Deep Kyoto

Ramen Factory Kyoto

October 9, 2017 By Michael Lambe

Ramen Factory Kyoto is a new place near Tofukuji Temple where you can experience both making and eating your very own Kyoto style ramen. This shop is a side project of Menbakaichidai, a famous “fire ramen” restaurant that has been serving and entertaining ramen fans in Kyoto for the last 30 years. Check out the video for Ramen Factory below.

Updated Details
Ramen Factory Kyoto opened on the 14th of October 2017. Since then they have already become a very popular venue so it is a good idea to make a booking in advance (see reservation details below). Three courses are now available:

The Half Course lasts 45 minutes and costs 2,500 yen (1,500 yen for children). In this course you get to make, prepare and taste your own noodles.
The Complete Course lasts 90 minutes and costs 3,500 yen (2,500 yen for children). In this course you get to make and taste a complete bowl of ramen with noodles, soup and roast chicken.
The Luxury Course lasts 90 minutes and costs 6,000 yen (5,000 yen for children), and includes making and enjoying your own complete bowl of ramen + a homaekake Japanese style souvenir apron.

And if those course don’t suit you, you can just order a bowl of ramen to eat!

Vegetarians
Vegetarians should choose the Half Course which does not include chicken. A vegetable soup can be prepared for vegans if you contact Ramen Factory in advance.

Gluten-Free
For those who are gluten intolerant, rice noodles can be prepared for you instead of the usual wheat flour noodles. However, these are pre-prepared so you cannot make them from flour.

Halal Certification
Muslim guests will be pleased to know that Ramen Factory has Halal certification from the Kyoto Muslim Association, as there is no non-Halal food made in the store. Ramen Factory noodles are served with chicken, and no pork and no alcohol are included in any ingredients.

The Muslim prayer room at Ramen Factory Kyoto.

Mulsim Prayer Room
Ramen Factory now has a special prayer room with traditional Japanese tatami mats. Muslims are welcome to use this space even if they do not make an order, and for their benefit there is an arrow indicating the correct direction of prayer. People of other faiths or none can also use the room for meditation or prayer. The room is partitioned into two parts for ladies and gentlemen, and there are facilities available for wudhu ritual washing prior to praying. This room will be kept warm in autumn and winter.

Address: 814-18 Honmachi 15-chōme, Higashiyama-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 605-0981
Tel: +81 75-748-1687
Open everyday from 11.00 – 18.00
Payment Details: Payment in advance can be made with the following international bank cards: Visa, Master Card, American Express, and JCB. Customers who pay in advance will also get one FREE drink.
Reservations: It is a good idea to book online in advance. The reservations page is available in 12 different languages. You can also call the number above to make a reservation.
Location: Ramen Factory Kyoto is a 3 minute walk from Tofukuji Station Here is a MAP of the location and you can download a PDF with super clear walking directions from Tofukuji Station here. For further information check the official Ramen Factory webpage.

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.

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.

A Traditional Live Music Show at Ran Theatre Kyoto

September 13, 2017 By Michael Lambe

A couple of months ago Mewby and I were invited to attend a traditional live music show at “Ran Theater Kyoto”. During the show we were entertained by a large number of talented and enthusiastic musicians playing a variety of traditional instruments from all over the Japanese archipelago. I found the show highly enjoyable, but the audience was a little sparse when we went and it seemed a shame that these hard-working musicians didn’t have more people to see their performance. They definitely deserve to be seen by more people – so of course I want to recommend them on Deep Kyoto!

The show begins with a rousing and passionate performance from two taiko drummers.

After that different instruments from across Japan are introduced in turn and the music and culture they are a part of is explained by an English speaking guide.

Each instrument is given a chance to show its own merits before the musicians come together for ensemble performances.

You will probably recognize some of the classic tunes: predictably they play Sakura, and Shima-Uta but also the theme from Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, “Zankoku no Tenshi no Teze” from Evangelion, and a sweet rendition of My Favorite Things on the koto and shinobue flute!

There are plenty of other regional tunes and songs I didn’t know though, some heart-rending ballads from Okinawa, minyo folk songs from Toyama and Hokkaido, and plenty of upbeat tunes and sing-along sessions too.

