SPACE
EXTERIOR
Out of respect for the history of Muromachi-dori, Hiramatsu asked renowned Kyoto architects Nakamura Sotoji Komuten to supervise the transformation of the former machiya. The house was once a drapers’ premises, and the façade preserves and restores the appearance of the omoteya, the shop part of the building, with window lattices in the traditional itoya-goshi (draper’s lattices) style of the Edo period. Now reborn as a hotel, the house blends in perfectly with the townscape of Muromachi-dori.
ENTRANCE
Through the entrance is the omoteya, which looks onto the Pine Tree Garden. This was where the drapers used to conduct their business. The ridge beam of the ceiling is inscribed “Meiji Year 32” – the date the house was built. Beyond the omoteya is the hashiriniwa, a passageway characteristic of machiya architecture, leading all the way to the back garden. It was once used as a kitchen, but is now the way to the elevator to the guest rooms and the kura storehouse.
DINING
To express the hannari (refined, superior, elegant) ambiance of Kyoto, every detail of the restaurant’s design has been carefully thought out, from the simple yet refined wood, clay and paper used in the décor to the single plank of zelkova wood used to make the counter. Contemporary design touches, such as the chairs by Danish designer Kaare Klint at the counter and artworks by Shiro Tsujimura, blend perfectly into this comfortable Japanese space. The restaurant will accommodate 12 diners, eight at the counter and four at the table.
GARDEN
The counter offers a view of the Pine Tree Garden, based on the theme of “Wind”, which represents a magnificent landscape in miniature and features five-needle Miyajima pine trees and a keiseki landscape stone of Kishu Aoishi stone, and a moss-covered tsukiyama or artificial hill. Like the Bamboo Garden, which is the first garden guests see on entering the omoteya, the Pine Tree Garden is a typical example of Kyoto garden design, with different characters when viewed from two different angles.
- TOKYO
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