Besides guest rooms, the hotel offers a variety of visual delights and places to relax
The omoteya, Lounge and kura storehouse are special places to spend a quiet moment.
The omoteya preserves the atmosphere of the days, more than a hundred years ago, when the house was a draper’s premises
As you enter the omoteya, take time to admire the craftsmanship of the stone-flag floor, the earth walls, and the ceiling with its original exposed beams, and enjoy the view of the Pine Tree Garden. The machiya which the hotel occupies is in the omoteya-zukuri style, historically used to build city houses for the nobility and wealthy merchants. The omoteya itself was the place where the merchant conducted business; today it houses the front desk, where our staff welcome and say goodbye to guests, provide information on the local area and respond to all kinds of inquiries.
A view of the Bamboo Garden, designed around a theme of light
While checking in, you are invited to relax on a sofa in the Lounge and savour a welcome sweet made by our own pâtissier. The Lounge leads to the hotel’s Italian restaurant, Ristorante la Luce, and Japanese restaurant, Izumi, and is the perfect place to spend a moment, before dinner or after breakfast, enjoying the view of the Bamboo Garden, whose character varies hour by hour with the changing light. At the end of your stay, checkout also takes place in the Lounge.
A special atmosphere for quality time
The kura storehouse is a comfortable space furnished with a harmonious blend of Qing dynasty antiques and chairs by leading Danish designer Kaare Klint. Feel free to browse through our selection of photograph collections and books on Kyoto. Or bring your own reading material and spend quality time relaxing in a Mix easy chair, considered to be one of Klint’s masterpieces.
Place: 1st floor, at the end of the hashiriniwa passageway
Beautiful things that warm the heart
Works by the potter Shiro Tsujimura and other artists are displayed around the hotel. The restaurants and guest accommodation are decorated with paintings and objets d’art, many of which are not only for decoration but are in daily use – beautiful flower vases, the noren curtain over the counter in our Japanese restaurant, Izumi, the dishes used in our restaurants, and fine antique furniture that embody their creator’s passion and warm the heart.