CONNECT WITH US

OVERVIEW

A stunning mix of the traditional Japanese ryokan and the latest 21st-century architecture, Hoshinoya Kyoto Hotel is nestled on the steep banks of the Hozugawa River in Arashiyama. A serene riverside refuge accessible by boat, this is arguably Kyoto’s most interesting place to stay.

PRACTICAL INFO

Location

This hybrid ryokan-hotel, a series of low buildings inspired by traditional Japanese houses, clings to the banks above the Hozugawa River in the temple-rich Arashiyama district of northwest Kyoto, and is accessed by a lazy boat ride in a hinoki (Japanese cedar) vessel.

Accomodation

Its 25 elegant rooms are also redolent of cedar, with noTVs, but having heated wooden floors, hand-blocked wallpaper, shoji-inspired sliding glass doors and picture windows (all the better to lean out and watch the foxes, deer, and occasional monkey that prance through the forest), deep cedar soaking tubs, and lofty duvets that sigh when you flop down on them. From the iron lanterns that light the moss-traced stone walkways to the lashed bamboo fences, every detail has been well considered.

Services

The restaurant offers local kaiseki cuisine, in particular a set nine-course menu designed by head chef Ichiro Kubota, who once worked at Umu, in London's Mayfair. A zen garden terrace, just outside the suite, provides a setting for the hotel's breathing and stretching exercise sessions in the mornings. A water garden near the jetty is a peaceful spot for drinking tea, though the paths, between cherry and 200-year-old maple trees, are always quiet anyway. Hoshinoya's top-notch hospitality also extends to stellar concierge service, and they're happy to arrange a wide variety of Kyoto-area excursions as well as on site activities.