A sing-along session (often accompanied by the waving of hands in the air)

Be warned though that you might find yourself pulled up on stage too for a short taiko drumming lesson!

Ran Kyoto Japanese Music Theatre is performed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the theatre space of the theme restaurant Ninja Kyoto Restaurant & Labyrinth. This restaurant is very central being located a little north of Shijo in the little warren of streets between Shinkyogoku Shopping Street and Urateramachi Dori. Here is a MAP of the location.

Doors open for the first show at 18.00, and the show starts at 18.30. Doors open for the second show at 20.00 and the show starts at 20.30.

Tickets for the show are a bit pricey at 3,000 yen (plus tax) for advance tickets, and 3,500 yen (plus tax) on the door. And the show does not include any food or drink for which you will have to pay extra. However, it is a very good show, the musicians are super friendly, and you will certainly enjoy this introduction to Japanese traditional music. For more details and to make a booking check out the Ran Theatre official website here: https://www.rankyoto.com/

Dough – Kyoto’s Best Bread Shop & Bakery

September 11, 2017 By Michael Lambe

Back when I lived in central Kyoto I was frequent visitor to the bakery Bread Room and happily recommended that fine little shop on Deep Kyoto in 2009. A few years ago though I moved down to Fushimi, invested in a bread making machine, and naturally lost touch with that fabled purveyor of fine baked goods. As it turns out, in the intervening years the owners of that shop have moved to a new location too, and their new shop (I say “new” but it’s actually a couple of years old now) is called “Dough”. Over the summer I decided to track it down and reacquaint myself with their blue cheese rolls, olive ciabatta, tasty muffins, and multi-grain loaves.

I was very happy to find that the same friendly lady is at the register in the new store, and her high-skills-husband is still baking the very best breads in Kyoto. I do not lie. In terms of taste and variety this little shop cannot be topped.

You have to get here early before the shelves are emptied.

What I really like about this shop, is that baker, who studied his craft in America, doesn’t restrict himself to the usual limited range of French style bread and pastries that you find everywhere else in Japan. Here you can find every style of bread from Italy to Finland and a great range of flavors.

Breads, sandwiches, American sweets… and more!

Dough is located on the east side of Fuyacho Dori Street a short walk south of Marutamachi Dori Street and the Imperial Palace Park. Here is a MAP of the location. It is without question the best bakery in Kyoto.

Opening Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday: 9.00 – 18.00
Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday: Closed

You can find more images of their drool-worthy cakes, breads and pastries on their official Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/doughkt

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.

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…

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.

A Close Encounter with Butoh Dance at the Kyoto Butoh-kan

June 30, 2017 By Michael Lambe

Today we have a special guest post from Florentyna Leow on the world’s first theatre expressly devoted to regular Butoh performances.

Butoh is an avant-garde dance style originating in Japan. First developed by Kazuo Ono and Hijikata Tatsumi in the 1960s, one of the central features of Butoh is its very indefinability – it is difficult to attach a definition or set of ‘rules’ to the dance form. There are at once rules and no rules. It is characterized by its exploration of taboo topics, the absurd, and grotesqueness. At the same time, it’s often hard to agree on what Butoh is or isn’t. What is clear, however, is that its emergence irrevocably changed the world of dance from that point onwards.

Given the international acclaim that Butoh enjoys, the lack of a national Butoh theatre or spaces where one can experience Butoh performances, strikes one as odd. This what Art Complex seeks to rectify by establishing Kyoto Butoh-kan, a permanent space in central Kyoto hosting regular professional performances. Here, veteran Butoh dancer and former core member of Byakkosha, Ima Tenko, performs her routine ‘Hisoku’ weekly. The two women who make up Okaeri Shimai – translated roughly as the ‘Homeward Sisters’ or ‘Returning Sisters’ – provide musical accompaniment to her performance on the shamisen. The all-female cast here is somewhat unusual for Butoh, but appropriate as they carry on the long tradition of female performers in Kyoto.

