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The most special thing about HOSHINOYA Kyoto is that all the furnishings and supplies in the room are a combination of all the old trades in Kyoto, from the paper lanterns that greet travelers outside the room, to the indoor slippers, to the pen and ink on the table... In the past, they could only be viewed in the old stores, but here they can be enjoyed and used...
🤗 01 A journey that began in a canoe
It's about a 20-minute walk from JR Arashiyama Station, and the hotel recommends taking a cab, but there's actually a lot to see along the way. Go through the shopping street and you'll see Tenryu-ji Temple, and if you go further, you can turn a corner and go into the bamboo forest. If you keep going, you will soon see the Watanuki Bridge, and after crossing the bridge, you will see Arashiyama Park, and there is a small pier on the right hand side, where there is a stop sign for the HOSHINOYA CHECK IN.
The directions were easy to find. I had read a lot of articles about how you have to take their boat to get into HOSHINOYA, but it turns out there is a way in. If it rains and the water rises, the boat can't go, so the hotel staff will drive guests in.
🤗 02 From mansions to modern hotels
The hotel is a century-old building dating back to the Edo period, and the first owner was the shusai of a wealthy Kyoto merchant, Mr. Kadokura. In the Taisho era, the building was transformed into a hotel, Arashikikan, and then into the current HOSHINOYA. The Hoshino Group undertook a major renovation of the hotel, and the architect, Toshie Higashi, made a great deal of effort to preserve the old-fashioned flavor of the century-old house while adding a lot of modern hotel elements in order to make the stay more comfortable for the guests.
Located next to the beautiful Hozu Gorge, the ryokan has only 25 rooms, and the number of rooms is the smallest in the entire HOSHINOYA series, and it is hard to find a room even in the off-season, so you won't easily bump into other guests when you stay here, and sometimes when you go for a walk, you may even think that you are alone in the whole ryokan.
HOSHINOYA Kyoto has been awarded “5 Red Pavilion (the highest level of charm and luxury)” for six consecutive years, so you can imagine the charm and excitement that this place brings to everyone.
After disembarking, you will be guided to the hotel by a staff member and walk down a dozen stairs, then you will hear soft music, which is played whenever a guest arrives and indicates that you are about to enter the private space that HOSHINOYA has prepared for you.
The rooms here utilize the natural light and turn the scenery outside the window into a part of the guest room, so no matter which type of room you enter or which season you are in, you will always be able to catch your eyes with the view from the window. Many of the items in the rooms are made by professionals from Kyoto, and the design and arrangement of the furniture is also very original.
There are sofas made of bamboo, which echo the bamboo forests of Arashiyama, and the designers asked the staff to raise the height of the sofas, so that when the guests sit down, their view is directly in front of the beautiful scenery outside the window. Even the lamps hanging in the hotel and the rooms are carefully added by the staff. This is a place where the aesthetics of life in the ancient capital are presented, and you are transported to Kyoto through and through.
This is the smallest room in size, but the column-free design of the old Wagasa-style building, coupled with the designer's careful use of natural light and the view from the window, enhances the room's sense of space considerably.
Every guest arrives and first comes to the bar for a Welcome Drink. in the evening the place serves different liquors and of course 15 year old whisky.
Welcome Drink has both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and the snacks are exquisite.
🤗 03 Craftsmanship of Kyoto staff
Finally all walked to their own rooms, and after the staff left, I unfolded my vacation. In addition to the bamboo sofa in my room, there was also a sofa designed in the position against the bed, and I even just lay down on it and saw the Baojin Gorge for a while.
The craftsmanship of the staff can be seen in both the bijin paper and the wooden chairs and hinoki wood furoshiki in the bathroom. There is no hot spring here, so a hinoki wood bathtub has been placed to provide a natural scented bubble that you can add to the water to soak in, and then turn on the music next to it to have the same enjoyment of soaking in a hot spring.
The paper on the wall, which is different from room to room, is all made by the staff who create the paper in Nijo Castle in Kyoto, using 130-year-old carved wooden boards, and coloring the patterns one by one. When you look carefully at the edges of the paper, the patterns are perfectly joined, and when you look at them from a distance, you can see the whole pattern clearly, which is something that cannot be done by a machine.
What surprised me the most was that there were brushes and inkstones in the room, and next to them were Hanazashi, an ancient Japanese card game, so you could really 'go back in time'.
When I got back to my room after dinner, there was already a packet of fresh scented leaves on the bed for a most relaxing bedtime soak.
🤗 04 Elegant private space
Compared to HOSHINOYA TOKYO, the number of rooms here is small but not as crowded as in Tokyo. I've been here twice and I've only met one group of guests. There are so many private corners that you can always find your own space even if there are other guests. You can make a pot of the old store's green tea and sit outside on the balcony. Even if you don't read a book, it's the most luxurious activity for a city dweller.
If it weren't for the drizzle this day, I'd have this view all to myself.
You can also make your own sleep aid sachets at Library.
🤗 05 Cuisine of Five Flavors of Freedom
The ryokan offered different experiences, both paid and free. Like Tokyo, they have morning exercises, and I preferred the 30-minute morning exercises in the Japanese garden here to Tokyo. It was a warm and sunny day, perfect for outdoor activities, so I made a reservation with the staff when I checked in, and there were about 8 people in one class who could join in.
I had participated in a tea ceremony in Tokyo last time, but this was my first time to participate in an incense ceremony. This is a paid activity, but the incense ceremony is more complicated than the tea ceremony. Luckily, the staff speaks English, otherwise I would have had a lot of trouble understanding it.
I made the one on the left, and the teacher made the one on the right. It turns out that even if it's the same piece of wood, different people will bring out different flavors of the wood; some will taste bland, others a little stronger.
After the introductory scent experience and the end of my HOSHINOYA trip, the 2 days and 1 night of relaxation went by super fast. I would recommend staying 2 nights here because then you can get your mind properly sorted out. Going back to the embarkation office was like bringing me back to reality. The staff asked me if I had time, and if I still had time, I sat down for a cup of coffee first. This feeling of treating guests as friends is unique to Hoshino, isn't it?
There are quite a few options for staying at HOSHINOYA, and there are usually big discounts for booking a room early or staying together, so it's best to book 2 to 3 months in advance as rooms are hard to come by!
HOSHINOYA Kyoto (Hoshinoya Kyoto)
Address: 11-2 Arashiyama Genrokuyama-cho, Saikyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
- Author:japan guides
- URL:https://japan-guides.com/article/lodging-16
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