In Kyoto, Japan’s living history breathes through cobblestone alleys and temple gardens. The photos you’ve seen are accurate: Imagine morning mist over bamboo groves and geisha shuffling through the alleys of Gion. While an actual street-view itinerary of Kyoto can be accomplished in a few days, I think it merits the longest stay of this trip because its hotels are an attraction of their own, and deserve the same dedicated time.
Soak Your Strains Away: Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto
Miyuki Kaneko/Nacasa & Partners
About the Hotel: Built on a centuries-old aristocratic estate, Hotel The Mitsui embodies Kyoto’s cultural duality of tradition and luxury. You would pass by it unbeknownst, if not for the 300-year-old, perfectly restored Kajiimiya Gate that greets visitors. This contrast of being tucked away while also showcasing such stately detail is what makes Hotel The Mitsui such a draw.
About the Spa and Wellness Program: I could talk solely about Hotel The Mitsui’s sprawling thermal spring basement, a massive onsen whose source is 3,200 feet beneath the property. (My partner and I routinely talk about it—that facility is awesome.) It’s a public space that is still easy to experience in solitude, though you can also book a 1,000-sq-ft. private onsen room with Japanese garden views if you want total reprieve. As for their spa menu, HTM’s treatments include ancient Japanese Anma massage techniques and innovative facials, all centered around achieving balance through the Five Elements philosophy (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth). Or, in simple terms: I had one of the best scrub-massages of my life here.
Luxury, Refined and Redefined: Park Hyatt Kyoto
Park Hyatt Kyoto
About the Hotel: First things first: I’m willing to say that this hotel stay ranks in the top 3 all time for me. Perched in a corner of the historic Higashiyama neighborhood, the 70-key Park Hyatt Kyoto functions as a sanctuary from the crowds. The hillside retreat feels like a luxury guesthouse, its sophisticated and sprawling design is a case study in curating calm (never mind that it will take you 4-5 minutes to get from room to lounge because of the sprawl—you earn that remoteness in touristic Kyoto). Don’t pass the chance to stroll through the property’s jaw-dropping gardens, either; their designer also did the renowned Kodai-ji and Kennin-ji temple gardens.
About the Spa and Wellness Program: If I could crown any Japanese property with the best wellness experience menu, it would be Park Hyatt Kyoto. Its spa is humble in scope, especially considering the hotel’s sprawl, but the level of snore-inducing slumber I got from an A+ massage left a lasting impression. Still, I need to cite its bigger picture program: The guest services team curates bespoke experiences, with high-level access that you couldn’t otherwise dream up. For example, a tour of the private Sennyu-ji Temple, led by a Shingon monk, who also leads an Ajikan meditation session inside the temple. Guests also have the exclusive chance to partake in a private tea ceremony at the adjacent Michelin-starred Kyoyamato restaurant, a ritual so centering that the only appropriate followup is a zenful soak in the spa’s bathhouse.
An Urban Wellness Retreat: Six Senses Kyoto
Six Senses Kyoto
About the Hotel: Here is Six Senses second urban retreat, following its property in Rome. Six Senses Kyoto offers the brand’s signature expansive wellness menu, modified to Kyoto’s tranquil nature. From meditative traditions, to deep connections with nature, to folklore design detail, Six Senses serves both serenity and levity to its guests.
About the Spa and Wellness Program: Start your program with a full-body wellness and bio-indicator exam; they’ll tally any of your ailments to arrive at a prescriptive treatment plan. I learned about my proneness to dehydration based on various factors, and we established ways that I can incorporate better circulation and balance into my daily regimen. You can opt for private water therapies, step into their gendered wet areas—but please, from their dozens-of-options menu, order the Omakase, which has them customize a massage program that suits your needs or preferences. Mine goes down as the most sustained stay of calm I’ve ever felt, and a level of full-body circulation comparable to a cold plunge. That all says nothing of Six Senses’s integration across their guest experience at every property, with centering and sensory services spanning these six staples: sleep, eat, spa, move, mindfulness, and grow. (That last one is for their menu of stimulating activities for the kids.)
AloJapan.com