What’s particularly interesting about the Kyoto Butoh-kan is the space itself. Performances take place in a late-Edo period ‘kura’ or earthenware storehouse. According to the staff, it is around two centuries old. Amazingly, though much of Kyoto was set on fire during the skirmish between the rebels and shogunate forces during the Hamaguri Rebellion of 1864, this particular storehouse escaped unscathed. Instead of being demolished, the storehouse has now been reimagined as a space where visitors can experience the magic of Butoh at close quarters.

Walking into the storeroom, one is greeted by the pentatonic melodies of shamisen. The space is slightly larger than the average shoebox apartment in Tokyo, with a perilously steep wooden staircase leading to the upper floor, where the shamisen musicians are stationed. The Butoh-kan only accommodates 8 audience members, though as a preview that day there were 11 of us seated there. It felt quite intimate huddling against the wall together, to say the least.

*Kyoto Butoh-kan – Photograph by Florentyna Leow*

It is precisely the intimacy of the space which makes the Butoh performance more powerful. Sitting in close proximity to Ima Tenko makes you feel as though you are a part of this performance – you are so close to the energy radiating from her movements that you feel yourself being drawn into the dance. It also makes the impact of her performance that much more visceral: to the initiate, Butoh is not conventionally beautiful or graceful, and the expressions and explorations of the human body by Ima can come across as slightly shocking or grotesque. (A note to the uninitiated: her performance doesn’t shy away from partial nudity, either.) The handmade plaster walls of this small space also seem to make the shamisen melodies resonate more richly than they would in a more conventional space.

Each session is around 50 minutes – just right for the intensity of the performance. Any longer and one might be overwhelmed or bored! I’ll be the first to say that I don’t have a deep understanding of Butoh. But I enjoyed the performance nonetheless, and especially the experience of Butoh in such a special space and atmosphere – watching a video of a Butoh dance just isn’t the same. If you’ve always been curious about Butoh, this is a perfect place to experience it.

Kyoto Butoh-kan is located just north of the intersection of Koromonotana Street and Sanjo Street at Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8202. Here is a MAP of the location. For more information on showtimes and ticket prices, please visit: http://www.butohkan.jp/

Florentyna Leow is a writer and photographer based in Kyoto who has written for outlets such as Lucky Peach, Roads & Kingdoms, and ZenVita. Her interests include food, doors and Thomassons. Her blog is updated at furochan.wordpress.com. She Instagrams regularly at @furochan_eats.

Hyatt Regency Kyoto

June 20, 2017 By Michael Lambe

The Hyatt Regency is a lovely hotel on Shichijo Dori Street that occupies the affordable end of luxury. Mewby and I have a special fondness for this hotel because we stayed there on our wedding night. Imagine this – after a very happy, but of course very busy and honestly quite nerve-wracking day, we arrived at the hotel tired and relieved to be greeted with warm smiles and were told we had been given an upgrade! A big old Deluxe Balcony King was ours with a complementary bottle of wine to boot! This particular room features a balcony overlooking the hotel garden (very nice garden!), and a massive hinoki cypress wood bath which we were particularly happy to soak in whilst enjoying the aforementioned wine. It was the perfect end to our day, so to express our thanks, a brief review of this fine establishment is the very least I can do and certainly well overdue.

Our room on arrival with wedding gifts strewn across the comfy sofa!

The Hyatt Regency has three basic room types which are on an ascending scale of price and comfort: Standard, Deluxe, and Suites. All rooms have the same distinctive style of interior decor which manages to be simultaneously both modern and traditional with stylish lamps, colorful silk kimono tapestries hanging behind the bed, and simple wooden furnishings. Standard rooms come with either a King sized bed, or twin beds and have everything you need: free Wi-Fi, a writing desk, a minibar, a TV with cable and satellite channels, a closet, a safe for your valuables, and a private bathroom with a decent sized bathtub. Deluxe rooms have seating areas with sofas and some of them also have those fantastically huge hinoki baths. Book a suite and you get bigger windows, better views, and (depending on the suite) separate living/dining or sleeping areas. Some suites also feature tatami matted tea rooms.

The first floor dining area overlooks the garden.

