGI by HAPPO-EN, opened on Platinum Street in Shirokanedai, and in May 2025 a collaboration with fashion designer Tomo Koizumi produced new dresses. On May 23, 2022, Happo-en hosted a dinner for U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the ryotei Kochuan during Biden's visit to Japan for a Japan-U.S. summit. The venue closed entirely from February 2025 for more than half a year of renovation focused on corporate and business use, and held a grand reopening as "NEW HAPPO-EN" on October 1, 2025. Ahead of the full reopening, the new independent ceremony venue Celebration Hall -The GARDEN- opened in the garden on May 3, 2025. The company states its purpose as "Nihon wo, utsukushiku" ("Make Japan beautiful") and aims to create a new market of "exchange culture creation" that extends beyond the Shirokane site. It has received numerous awards and certifications, including FSSC 22000 food-safety certification for cooking operations in February 2020 (the second company in the industry), and it runs the Hase Ikuei Scholarship Foundation and a partnership with Fukushima Prefectural Iwase Agricultural High School.
The current building and garden were laid out when businessman Kuhara Fusanosuke owned the property.
Happo-en's founding is dated to this year in its corporate history.
Happo-en was founded as a ryotei, named by Kuhara Fusanosuke, on the garden site.
The company was incorporated with capital of 100 million yen.
Founder Toshiji Hase received the Medals with Dark Blue Ribbon.
Founder Toshiji Hase received the Medal with Blue Ribbon.
Founder Toshiji Hase was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class.
Happo-en received a commendation from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for long-standing contributions to the restaurant industry.
Happo-en obtained FSSC 22000 Category E certification for cooking operations, the second company in the industry to do so.
Former Chairman and CEO Osamu Hase was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays.
Products and positioning
A comprehensive production company rooted in a historic Japanese garden, offering weddings, banquets, dining and cultural experiences that convey Japanese aesthetics to domestic and international guests.
Wedding production
Total wedding production under the concept "the seasons bless you," including personal hearings, planning and day-of coordination.
Banquet and MICE services
Banquet and business event planning and operation for corporate clients.
ALL DAY DINING FUDO
All-day dining restaurant opened inside Happo-en in 2025, offering stone-oven dishes including special pizza.
Kappo BUTAI
Kappo restaurant at NEWoMan Takanawa operated by the group.
Happo-en Yogashi-ten
Pastry shop offering seasonal limited sweets and gifts.
Ryotei Kochuan
Traditional Japanese restaurant within the grounds, used for formal dining and state-level dinners.
The Bridal Boutique KOTOHOGI by HAPPO-EN
Dedicated bridal boutique for Happo-en wedding clients, opened in 2025.
Celebration Hall -The GARDEN-
Independent wedding ceremony venue in the garden, opened in 2025.
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