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Campton Luxury Lodges: The Future of Kyomachiya

September 20, 2017 By Michael Lambe

As regular readers know, I am a big fan of Kyoto’s machiya: the traditional wooden townhouses that once formed an integral part of this ancient city’s streetscape. As such I am always keen to support and promote local business that have wised-up to the great potential of these old houses as shops, restaurants, cafes, and hotels. I recently wrote about one such exciting venture; a new machiya resort in the Shinkamanza district of central Kyoto, and today I will introduce another which is equally ambitious and holds much promise for this city’s future.

CAMPTON Head Office is located close to Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto

Recently Janic Kuehner, an intern at local company CAMPTON, wrote to me about their good work restoring and renovating old machiya for use as luxury holiday lodges. Founded by real estate entrepreneur Masao Ono in 2015, this company has been active in reinventing these residential buildings as upscale luxury lodges that blend traditional grace and simplicity with every modern comfort for the perfect holiday home in Kyoto.

Masao Ono named CAMPTON after a historical hotel in San Francisco which is his personal favorite.

The company is centered on the CAMPTON Head Office on Nene-no-Michi Lane in the scenic Higashiyama district of Kyoto. Fittingly for a company so concerned with preserving Kyoto’s traditional architecture the CAMPTON headquarters are housed in a stately residential building, constructed in the classic sukiya-zukuri style, with beautifully preserved tea rooms overlooking a very fine traditional garden. As well as being the hub of CAMPTON’s activities this building is also used as an event space and has hosted several “Genius Table” roundtable discussions for local artists, scientists, educators, and business leaders.

The garden at CAMPTON’s Head Office.

To begin with, CAMPTON’s focus was on renovating old machiya with a view to preserving these historical buildings for posterity. The destruction of old machiya is an ongoing tragedy in Kyoto, as property developers ceaselessly demolish them without mercy in favor of yet more parking lots or high rise apartment buildings. CAMPTON’s business strategy however, recognizes that a house of 100 years old or more has a special value, a character, and a presence, both in itself as an integral part of the community. Once you knock something like that down, you can’t bring it back. So as the first stage of their business plan CAMPTON have now renovated and opened 6 luxury machiya lodges in different locations around Kyoto. In seeking to protect and reutilize these properties CAMPTON and their CEO Masao Ono are certainly to be commended.

Luxurious beds at CAMPTON Lodge 2 Nishi-no-Toin

However, where this company shows its true vision, is in the next stage of its plan. This summer CAMPTON broke ground on a new construction site near Ninenzaka Street close by Kiyomizudera Temple. Here work has begun on a set of completely new machiya buildings, faithful in style, substance, and structure to the traditional designs and materials of the original iconic Kyoto townhouses. How wonderful! Here is a business that views machiya not just as a treasured aspect of Kyoto’s past, but as an essential element in its future development. I was delighted to hear about this fantastic development and can only hope that other businesses follow this brilliant example.

Design plans for CAMPTON’s new Yasaka Project on Ninenzaka

If you are interested in CAMPTON’s properties or business why not stop by the Head Office on Nene-no-Michi? Or you can contact them via their website here: http://kyoto-campton.com/contact

A traditional tea room at CAMPTON headquarters.


The CAMPTON Lodges

CAMPTON’s new machiya buildings are scheduled to be ready for business by the summer of 2018. Below are the six CAMPTON Lodges that are currently available. All lodges are supplied and fitted with a full set of amenities, bedding, wooden bathtubs, heated floors, Shigaraki-ware ceramic wash basins, and Imabari luxury towels. To learn more about the unique features of each lodge or to make a booking for your holiday stay, click on the links or photos below.

CAMPTON 1 – Ushitora

CAMPTON 1 – Ushitora has two bedrooms, one Japanese style room, a living room, a bathroom with a wooden bathtub, a shower room, and two toilets. This lodge is a 15 minute walk north of Kyoto Station and an 8 minute walk south of Gojo Subway Station. It is convenient for Higashi Honganji Temple, Nishi Honganji Temple, the Ryukoku Museum, and Kyoto Tower. Here is a MAP of the location.

Check room rates at CAMPTON 1 – Ushitora.