Breakfast is served in the ground floor dining area which overlooks the hotel garden. It’s a buffet breakfast and one of the better ones with plenty of fruit, salad, cheeses, smoked salmon, eggs cooked to your preference, and freshly baked bread. The hotel has three main dining areas: an Italian restaurant, a traditional Japanese style restaurant, and a grill serving juicy burgers, steaks and seafood. There is also a pastry shop for sweets and a cozy bar where you can try cocktails made with the locally distilled Ki No Bi dry gin. Happy hour is between 17.00 and 19.00.

Reception. High praise to the staff at the Hyatt Regency for their warm and friendly service!

The Hyatt Regency also has room service; a fitness gym; a spa offering a variety of massages, aromatherapy treatments and enzyme baths (!); a business centre; a souvenir shop; and a 24-hour concierge service with staff who can help you with restaurant reservations, currency exchange, booking tours, or ordering taxis.

This hotel is convenient for the National Museum (just across the street), Sanjusangendo Temple, and is an 8 minute walk from Shichijo Station. This station gives you access to the Keihan Line which runs north to south through Kyoto and so makes it easy to reach the city center, sightseeing locations further north such as Shimogamo Shrine, and also further south such as Tofukuji, Fushimi Inari, and Uji.

We only spent one night in this hotel but we loved it and would happily stay there again. Here is a MAP of the location.

For further details, room rates, and bookings check the Hyatt Regency Kyoto booking page.

Speak Easy – American Style Diner by Shugakuin Station

June 16, 2017 By Michael Lambe

Speak Easy is an American style diner up by Shugakuin Station which is famous for its great range of burgers, breakfasts, and Mexican style food. There used to be another branch of this shop in the town center that Mewby and I would regularly frequent back when we lived in that area. I was a big fan of their vegetarian gluten burgers and their crispy onion rings and I was most disappointed when that branch closed down. Sometimes you just get a hankering for quality junk food, and my hankering was thwarted. And Shugakuin is just a little bit out of the way for us these days. However, we recently booked a tour of the Shugakuin Imperial Villa, and naturally decided we would have lunch at the original Speak Easy afterwards. You can imagine how much I was looking forward to my Speak Easy lunch. As we wandered the stately gardens, admiring ponds and tea houses, all I could think of was of my long-awaited reunion with a good-old Speak Easy gluten burger with pickles and fries and ketchup and of course a side order of those fantastic onion rings.

Well established: Speak Easy has been open since 1987.

The diner itself is easy enough to find being within shouting distance of the station, and having the Stars and Stripes hanging up outside is certainly a giveaway. Inside the place is decorated with a clutter of retro Americana, and two TV screens have CNN on permanent broadcast. My attention was on the menu however, and I was happy to see that my old friend the gluten burger was still listed on there, along with cheese burgers, chilli burgers, teriyaki burgers, chicken teriyaki burgers, Kyoto burgers (?), and “special burgers” which come with egg, avocado and bacon. They also have a fine array of sandwiches, pizzas, and Mexican options such as tacos, nachos, and enchiladas. Faced with such choice, what to do?

“I’ll have a gluten burger, please.”

They were out of gluten burgers.

I put a brave face on this bitterly disappointing turn of events, and ordered a fish burger instead. It was a perfectly decent fish burger, but obviously it couldn’t make up for my deep sense of loss. In terms of size it wasn’t really up to American standards either.

A perfectly decent Speak Easy fish burger.

Mewby had a cheese burger with extra egg and she described it as perfectly adequate.

You can choose fries or onion rings with your burger. We went for fries but ordered a small side order of onion rings too. Next time I would order large because a small serving really is quite small.

Speak Easy are also well known for their American breakfasts with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and hash browns. It’s a good spot for a quick bite to eat if you are in that neighborhood, but I think next time I go, I’ll call ahead and ask them to check their fridge for gluten burgers. It’s been too long.

Speak Easy is located on the west side of Shugakuin Station. Here is a MAP of the location.
Open:9.00 – 26.00
Closed:Thursdays
Tel: 075-781-2110

Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto

June 15, 2017 By Michael Lambe

Last week I happened to be in the area of the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, and decided to have a bit of a snoop around inside. What a place!

The Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto is Kyoto’s newest luxury resort having opened just last autumn, but it feels like it has been around a lot longer. Everything about this hotel from the softly lit interiors, and the magnificent gardens, to the warm and good-humoured smiles of the staff, suggests stately grace, calm, and tranquility. If you really want to spoil yourself then this is clearly the place to stay. It feels like a palace!

The interior design is a perfect blend of modern comforts with traditional style. This extends to the guest rooms which are decorated with artisanal touches like paper lamps, and fusuma screens. Some rooms also have their own balconies and suites also have their own dining areas and walk-in closets.

Dining options include a Brasserie stocked with local craft beer and a varied cosmopolitan menu, a sushi restaurant, a traditional tea house and a combined bar and lounge. In-room dining is also available and breakfast is buffet style.

From the Brasserie’s panoramic windows you can enjoy a view onto the 800-year-old pond garden.

For the full resort experience, this hotel also has a fitness center and a luxury spa with massage services, saunas, steam rooms, whirlpools, and a swimming pool. Should you want to venture out from this haven, the hotel can organize a variety of sightseeing tours, local outings, and cultural experiences.

Should you need it, a computer and printer are freely available for the guests to use.

Four Seasons Kyoto is a large hotel, but is well hidden from the hurly-burly of the city. Occupying a world unto itself it is tucked away on the slope of Onnazaka, and is convenient for visits to Sanjusangendo Temple, and the National Museum.

A bamboo lined pathway leads from the outer world to the tranquility within.

I was very impressed with my brief look round the Four Seasons Kyoto, not just by the beautiful interiors but by the charming manners of the staff. Not even a guest, I was simply there to take a few cheeky snaps, but they made me feel most welcome. I just wish I could afford to stay there myself!

For further details, room rates and bookings check the Four Seasons Kyoto booking page.

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 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.

Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with a Glass of Green Matcha Beer at Otani-Chaen Tea Shop, Inari!

March 15, 2017 By Michael Lambe

If you happen to be in Kyoto on Saint Patrick’s Day and are wondering how to celebrate (other than heading to an Irish Pub and getting hammered) – here’s something new.

This traditional Japanese tea shop in Inari has a novel suggestion for Ireland’s national day.

I was strolling through the Fushimi Inari area today when I happened to spy this sign.

The sign suggests celebrating Ireland’s most important holiday, with a glass of beer, flavored and colored with matcha tea. I was immediately intrigued. So I went home, changed into some suitably green attire, and cajoled Mewby into coming along with a promise of matcha ice cream.

The tea shop, Ujicha Otani-Chaen, is a 70-year old family business run by a friendly gentleman named Otani Hideyuki. Their main product is fine green tea from the nearby tea-growing fields of Uji. However, also on the menu are both matcha flavored beer, and matcha-flavored non-alcoholic beer. Guess which one I chose…

First Mr Otani mixes up a fresh bowl of matcha. Then he mixes it into the beer. That second part of the process though, is a trade secret, so we can’t show you that here.

And the result is indeed a very vivid emerald green!

There’s definitely a whiff of the shamrock about this glass… But how does it taste?

To my surprise – not bad at all! The beer used at the Otani-Chaen shop is the Japanese salaryman’s beer-of-choice: Asahi. Asahi has a crisp but subtle flavor, so the added bitterness of the matcha tea really does dominate. In other words, if you like matcha tea, you will probably enjoy this beer.

A big thumbs up from Mikey Lambe

And they were good enough to serve it up with a couple of cubes of cheddar cheese which compliment it nicely.

Is that the green, white and gold that I see before me?

If you don’t like beer, you can always order a matcha flavored ice cream instead (like Mewby). I’m told it’s very good.

A glass of matcha beer at Otani-Chaen costs 500 yen. Alcohol-free beer is 380 yen. And a matcha ice cream is 280 yen. They also sell a range of fine teas, which make for very good local souvenirs. The shop is just a hop, skip and jump from Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. If you walk north on Honmachi Doori Street after exiting the shrine, you will see it on the west side of the street after about 150 meters. Here is a MAP of the location. The shop is open every day from 9.30 – 19.30.

