WHERE TO STAY

INSIDER REPORTS ON THE BEST PLACES TO BED DOWN. EDITED BY ISSY VON SIMSONTHE
ROUND-UP:JAPANSMART SAMURAI MANSIONS ANDZEN TEAHOUSES RECONFIGURE THE
CLASSIC RYOKAN EXPERIENCE

HOTEL LOG IN ONOMICHI
December 2020 Condé Nast Traveller 43

HOTEL LOG, ONOMICHIThe outside of this place, whose name is an acronym for LanternOnomichi Garden, may not grab anyone’s attention. Set in theShinmichi complex, built in 1963 on the slopes of Mount Senkoji
overlooking the Seto Sea, the white-and-peach apartment building
looks unremarkable. But inside it has been transformed into anarty six-room hotel via the wild but disciplined design of architect
Bijoy Jain from Studio Mumbai. For his first project outside India,
Jain covered every inch of the bedroom walls, floors and ceilings
with gleaming-white washi paper; the cocoon effect is deepened
by a scarcity of furnishings. Staying in one of these large spartan
spaces is rather like sleeping in an art installation. But comfort is
key: futons are incredibly soft, and bath tubs can be found in thelarger rooms. There is a feeling of being gently swaddled in a delicate
paper lantern, but open a window and golden light pours in: thestructure is high up, overlooking the pines, palms and roofs of thisfree-spirited temple town often called Japan’s Portland. Head tothe lacquered bar for a glass of local Chardonnay or a cocktail while
Eighties pop plays on the turntable. The restaurant is heavy on
vegetables, so menus tilt towards salads with greens and microherbs, and ceramic bowls are filled with mikan and hassaku citrus
fruits that are anything but ordinary. Staying in a ryokan often
means accepting tatemae – a structured, sometimes rigid way ofthinking. But this contemporary interpretation has resulted in alaidback hangout where social barriers can be broken down andeven Japanese guests can bend the rules. ADAM H GRAHAMBOOK IT Doubles from about £320. l-og.jp

WHERE TO STAYHOTEL CULTIA DAZAIFU, FUKUOKAThe Tenmangū shrine on Kyushu island may be a destination for
Shinto pilgrims, but it is often overlooked by travellers. More’s the pity– here’s a spot that allows visitors to connect with nature and deepen
their understanding of Buddhism in ways that temple-hopping on thebeaten paths never could. A 30-minute train ride from Fukuoka,
the 3,000-acre complex of 10th- and 16th-century shrines, ponds
and cedar forests peppered with 6,000 plum trees is said to house
Tenjin, the patron deity of learning, and it is a place of regularexhibitions, meditation classes and architecture tours. At the end oflast year, this four-room hotel opened directly across the street. The
tile-roofed structure falls somewhere between a ryokan and a shukubo
lodge: a modern sanctuary with traditional touches and guided
morning worship. It’s the former residence of the Yoshitsugu family,
whose paintings and scrolls still decorate doors and walls. Rooms areconnected by outdoor stone paths screened off by sheer linen noren,some with private gardens of moss, stone lanterns and seasonal flowers
such as fringed lilies. Vaulted ceilings, meticulously sanded floors
and undecorated wood-panelling create a cabin-like quality. The lackof visual distraction is soothing, although there are distinct notes ofmodernity in Danish chairs and plenty of charging points. But timemoves slowly here. Slide apart the fusuma windows to listen to thepeals of the Bonsho bell, the oldest in the country. Then book a table atthe French-fusion restaurant to settle in with plates of sautéed red
gurnard or salted Itoshima pork. It’s a decadent alternative stay and areminder that enlightenment isn’t always about going without. AHG
BOOK IT Doubles from about £295. cultia-dazaifu.com

KISHI-KE, KAMAKURA
Anyone who says that Japan is uptight probably hasn’t been tothis sunny corner less than an hour from Tokyo. Kamakura, withits 65 Buddhist and 19 Shinto shrines, was the capital from 1185 to1333. Today it’s a breezy surf town with taco stands, smoothie
shacks and cosy izakaya full of wet-suited beach-goers. In July
2019, it saw the opening of its first modern, and arguably the world’ssmallest, ryokan – the one-room Kishi-ke, a minimalist inn thatcan be booked for up to four people, run by spritely young local
Nobuyuki Kishi and his product-designer wife Hitomi. The former
samurai house was reconstructed by architect Ryohei Tanaka, whoworked under Kengo Kuma, and collaborated with landscape architect
Akihiko Ono – the pruned pines and citrus trees give the courtyarda painting-like quality. The hotel literature poses the question,‘Are you satisfied with your life?’ It’s something to mull over whilegazing across the road at Sagami Bay, its waters warmed by theKuroshio current, and Yuigahama Beach, one of many sandy stretcheson this part of the coast. The couple apply the principles of chisoku tothe way they run the house – emphasising fulfilled living in themoment, a practice taught in the Rinzai sect of Japanese Buddhism
that includes zazen meditation, vegan food and tea ceremonies,
all of which are on offer. But what really makes it special is Kishi-ke’sconnection to the sea: nibble on shirasu (white-bait) sashimi, while
listening to jazz from the main room’s five-seat counter, eyes drawn tothe surfers catching the last glinting copper waves of the day. AHG
BOOK IT From about £1,220 for two. kishi-ke.co.jp