CAMPTON 2 – Nishi-no-Toin

CAMPTON 2 – Nishi-no-Toin has two bedrooms one of which is Japanese style, one Japanese style room, a living room, a bathroom with a wooden bathtub, a shower room, and two toilets. This lodge is a 15 minute walk north of Kyoto Station and a 9 minute walk south of Gojo Subway Station. It is convenient for Higashi Honganji Temple, Nishi Honganji Temple, the Ryukoku Museum, and Kyoto Tower. Here is a MAP of the location.

Check room rates at CAMPTON 2 – Nishi-no-Toin.

CAMPTON 3 – Gosho-Minami-Hotei

CAMPTON 3 – Gosho-Minami-Hotei has two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom with a wooden bathtub, a shower room and two toilets. This lodge is a 10 minute walk north of Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Subway Station, an 11 minute walk south-east of Marutamachi Subway Station, and a 10 minute walk south-west of Jingu-Marutamachi Station on the Keihan Line. It is convenient for the Imperial Palace Park, the antique shops on Teramachi Street, city center shopping and dining, and is exactly 3 minutes south of the best bakery in Kyoto: Dough. Here is a MAP of the location.

Check room rates at CAMPTON 3 – Gosho-Minami-Hotei.

CAMPTON 4 – Gosho-Minami-Ebisu

CAMPTON 4 – Gosho-Minami-Ebisu has one bedroom, a living room, a Japanese style room, a bathroom with a wooden bathtub, and two toilets.This lodge is located beside the CAMPTON 3 Lodge.

Check room rates at CAMPTON 4 – Gosho-Minami-Ebisu.

CAMPTON 9 – Nishijin Itsutsuji & CAMPTON 10 – Nishijin Arima

CAMPTON 9 and 10 are located together. CAMPTON 9 has one bedroom, a living room, a Japanese style room, a bathroom with a wooden bathtub, and two toilets. CAMPTON 10 has two bedrooms, one living room, one Japanese style room, a bathroom with a wooden bathtub, a shower room, and two toilets. These lodges are an 18 minute walk west of Imadegawa Subway Station in Nishijin which is a traditional silk weavers district. You can see many machiya buildings here, and it is convenient for Kitano-Tenmangu Shrine and Nishijin Textile Center. Here is a MAP of the location.

Check room rates at CAMPTON 9 – Nishijin Itsutsuji & CAMPTON 10 – Nishijin Arima

Many thanks to Janic Kuehner and Campton for their assistance with this article.

Shinkamanza Machiya Resort Named “Village Kiramachi”; New Photos from Our Stay

September 6, 2017 By Michael Lambe

A few months ago I wrote about an innovative machiya townhouse revival project in the Shinkamanza district of central Kyoto. Under the supervision of local architectural company, Good Design Works, not just one traditional townhouse but a whole group of houses has been renovated and reinvented as a single integrated resort hotel. I have now been informed that the resort has received a new official name: 宿きらまち (yado kiramachi) in Japanese, or “Village Kiramachi” in English. This new name partly reflects the close communal atmosphere that Good Design Works have strived to create in this project, and also honors the name of the chief designer Moatesu Kiraeri.

Mewby in the Village Kiramachi machiya resort.

Mewby and I were recently invited back to the Village Kiramachi resort to see how much the construction work has progressed and also to spend a night in these beautiful surroundings. The resort will not be opened to guests until later this year, so we were very fortunate to be able to have a preview of the facilities. Here are some images from our stay.

A village view. At the center of the resort is a small community shrine.
Each machiya building has been lovingly restored with respect to its individual character – no two buildings are exactly alike.
Every window offers a different view.
A small stream runs throughout the resort offering natural background music.
Two lanes lead into the resort from the street outside. One is original…
…And one was newly created to add more air and light. Can you tell which is which?
Everywhere you see tremendous attention to detail, from the traditional latticework on the windows…
…to specially selected momiji maple patterned ceiling paper….
…or in this room the simple beauty of a wooden ceiling.
In this house guests can enjoy moon viewing in all seasons.
A traditional tea room is also available for the guests’ enjoyment.
This house has a traditional hinoki wood bath.
And in this house you can enjoy a view of the inner garden while taking a shower.
Imagine going to sleep with this as your view…
…And waking up to this!

Many thanks to Good Design Works for letting us stay at Village Kiramachi and for permission to take these photographs. For more information about this beautiful new resort and to view the design plans, see my original article: Shinkamanza: An Innovative Machiya Townhouse Resort in Downtown Kyoto. Village Kiramachi will open to guests later this year.

For further details, current room rates, and bookings check the Village Kiramachi booking page.