All that remains to be said is – wherever you are in the world on March 17th – a very happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you!

Sláinte!

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

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

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.

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

Wacky Racers on Kyoto Station’s Grand Staircase!

February 24, 2016 By Michael Lambe

Every year on the third Saturday in February a racing event is held at Kyoto Station’s Grand Staircase (or “Daikaidan”). Contestants take part in teams of 4 and attempt to cover the 30 meter 171 step climb with the best time. This event has been held since 1998, shortly after the station building was first opened, and has become a popular local event as well as Kyoto Station’s very own harbinger of spring.

Last Saturday, Mewby and I went to see this event for the first time, and what a lot of fun it was to watch! It was pouring with rain throughout, so teams of cleaners were constantly sweeping water off the steps to help stop the contestants slipping. I’m not sure how many people participated this year, but I think at least 80 teams competed in this event. Running up 171 steps is no small feat and a lot of runners collapsed in a panting heap when they got to the top.

The best fun though, was watching the contestants who chose to race in costume. Here, for example, is a Heian era aristocrat:

And here is a princess:

This next chap is the Cho Hakkai pig character from the popular story Saiyuki or Journey to the West. You can see a clown in the background too.

And this fellow? Well this fellow is a hero.

For the most part the costumed contestants seemed more concerned with having a laugh and putting on a show than in trying to get the best time. They would stop and wave to the crowd, pose for photographs and in the case of the princesses, perform a lot of curtsies, all the way up the steps. When the last members of the hero team was running, his team mates suddenly joined him to cheer him on for the final spurt of the course!

By far the best entertainment was from the samurai team though, who literally performed a series of running battles up the stairs.

Even though the weather was wet and miserable, the good humored runners definitely brought smiles to the faces of the onlookers. We’ll be back to watch again next year!

Shichi-go-san: A special ritual for child health and longevity

November 3, 2015 By Michael Lambe

From Ian Ropke,

This month visitors will have a great chance to photograph children all dressed up in kimono, a special opportunity not to be missed. November is the month of the shichi-go-san (7-5-3) ritual for girls (seven and three years of age) and boys (five years of age).

Four generations celebrate shichi-go-san.

Shichi-Go-San is believed to have started in the Heian Period (794-1185). It was a ritual developed by court nobles to celebrate the passage of their children into middle childhood. In Japanese numerology, odd numbers are considered to be lucky.

In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the fifteenth of what is now known as November was set as the date for this ceremony.

The samurai class also found the ritual beneficial for their children. Samurai children, according to the custom of the warrior class, had their heads shaven until they were three years old. Samurai boys were allowed to wear their first hakama (samurai formal wear) at age five. And samurai girls from age seven onwards were allowed to wear obi sashes around their kimono instead of simple cords.

By the Meiji period (1868-1912), the shichi-go-san tradition was firmly part of the annual traditional practices observed by all classes. By this time, the practice also included visiting a shrine to have the local deities keep the children free of bad spirits and to bless them with a long, healthy life.

Today, the tradition has changed little. Three-year-old girls and five-year-old boys often wear their first formal Japanese clothing, kimono for girls and hakama for boys, at a shichi-go-san ceremony. Three-year-old girls differ from the seven-year-olds in that they usually wear hifu padded vest over their kimono.

Chitoseame or “thousand year candy” is something that children also look forward to in November, as part of the shichi-go-san ritual. These long, thin candies, presented bags decorated with a crane and a turtle, symbols of longevity, are colored red and white (the colors of celebration in Japan). Eating the candy is said to ensure a child’s healthy growth and a long life.

The best shrines in Kyoto to see this beautiful and colorful ceremony are Heian Shrine, Shimogamo Shrine, and Kamigamo Shrine. Though the 15th is still considered the actual correct day of the event, modern times have resulted in both weekends before and after the 15th as being the most popular. This month, the 14th and 15th and the 21st and 22nd will be the best time to experience shichi-go-san and take some of the cutest and most memorable pictures you will ever see.

Text and image by Ian Ropke. Ian Ropke is the author of the Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto, and director of Your Japan Private Tours. You can read his previous articles for Deep Kyoto here.