Imperial Hotel Kyoto: The Decision to 'Not Change'

TRAVEL | Imperial Hotel Kyoto

Cities gradually lose their individuality with each renewal. It is no longer unusual to encounter similar landscapes wherever you go. While accepting these changes, a sense of dissonance remains. It was an event that evoked such feelings that occurred in Gion in March 2026: the opening of the Imperial Hotel Kyoto. This project, a major milestone in the hotel scene this year, is based on preserving the vestiges of the historic Yasa-Kaikan building and not altering the townscape. The approach chosen was different from demolition and new construction. It was a decision to identify what should be preserved, reconfigure it, and pass it on. This is neither preserving the past as it is, nor making everything new. It suggests what luxury signifies today.

Text by MIO AMARI

Design Inheriting Gion's Landscape and Memory

Walking through the streets of Gion, you might not immediately realize there is a new hotel. The building, standing on Hanamikoji Street, blends into the townscape by inheriting the exterior of the Yasa-Kaikan, a nationally registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The Imperial Hotel Kyoto, which opened in March 2026, was born from the inheritance of this historic building. Yet, stepping inside, the impression changes. The interior reveals a depth unimaginable from the exterior, with all 55 guest rooms measuring over 50 square meters. Beyond the windows, the Gion cityscape unfolds with its continuous tiled roofs. Beyond that, the ridges of Higashiyama mountains overlap. While retaining the atmosphere of the town, there is a stillness as if the air itself has become clearer.

Photo by GO TANABE
Guest rooms overlook Higashiyama beyond the tiled roofs, drawing the essence of Gion into the interior.

The first thing you notice within the hotel is the density of materials. The entrance features Oya-ishi stone, used by Frank Lloyd Wright in the second Imperial Hotel's main building. As you proceed, Italian red marble, Tandai-ishi, and Kitaki-ishi stones are complemented by exquisite woods such as zelkova, cedar, Tochigi, chestnut, and Japanese cherry, incorporated into walls, fixtures, and furniture throughout. The coexistence of materials from different times and places alters their feel and how light interacts with them, imbuing the space with character.

Photo by GO TANABE
The guest lounge facing a tsubo-niwa (small Japanese garden). Behind the concierge desk in the background is a sliding screen depicting pine and bamboo, designed by artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.

The interior design was handled by New Material Research Laboratory, led by contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto and architect Tomoyoshi Sakakida (※※). Guided by the philosophy that 'the old is new,' the laboratory has inherited Japanese materials and techniques into the modern era. At the Imperial Hotel Kyoto, they have shaped the space not through ornamentation, but through sensory experiences of light, shadow, and touch.

※Kanji for 'Kami' with 'Kihen'

Photo by GO TANABE
The first tatami-matted guest rooms in the Imperial Hotel's history, located in the North Wing.

The Yasa-Kaikan was designed by Tokuzaburo Kimura (Obayashi Corporation), a master of theater architecture, and was once a vibrant venue for performances. It was built with the backing of the Gion Kobu geiko and maiko districts, who pooled their earnings to fund it. The proprietress of the Gion teahouse 'Kyoya' states, 'The Yasa-Kaikan, born from the value of the refined hospitality provided by maiko and geiko, is in a sense their alter ego.'

Provided by Yasaka Onna Kōba Gakuen
The Yasa-Kaikan, completed in 1936. Its distinctive features include a tiered facade with Japanese design elements and a layered roof.

However, this building, also designated a nationally registered Tangible Cultural Property, had seismic resistance issues. Preservation or reconstruction? While various options were considered, the Imperial Hotel chose a method of 'preservation through demolition.' Obayashi Corporation, responsible for design and construction, adopted an unprecedented approach: dismantling the interior while retaining the exterior walls facing Hanamikoji's south and west sides, along with the building's framework, and then adding new spaces. This was the chosen method to maintain the original height of 31.5 meters. If the site were cleared, Kyoto City regulations would limit building height to 12 meters, fundamentally changing the Gion landscape.

Not altering the Gion landscape is not merely an issue of scenery. It is also a gesture of respect for the time and human activities that have accumulated in this place. The Imperial Hotel Kyoto made the decision not to preserve the building itself, but to inherit the meaning it embodies. This decision reaffirms the Imperial Hotel's stance, guided by the philosophy that 'tradition is always accompanied by innovation.'

Photo by GO TANABE
Terracotta (pictured) and tiles from the time of completion were carefully removed, and those in good condition have been utilized.

This philosophy permeates the in-house experience. The French restaurant, the first counter-style in the Imperial Hotel's history, allows guests to closely observe the chefs' movements, transforming dining from something 'served' to something 'savored on the spot.' This experience subtly echoes how the Yasa-Kaikan once welcomed people as a theater.

Photo by GO TANABE
The French restaurant 'Ren,' where traditional plastering techniques breathe life into the interior. In addition to counter seating, there are private rooms.

At the rooftop bar, one can gaze upon the Gion cityscape and the distant ridges of Higashiyama. By being in this place, where aristocrats once admired the moon, one's perception of the scenery subtly shifts.

Provided by Imperial Hotel Kyoto
The exclusive rooftop bar for guests.

In the underground pool, a space adorned with massive Kitaki-ishi stones gently distorts the sense of time, allowing one's own senses to come to the fore in the profound quietude, detached from the outside world. In the tatami-matted rooms in the North Wing, spending time at a lower vantage point creates a feeling akin to living in the Gion neighborhood.

Photo by GO TANABE
The pool, filled with a serene atmosphere that makes you forget you are underground in Gion.

What is experienced here is not novelty itself. Rather, it is a time to turn one's attention to what already exists and to re-appreciate its value. The decision not to change is not about remaining in the past. It is about discerning what to preserve and what to renew. It is in the accumulation of these choices that luxury befitting the present era can be found.