Full text and original photographs by Michael Lambe – All rights reserved.

Shinkamanza: An Innovative Machiya Townhouse Resort in Downtown Kyoto

May 16, 2017 By Michael Lambe

Last year I was invited to view the ongoing work on an exciting machiya revival project in central Kyoto. Overseen by a local architectural company called Good Design Works the plan is to renovate not just one traditional townhouse but an entire unit of houses as a single integrated resort hotel.

Machiya are the traditional wooden townhouses of Kyoto. Their dark lattice fronts once lined all the streets of the city, and their low-lying tiled rooftops formed a gentle rolling city skyline with here and there a palace or a temple rising up above them. Though the palaces and temples remain, that distinctive machiya skyline has now all but disappeared. Over the last 60 years or so, machiya have increasingly been torn down in favor of high rise blocks and parking lots. Though this destruction of old Kyoto continues today, there have been some efforts in recent years to find new ways to preserve these buildings. Famed Japanologist Alex Kerr was a pioneer when he founded the Iori company to renovate old houses for use as hotel lodgings. Other businesses have transformed machiya into attractive modern cafes, restaurants, and shops, and both the city and local banks offer attractive investments for new home-owners who wish to buy, restore, and refurbish these buildings.

This all represents something of a boom in machiya revival, but up until now most projects have focused on single buildings. Where Good Design Works are showing a new and rather daring approach is in seeking to redevelop an entire connected group of houses. This is actually really important. Traditionally, machiya were (and some still are) grouped together in small neighborhoods, and everybody in that neighborhood knew each other. Typically a narrow lane would run off the main road and around it there would be a close knit community of houses, with many neighbors employed in the same kind of work. People would see each other daily, meet up for gossip at the local public baths, and watch over each other’s kids when they played outside in communal areas. Restoring a single machiya is always a worthwhile enterprise, but on its own it does nothing to preserve this old communal spirit and there really is nothing quite as sad as the sight of an old townhouse hemmed in on all sides by looming apartment buildings.

This is why it is so wonderful that Good Design Works have taken a block of buildings in Kyoto’s Shinkamanza-cho district and renovated them as a group. The new resort is named “Shinkamanza” after this district, and it is an ambitious project, but having viewed the construction site I am happy to say it looks splendid. The resort sits in a well-preserved area on a quiet side street not far from the Shijo-Karasuma intersection, and despite its central location it forms a natural sanctuary from the busy urban surround. Within the resort are 9 houses containing separate apartments. Each house has its own individual design, its own facilities, and its own inner courtyard garden. All of these houses offer unique views on the rest of the resort complex that provide a nostalgic glimpse of old Kyoto. The resort has been conceived as a small village, and to bind this village together there is a communal garden with carefully chosen rocks, a small café bar area where guests can mingle, a traditional public bath for group or family bathing, and a flowing stream that provides both cool air and natural background music to calm the soul.

And the houses are comfortable! These houses have been fully refurbished, so that they will be warm and snug in winter, and cool and breezy in the hot summer months. I was also highly impressed by the attention given to each house’s bathing and toilet facilities. The chief designer, Moatesu Kiraeri, spent a lot of time explaining to me how important he felt these areas are. Machiya houses are generally not that big, and traditionally they didn’t have their own bathrooms, so modern refits tend to skimp on the space and materials used for these modern conveniences. Not so at Shinkamanza! Here you will find not a cramped plastic toilet, but an elegant room with a ceramic bowl, a spacious hinoki wood bath tub, or a piping hot shower, and in each area you can enjoy piped music, or a cleverly angled view of your inner garden (with your privacy preserved intact). As Kiraeri-san enthused on these areas I could see that he conceived of the toilet and bathing areas not simply as facilities, but as comfortable spaces for quiet contemplation. I was instantly reminded of Junichiro Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows where he waxes lyrically upon the Japanese toilet as a “place of spiritual repose”:

“No words can describe that sensation as one sits in the dim light, basking in the faint glow reflected from the shoji, lost in meditation or gazing out at the garden… surely there could be no better place to savor this pleasure than a Japanese toilet where, surrounded by tranquil walls and finely grained wood, one looks upon blue skies and green leaves.”

Furthermore, I was assured that each building is fully soundproofed, so you can play your music at top volume, and they won’t hear a thing next door.