December 2020 Condé Nast Traveller 45

WHERE TO STAYNIPPONIA MINO, GIFU

PHOTOGRAPHS: HOLLY FARRIER

It’s likely nobody except washi-paper pilgrims will have heard ofMino. And it might have become abandoned like many small towns,
but this untrammelled merchants’ settlement less than a four-hour
Shinkansen ride from Tokyo has managed to assert itself as a curious
spot worthy of a detour. A wave of architects came to admire thenrestore the Edo-era wooden row houses, which today are filledwith cafés and ceramic shops for those in search of a modern take on
authentic Japan. The elegant Nipponia Mino, a Twenties Arts-andCrafts-style estate converted into a hotel last year, strikes a similarnote. All the usual classic touches are here in screened tea rooms,
private moon-viewing gardens and tatami mats. But as the former
atelier of prominent papermaker Matsuhisa Seijiro, the property is also
a showcase for traditional design. Interiors are lined with woventhatch wainscoting and mushiko-mado latticed windows; a split-level
warehouse has an outdoor clay bath while the maisonette is swathedin wallpaper with whimsical waterfall motifs, calligraphy andwashi inlaid with fragrant cedarwood chips, said to aid sleep. The lobby
doubles as a paper shop where visitors can buy various products andbooks or sign up for courses. The Nipponia group is making tracks bytransforming historic buildings in lesser-known areas and championing
sustainable renovation techniques. This project demonstrates thatharnessing the past is the smartest way of looking to the future. AHG
BOOK IT Doubles from about £290. stay.nipponia.or.jp

MAANA KAMO, KYOTO
When childhood friends Hana Tsukamoto and Irene Chang scribbled
their business plan on a restaurant napkin in Spain, they probably
couldn’t have dreamed that three years later they would have made it
happen. The thirtysomething designers launched Maana Homes lastyear, a collection of machiya townhouses – two already up and runningand four more in the pipeline – that fuse a contemporary look andnew-generation craftsmanship with a dose of homeliness. ‘We wanted
to create something that bridges the gap between Airbnb and luxury
hotels,’ explains Japan-born Tsukamoto, who studied in the USA andmoved back from New York last year. At riverside Maana Kamo, the100-year-old house has been renovated by architect Shigenori Uoya –he also transformed Sowaka (see page 49) – removing vinyl coverings
and tiled ceilings to expose clay walls and beams. In the sleek kitchen,with its wood counter and Jasper Morrison Maruni stools, hip caterers
Ototo Jet can provide a stylish temari sushi feast. A minimalist living
space opens up to reveal the scene-stealer: a large stone bath beneatha moon-like paper lantern. ‘It’s not an obvious place to put the bath,’says Tsukamoto. ‘But I had a very clear vision of this beautiful viewstraight through the house.’ There’s a similarly smooth mesh of heritageand modern elements in their first property, Maana Kyoto, in the quiet
Tambaguchi neighbourhood, from curved low rattan chairs to boldtextile art. Next up is Maana Kiyomizu in 2021 near Kiyomizudera
Temple. ‘The concept of these homes is to find stillness and silence
within,’ says Tsukamoto. ‘But it’s also important to make sure guests arecomfortable. It’s about finding a balance.’ DANIELLE DEMETRIOUBOOK IT Doubles from about £290. maanahomes.com

