Sanu
8 known investors
SANU 2nd Home operates a fractional ownership platform for second homes in Japan, allowing individuals and companies to purchase seasonal usage rights (from 8 nights annually) across a network of 36 properties nationwide. The platform manages maintenance and operations while enabling owners to stay at any location within their membership and sell or inherit their ownership stake.
Also known as SANU 2nd Home · Sanu Co., Ltd. · SANU Inc. · 株式会社Sanu
Investors · 8
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026SANU Inc. (Sanu Co., Ltd.) is a Tokyo-based lifestyle and hospitality company whose stated vision is a society in which people and nature coexist. Its principal service, SANU 2nd Home, is a membership-based second-home offering that lets urban residents repeatedly visit and live in natural settings across Japan, delivered in two formats: a subscription and an ownership (co-ownership) model.
Under SANU 2nd Home Co-Owners, buyers purchase a share of a cabin rather than a whole villa, acquiring usage rights from eight nights per year and gaining access to all locations in the network rather than a single property. Listed units include RAY Medium and RAY Large in Tateyama, MOSS Medium and MOSS Large in Yatsugatake Kiyosato, HIKE in Karuizawa and RAY Medium in Izu, with headline prices from about JPY 3.2 million to JPY 7.9 million and monthly payment options. Cleaning, repairs and administrative procedures are handled by SANU. From the fourth year after purchase, owners can sell through a secondary marketplace operated by SANU, and shares can also be inherited.
The cabins are developed with outside architects, including ADX/Kotaro Anzai (SANU CABIN BEE), Keiji Ashizawa Design (SANU STUDIO RAY) and Puddle/Masaki Kato (SANU LOFT SKY), with sustainability and ecosystem-conscious land development cited in company communications. The company also operates SANU NOWHERE, a lounge opened in September 2024, and publishes regenerative-action commitments.
Business model
SANU monetizes second homes it develops and operates through two membership formats: a recurring subscription to stay at its cabins, and a co-ownership product in which customers buy fractional usage rights in a specific building (eight nights per year and up), payable outright or in monthly installments. SANU retains responsibility for cleaning, maintenance, repairs and administrative procedures, and operates a secondary market through which owners may resell their share from the fourth year after purchase. The company also solicits land and building owners to add sites to the network, and has partnered on real-estate investment funds tied to its properties.
Revenue derives from co-ownership sales of fractional shares in cabins (listed from roughly JPY 3.2 million to JPY 7.9 million per share, with monthly installment options) and from subscription memberships for stays at SANU 2nd Home locations; short single-night trial stays are also offered without membership registration.
Traction
The website reports 38 locations and 242 rooms as of August 2026, spanning Karuizawa, Kita-Karuizawa, Kawaguchiko, Yamanakako, Yatsugatake, Hakuba, Nasu, Shirakabako, Azumino, Amami Oshima and Awaji Island, among others. Corporate news records 35 locations at the service's fourth anniversary in November 2025, the first Hokkaido site (Niseko 1st) opening in November 2025, and a plan announced in December 2025 to reach 40 locations in 2026. Earlier milestones include reaching 100 rooms with five spring openings and the first western-Japan site on Awaji Island (February 2024), the Nasu 1st opening (November 2023), and rapid sell-outs of Co-Owners releases.
Latest developments
In November 2025 SANU opened its first Hokkaido location, Niseko 1st, and launched an official app alongside the fourth anniversary of SANU 2nd Home across 35 locations. In December 2025 it announced a 2026 expansion plan to 40 locations. The website lists a new Tateyama site, RAY, with sales opening on August 1, and states 38 locations and 242 rooms as of August 2026. A funding round dated May 12, 2025 was reported, described as led by GLOBIS Capital Partners and Spiral Capital.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
SANU is positioned in Japan's second-home and vacation-property proptech segment, describing its 2026 plan as one of the largest domestic networks at 40 locations. Market-data listings group it with Japanese multi-location living and travel-subscription operators such as ADDress, Bessou Share and KabuK Style. Several product releases sold out quickly, including a first Co-Owners project that sold out within 2.5 hours and a 200-unit release cited as having sold out in 2.5 hours.
Rather than selling whole villas, SANU sells fractional shares sized from eight nights a year and lets holders stay at any site in a growing nationwide network, while the company handles cleaning, repairs and paperwork. Resale via a company-run secondary market after four years and inheritance of shares are offered as exit paths, and the cabins are commissioned from named architects with stated attention to sustainable construction and ecosystem-conscious land development.