Overall I was really excited by this project, both for its overall vision, and for the attention to detail in choosing the perfect materials: just the right paper for the ceilings, the very best cedar wood for the baths, and not this rock but another for the garden display… Clearly no expense or effort has been spared on this project and quite rightly it has been given full backing by the city government too. Shinkamanza looks to be not only a great place to stay when visiting Kyoto, but a brand new model for machiya revival projects elsewhere. Three cheers for Good Design Works and may others be inspired to follow their example!

The first floor design plan.
The Second floor design plan.

The Shinkamanza machiya resort will be officially opened in July late 2017. All images from the Shinkamanza resort were taken by Elsa Arribas (aka BunnyTokyo). For more information visit the official Shinkamanza Facebook page or follow the project on Twitter.

Update September 6th 2017: The Shinkamanza machiya resort has now been renamed Village Kiramachi. For more information and pictures see my latest article: Shinkamanza Machiya Resort Named “Village Kiramachi”; New Photos from Our Stay

Update September 13th 2017: The Shinkamanza machiya resort is now taking bookings. For further details and room rates check the Village Kiramachi booking page.

Alex Kerr Book Launch Party – Another Kyoto

October 3, 2016 By Michael Lambe

Last night I attended a book launch party for Alex Kerr’s latest book, Another Kyoto. The setting was a lovely old machiya townhouse in the Kamishichiken area of Kyoto where his friend and co-author, Kathy Arlyn Sokol has been living. Apparently about 70 people attended the event, and it certainly did feel like a crowd in the unseasonably hot weather. It was a nice occasion though, and I was happy at the opportunity to meet some old friends, and new people – and not least Alex Kerr himself!

Kathy Arlyn Sokol & Alex Kerr
Kathy Arlyn Sokol & Alex Kerr

Another Kyoto is a book born out of conversations that Alex had with his friend Kathy whilst strolling round some of his favorite locations in Kyoto. It is on the surface a book about architecture: gates, walls, floors and roofs… However, the book goes much deeper than that into the culture that has produced these architectural forms, into exactly why they take the forms that they do, into what these forms signify, and also rather interestingly it compares and contrasts these forms with those of other cultures with which Alex Kerr has a great deal of familiarity, those of China, or Bali, or Thailand for example. I am still only on chapter 3 myself but am finding it very absorbing and not least because of the style in which it is written. Kathy Sokol spoke last night about how the book is a transmission of old and erudite knowledge that has been passed down through generations of scholars to Alex, and now through him to us. And this is true. However, the tone in which it is written is so light and conversational that it really doesn’t feel like a heavy or scholarly book at all, but more like a chat with a particularly knowledgeable friend while sightseeing. That’s quite a balance they have struck there and it makes for a very enjoyable read!

John Dougill with Alex Kerr
John Dougill with Alex Kerr

Let me a add a quick word of thanks to John Dougill of the Writers in Kyoto group for suggesting last night’s event and also to Kathy and Alex for organizing and hosting it. I must admit I was very excited to finally meet Alex Kerr, whose book Lost Japan was a huge inspiration for me before moving to Japan in the 1990s. I was glad to find him in person to be just as amiable and friendly as I had imagined from his books. It was a very nice evening.

another-kyoto

More pictures and details about the event, plus a video link can be found on the Writers in Kyoto website.

Another Kyoto by Alex Kerr with Kathy Arlyn Sokol is available from Amazon.co.jp

Donald Keene on Kyoto: Then & Now

January 6, 2015 By Michael Lambe

Donald Keene at his Tokyo home in October 2002. Picture by Aurelio Asiain. Taken from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Donald Keene at his Tokyo home in October 2002. Picture by Aurelio Asiain. Taken from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

On New Year’s Day the Japan Times published a wonderful article by the renowned Japanese scholar Donald Keene, reflecting on the changes he has seen in Japan over the past 70 years. In a fascinating account he tells of life in the immediate post-war years and after; a time of much hardship, but also, a golden age in modern Japanese literature and arts. In particular though, it was his experiences as a student in early 1950’s Kyoto that grabbed my attention. Professor  Keene painted a picture of a city far different from the one I know. Unlike other Japanese cities, Kyoto had been spared the ravages of wartime aerial bombardment, and the modern development that was to irrevocably change the cityscape was yet to come. How incredibly beautiful it must have been then! And what a thrill to roam through those perfectly preserved streets!