December 2020 Condé Nast Traveller 47

In 2010, Japan-based food critic Robbie Swinnerton coined thephrase ‘punk kaiseki’ in a review of restaurant GiroGiro after its
renegade chef broke all the rules of the ceremonial dinner. If GiroGiro
is punk kaiseki, then Trunk is punk omotenashi (hospitality). Not since
the Park Hyatt Tokyo appeared in 1994 has the capital seen sucha game-changer. Entrepreneur Yoshitaka Nojiri, who also foundedShibuya’s Trunk Hotel in 2017, opened this art-filled property ina cobblestoned back alley of the under-the-radar Kagurazaka
neighbourhood.The two-storey, one-bedroom property was once ageisha-training house; now a pair of decorative albino tanuki raccoons
guard the stone entry (a whimsical piece called Karma Camellia by art
collective GELCHOP) before you are plunged down the Trunk rabbit
hole. Once inside, standout works challenge preconceived ideas about
Japan – a stained-glass window depicts a frog smoking a joint and ashunga (graphic erotic art) hangs above the three-person hinoki
soaking tub. The furniture, lamps and beds are museum-quality fromTom Sachs, Herman Miller and Jean Prouvé, adding hits of grown-up
elegance. The house is taken for exclusive use only, so there’s nojostling around the fire-pit; there’s a butler and a chef who prepares
wagashi – ornate snacks such as oysters on the half-shell drenched in
yuzu cream – at any time. And don’t miss the secret micro-disco
tucked under the stairs, with a bar full of whisky bottles. Beyond thepadded door, blinking lights pour from a rainbow-lit glass dancefloor
and bounce off a glitter ball. It’s even possible to karaoke to a Sex
Pistols song to round out the stay. Anarchy, the Japanese way. AHG
BOOK IT From about £4,580 per night. trunk-house.com
48 Condé Nast Traveller December 2020

PHOTOGRAPHS: TOMOOKI KENGAKU; CHRIS SCHALKXTRUNK HOUSE, TOKYOWHERE TO STAYSOWAKA, KYOTO
For 100 years, this was a high-end tea house – a poetic maze ofwooden corridors, sliding screens and haiku-inspiring gardens, filledwith dancing geishas. Now it has been reimagined as a ryokan which,like many things in the ancient capital, treads an expertly fine line
between old and new. The hotel – whose Sanskrit name means‘happiness’ – is a clever combination of Sukiya-zukuri architecture andcontemporary design in the temple-packed Gion district. Unusually, itoffers the hushed reverence of an inn but without the rules: instead ofstrict in-room mealtimes and futons unrolled nightly, there’s a sleek
black-on-black restaurant and cashmere mattresses. It’s easy to miss thelow-key entrance: a split curtain reveals a lantern-lit pathway thatmeanders to a genkan stone threshold. Inside a peaceful tableau with a
21st-century edge comes into focus: creaking corridors, circular paper
windows and plaster walls alongside Nordic-inspired furniture. Eachroom is different: one has sliding screens with conch-shaped handles
leading to partitioned areas, another includes its own tea-ceremony
space. Among the decorative woodwork are more current nods –modernist chairs, cedarwood Bluetooth speakers, a graffiti-like scroll.
The main building was renovated by architect Shigenori Uoya, together
with 100 artisans. He also added a 12-room annex, where the moodis minimal with textile art and angular windows with rooftop views.
Food is taken very seriously here. Against a backdrop of dramatic
lacquerware panels, La Bombance, an outpost of the Michelin-starred
Tokyo original, serves up a delicate interpretation of local cooking
from wagyu beef to ginger hotpot. As in all the very best ryokans – oldschool or new-wave – an intuitive convivial spirit lives on. DD
BOOK IT Doubles from about £335. sowaka.com

EXCLUSIVE
FIRST REVIEW

THE MITSUI, KYOTO

For more than two centuries, the gate here – with its curved kawara
tiles and solid wood frame – marked the entrance of the Kyoto baseof the Mitsui family, the powerful clan behind a vast network ofcorporations. The residence opposite Nijo Castle fell out of their hands
in 1945 – but, in a fateful twist, their real-estate company snapped up theland five years ago. Today, the gate once again leads to a Mitsui-owned
property. The hotel is keen to make its mark as Japanese-owned, but it
was Hong Kong designer André Fu who masterminded the 161 muted
bedrooms in shades of light green and pale birch, and created thedramatic lobby with its red-clay sculpture by Yukiya Izumita. The building
wraps around a reinterpretation of the family’s original ‘stroll garden’, withflowing water and a sakura cherry tree (straw-wrapped for winter). There’s
an Italian restaurant but Toki is the highlight – at its teppan counter chef
Tetsuya Asano rustles up French fine dining with a dash of Japan indishes such as sweet potato en croûte and smoked salmon marinated inwhite miso. Out in the grounds, a room recreates part of the original
house with woodwork, aromatic tatami and painted panels, while down inthe softly lit basement, the spa has expansive hot-spring baths. Thereare countless signs of Kyoto-style attention to detail, from parking
cones encased in bamboo to insider experiences including afternoon tea
at Shimogamo Villa, another Mitsui family jewel. Not to forget thatgate – immaculately restored by artisans, and impossible to miss. DDBOOK IT Doubles from about £700. hotelthemitsui.com
InsideJapan offers a tailor-made nine-night trip, including stays in Tokyoand Kyoto, from £2,020 per person, excluding flights. insidejapantours.com