Technology
The offering combines architect-designed modular cabins (SANU CABIN BEE, SANU CABIN MOSS, SANU STUDIO RAY, SANU LOFT SKY) built with attention to long-lived design, natural materials and light, and ecosystem-conscious land development undertaken with partners such as Green Wise and ADX. Digital components include the booking/membership platform and an official app released in November 2025.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer sales through the company's website, with downloadable information packs, newsletters, a trial single-night stay requiring no membership, phased sales releases per property, and press releases announcing new locations. Distribution is reinforced by a public YouTube channel, a lounge (SANU NOWHERE), an official mobile app launched in November 2025, and collaborations such as a real-estate fund with Sheila Technologies.
Urban households in Japan — individuals and companies — seeking recurring access to a second home in nature without full villa ownership, including dog owners and families; a March 2025 announcement targeted international investors with a Niseko ownership offer starting from JPY 100 million.
Geography
Operations are in Japan, with headquarters in Tokyo (Chuo-ku). Locations span Honshu mountain, lake and coastal regions (Karuizawa, Yatsugatake, Hakuba, Nasu, Izu, Tateyama, Kawaguchiko, Yamanakako, Shirakabako, Azumino), western Japan (Awaji Island), southern islands (Amami Oshima) and Hokkaido (Niseko, opened November 2025).
History
Sources give a founding year of 2019 for SANU Inc., led by chief executive Gen Fukushima, with headquarters in Tokyo. The SANU 2nd Home subscription service marked its fourth anniversary in November 2025. The co-ownership product, SANU 2nd Home Co-Owners, launched with the Tateyama 1st project going on general sale in March 2024, followed by Yatsugatake and Nasu offerings from July 2024. The network expanded to western Japan (Awaji Island) in 2024 and to Hokkaido with Niseko 1st in November 2025, with a 2026 plan for 40 locations.
Risks & controversies
Publicly available third-party profiles disagree on basic firmographics — for example, employee counts of 152 versus 11-50 — and one aggregator page reports the May 2025 Series B with no amount while another market-data page shows valuation and total-funding estimates that are labeled as estimates. Co-ownership resale depends on a secondary market that SANU itself operates and that is available only from the fourth year after purchase, and tax treatment of ownership and inheritance varies by holder type.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 4
by search overlap
Companies competing with Sanu for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 14
launches, deals, and filingsThe company announced a 2026 development plan to grow the network to 40 locations in Japan.
SANU 2nd Home Owners opened Niseko 1st, the company's first site in Hokkaido.
On the fourth anniversary of SANU 2nd Home, the company launched an official app connecting its 35 nationwide locations.
The company's site announces the start of sales for its new RAY Tateyama site on August 1.
Market-signal and news listings report a Series B financing for SANU Inc. dated May 12, 2025, with GLOBIS Capital Partners and Spiral Capital named as leads; investors listed for the round also include JAFCO Group, Ignition Point Venture Partners, Global Brain, Japan Finance Corporation and Yamanashi Chuo Bank. No amount is stated.
Announcement of a Niseko ownership product from JPY 100 million for international buyers, including 60 nights per year at SANU locations nationwide and the SANU CABIN MOSS Large model with private sauna.
Grand opening of SANU NOWHERE, a lounge for people interested in the environment, on September 7, 2024.
General sales for the Co-Owners product in Yatsugatake and Nasu began at 10:00 on July 1, 2024; the prior release of 200 units was reported sold out in 2.5 hours.
The company announced the SANU CABIN MOSS cabin design for deployment across seven mountain regions.
A real-estate investment fund created in collaboration with Sheila Technologies and SANU reached its fundraising goal within one hour of opening; an earlier fund covered a Southern Alps area property.
The first SANU 2nd Home Co-Owners project, Tateyama 1st, opened for general sale on March 2, 2024 after pre-sale slots sold out; it subsequently sold out within 2.5 hours of the sales start.
SANU 2nd Home reported reaching 100 rooms with five consecutive spring openings, including its first expansion into western Japan on Awaji Island.
The company was recognized with the iF DESIGN AWARD 2024 for its architectural approach.
SANU opened Nasu 1st in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, applying ecosystem-conscious land development with partners Green Wise and ADX.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Sanusa-nu.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Sanu do?
- Japanese lifestyle company operating SANU 2nd Home, a subscription and co-ownership second-home service in nature.
- Who are Sanu's investors?
- Sanu's investors include Global Brain, Globis Capital Partners, GOLDWIN VENTURE PARTNERS, Samurai Incubate, Shizuoka Capital, Spiral Innovation Partners.