I enjoyed wandering at random in the city, fascinated by the names of places I knew from works of Japanese literature and history. The streets were surprisingly quiet, probably because at the time there were no privately owned cars in Kyoto, only company vehicles. I was delighted one day when I saw two elderly ladies happening to meet while crossing in the middle of Kawaramachi, the busiest street in the city. They politely removed their haori jackets and bowed to each other, not in the least worried by possible traffic. Of course, not everything in Kyoto was so pleasing. I saw slum areas not only around the railway station but in the middle of the city, and there were many boys eager to polish one’s shoes. But I managed to accept these sad results of the long warfare that the Japanese had suffered.

I was captivated not only by the city, but the surroundings and I visited every temple on the tourist map. I enjoyed walking along streets with rows of shops, all selling the same article, whether bamboo baskets, stone badgers, or dusty secondhand books. Most of these shops no longer exist, victims of progress.

Indeed the nostalgia is tinged with sadness. Though Professor Keene concedes that people in Kyoto now live far more comfortable lives than they did 60 years ago,  he still laments the changes he has seen, and continues to see in the urban landscape.

I do miss Kyoto as it was when I first arrived in the city.

The beautiful houses in Gion grow fewer each year and will never be replaced. The side streets lined with Japanese-style houses are either mixed with dreary apartments or totally destroyed. Kyoto streets on a Sunday are now jammed with cars. No old lady is advised to cross a street without caution. Greed and a demand for convenience have taken the place of beauty…

Oh to have a time machine! I often wonder how Kyoto residents of 60 or even 50  or 40 years ago would feel if they were to pay a visit to 21st century Kyoto and witness the changes that time and rampant development have wrought. Would they marvel at our modern comforts and conveniences, and envy our lifestyle in this age of consumption? Or would they mourn the loss of the city’s former grace, and bewail the loss of local community traditions?

Perhaps they would do both.

To imagine a better future, we must look to the past. Each day, here in Fushimi, I look out my window at a parking lot, where but 30 years ago there stood a beautiful house and garden designed by the legendary architect William Vories. Once it was the pride of the family who had it built, but their descendants decided to pull it down because it made more economic sense. To go to my local supermarket I cross a canal once lined completely with cherry trees. Only a few trees now remain, most having been ripped up to make way for profitable housing. Probably, only a few people locally remember these things, and doubtless most local residents familiar with the town as it is now, would be amazed if they knew what has been lost. That’s why it is important to preserve these memories. If it was possible then, to plan and build with forethought for community and a pleasing environment, why shouldn’t it be possible now?

Looking ahead I do fervently hope that one day, both local and national government put into place policies and planning regulations that allow us to enjoy the best of old world beauty and a modern agreeable lifestyle. To dream of such a future might seem idealistic, but it’s far from impossible. Just look at this.

To read the full article by Professor Keene please visit the Japan Times website here: Donald Keene reflects on 70-year Japan experience

See also: Two Views from Yasaka Shrine Separated by Time.

William Merrell Vories – A 50th Anniversary Memorial Tour in Ōmi Hachiman

October 29, 2014 By Michael Lambe

vorie posterWilliam Merrell Vories was a brilliant and prolific architect who was active throughout the Kansai region in the early 20th century. He is said to have built up to 1600 buildings over a 35 year career, all while leading an active life as an educator, entrepreneur and Christian missionary. Many of the buildings he designed are still standing today, including quite a few in Kyoto. This month, the city of Ōmi Hachiman in Shiga, where Vories made his home, is commemorating the 50th anniversary of his passing with a series of special events. Last Saturday, Mewby and I visited Ōmi Hachiman to take a tour of some of the beautiful buildings that Vories built there. Until November 3rd, you can get a special “passport” for 1,500 yen that will give you access to all of the buildings on the tour, many of which are also exhibiting material related to his life. Passports and maps are both available at the tourist information center at Ōmi Hachiman station. You can also download the map as a PDF here: 市内マップ&展示案内. Even if you can’t go before November 3rd, you can still visit or view many of the buildings on the tour after the special exhibition is over, but I would give yourself a good day to walk around all the sites. I really enjoyed visiting this town and would very much like to learn more about this  extraordinary man.

Here are some pictures from our day.

Mewby meets W. M. Vories.
Mewby meets W. M. Vories.

Ikeda Machi Jūtakugai (池田町住宅街), the Western residential area of Ikeda town, is a cluster of homes designed by Vories very early in his career. He had a house here himself, but that has long gone and can be seen only in old photographs. Three fine buildings do still remain though. [Read more…]

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