Kyoto’s Gion neighbourhood has long drawn locals and culture-vultures alike for its storied collection of period architecture, teahouses and bijoux shrines, but the 23-bedroom Sowaka is – once you step through its inconspicuous façade and into the stone threshold – a certified head-turner.
Named for the Sanskrit blessing at the end of Buddhist sutras, the ryokan-style hotel has, thanks to the careful ministrations of local architect Shigenori Uoya, retained the footprint and bones of the original teahouse that stood on the site.
The patina of a ryokan – tatami mats and sliding paper doors, and kimono’d staff gently swishing through the mood-lit corridors – is layered over original oval windows that frame tranquil tableaus of rock gardens and moss-covered trees.
Modernity gently intrudes by way of low-slung chairs, cashmere and camel hair mattresses, and in-house restaurant La Bombance, an outpost of the Tokyo original where head chef Tadahiko Urimori parlays seasonal produce into luscious edible works of art.§
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
480 Kiyoi-cho
Yasaka Toriimae-sagaru
Shimogawara
Higashiyama
Kyoto
-
Rivian hits Miami Art Week to release R1S Quad Miami Edition, a new colour and a scentVivid sights and evocative smells are part of Rivian’s quest to humanise its all-electric SUVs
-
Katie Stout installs a stone menagerie across Miami's Design DistrictHorses, frogs and even a mermaid have taken over the avenues of Miami Design District. Discover ‘Gargantua’s Thumb’, a collection of stone seating by designer Katie Stout
-
An analogue room planner kit makes designing your dream home a doddlePlanora, a new room planner option conceived by a team of three Swedish architects, is a beautifully produced, analogue tool to help conceptualise your new space
-
Free flights across Japan? ANA just made it happenA new All Nippon Airways scheme in collaboration with the Japan National Tourism Organization aims to ease overtourism in major hubs by boosting regional travel
-
Is this Tokyo’s most alluring new hotel?In the world’s busiest capital, a new benchmark for serenity emerges 35 floors above ground. We checked into the Fairmont Tokyo
-
A cinematic members’ club rises in Japan’s forested hillsJoyce Wang Studio unveils The Magarigawa Club Clubhouse in Chiba
-
How Ichio Matsuzawa designed the almost-invisible bar defining Art Week Tokyo 2025During the 2025 edition of AWT, Wallpaper* met the Japanese architect to explore architecture as sensation, not structure
-
In Sou Fujimoto’s far-flung Not A Hotel villa, solitude feels almost planetaryAn underwater sauna, an infinity pool and a circular courtyard garden are just a few of the highlights at Not A Hotel’s latest outpost, on Japan’s Ishigaki Island
-
Check into a new pocket-sized Tokyo hotelSoil Nihonbashi Hotel brings greenery, warmth and a neighbourhood spirit to a quiet corner near Tokyo Central Station
-
Explore Hiroshima through the eyes of those who rebuilt itJapan’s architectural phoenix continues to rise. ‘The Hiroshima Architecture Exhibition 2025’ explores a legacy of memory and modernism across 23 architects and artist groups
-
Will the revamped Park Hyatt Tokyo keep its cinematic soul?As Park Hyatt Tokyo prepares to reopen after an extensive transformation, film fans wonder: will it still evoke Sofia Coppola’s dreamscape?
