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Is this the world’s most tranquil hotel? Inside the sumptuous Kyoto property built on an 800-year-old samurai’s garden that offers a window into a bygone era

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In the 12th century, a tranquil garden was built for a samurai in Kyoto, Japan’s ancient former capital.

Today, the same garden is home to Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, a sumptuous retreat that offers a window into a bygone era of Japan.

I check in for a stay a few weeks shy of the garden’s annual bloom of cherry blossoms and find glamorous travellers strolling where warriors likely once walked.

Japan lays claim to some of the world’s best gardens, but this oasis is of particular note in that it’s one of the few remaining from the end of the Heian Period, considered a golden age for arts and culture.

Archives suggest that the samurai for whom this Eden was created was Taira no Shigemori, the eldest son of the leader of the powerful Taira clan.

Ailbhe MacMahon checks into Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto. Its 800-year-old garden (above) was created for a samurai

Ailbhe MacMahon checks into Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto. Its 800-year-old garden (above) was created for a samurai

The entrance to the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto is shaded by a striking wooden canopy

The entrance to the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto is shaded by a striking wooden canopy 

Taira no Shigemori, the samurai for whom it is believed the garden was built

Taira no Shigemori, the samurai for whom it is believed the garden was built 

Ailbhe stayed in a Premier Room, above, with a stunning garden view

Ailbhe stayed in a Premier Room, above, with a stunning garden view 

The marble-clad bathroom in a Premier Room has a walk-in shower and deep bath

The marble-clad bathroom in a Premier Room has a walk-in shower and deep bath

A one-bedroom Hotel Residence - Garden View, which sleeps up to four guests

A one-bedroom Hotel Residence – Garden View, which sleeps up to four guests

His stately home on the land is long gone, but his garden – occupying prime real estate in the historic Higashiyama district – remains a thing of beauty thanks to careful preservation work by the luxury hotel chain.

A glass bridge arches over the garden’s ponds, its transparent floor showcasing the original stone bridge beneath. 

Archival sketches informed the restoration of the garden’s waterfall. A winding pathway leads to the ‘Jizo’ statue – believed to protect travellers – that’s been in situ for several hundred years.

Naturally, garden-facing rooms have proven highly popular since the hotel, with 123 rooms and suites, as well as 57 ‘residences’ for longer stays, opened in 2016.

Happily, my Premier Room overlooks the enchanting greenscape. Sliding ‘shoji’ panels divide the room, with hand-painted screens framing the bed and traditional yukata robes (a casual kimono) folded in the wardrobe.

The indoor, top, and outdoor dining area at the Emba Kyoto Chophouse, overlooking the lake

The indoor, top, and outdoor dining area at the Emba Kyoto Chophouse, overlooking the lake

The spacious high-ceilinged lobby with installations by Japanese artists

The spacious high-ceilinged lobby with installations by Japanese artists

In the subterranean spa and fitness area, there is a 65ft (20m) heated pool

In the subterranean spa and fitness area, there is a 65ft (20m) heated pool

The 'Ofuro' baths in the spa area are designed to provide total immersion for the bather

The ‘Ofuro’ baths in the spa area are designed to provide total immersion for the bather

It gives a snapshot of the hotel as a whole – a serene sanctuary sprinkled with artistic design details.

A bamboo-lined pathway leads to the entrance. The lobby is high-ceilinged and art-filled, with abstract paintings and installations by Japanese artists catching the eye.

A glass lift takes me down to the subterranean spa and fitness area, a hushed space spread over two storeys.

Here, the headline act is the pool – one of the biggest hotel pools in Kyoto at 65ft (20m) in length. Steaming whirlpools, ‘ofuro’ baths and saunas make for a standout supporting cast.

The cypress-wood teahouse overlooking the garden's tranquil pond

The cypress-wood teahouse overlooking the garden’s tranquil pond 

A performance by a maiko, an apprentice geisha, in the hotel lobby

A performance by a maiko, an apprentice geisha, in the hotel lobby

I unwind with one of the gym’s complimentary yoga classes before stepping out into the city, with many of Kyoto’s most-visited temples and shrines a short walk away. 

There’s even a high-profile neighbour right across the street – the Kyoto National Museum, one of Japan’s oldest museums.

The Gion entertainment district, where geisha perform, is nearby too, though you can experience their artistry without leaving the hotel grounds through bi-weekly performances by a ‘maiko’ apprentice geisha.  

I witness one at dusk, with quiet falling over the lobby as the young woman dances in harmony to a song about the changing seasons in Kyoto.

A creative touch is applied to the hotel’s culinary offering, too. Sliding into a booth at the Emba Kyoto Chophouse, I order a traditional Japanese set breakfast (JPY7,000/£37/$47 with buffet).

Afternoon tea is beautifully presented in Bento boxes in the Fuju lounge

Afternoon tea is beautifully presented in Bento boxes in the Fuju lounge

Inside the serene Fuju lounge, overlooking the gardens

Inside the serene Fuju lounge, overlooking the gardens

The teahouse at night

Seasonal cherry blossom viewed from the teahouse

The teahouse at night and the seasonal cherry blossom viewed from the teahouse

It arrives on a tray, with seasonal delicacies – such as shrimp wrapped in pickled radish and soy milk curd with a dollop of salmon roe laid out prettily beside miso soup and steamed rice.

It’s a decadent start to a day, but the most magical culinary experience of my stay has yet to come.

It is afternoon tea in the 800-year-old garden. 

Sitting by the pond is a cypress-wood teahouse, split into two parts; lounge ‘Fuju’ and a tea ceremony room where a small group can engage in time-honoured brewing rituals with a ‘Tea Master‘ (JPY20,000/£106/$135). 

The Japanese set breakfast served on tray that Ailbhe enjoys at the Emba Kyoto Chophouse

The Japanese set breakfast served on tray that Ailbhe enjoys at the Emba Kyoto Chophouse

The Lounge & Bar serves everything from coffee and cake to after-dinner drinks

The Lounge & Bar serves everything from coffee and cake to after-dinner drinks

I’m shown to a low table at Fuju and presented with a miso-butter sandwich and a zingy yuzu jelly, arranged chocolate-box-style with other gorgeous confections in lacquer boxes (JPY6,500/£34/$44).

While I eat, I admire the garden through wraparound windows. It’s common to catch sight of the turtles and the pair of herons – nicknamed Angela and Alex, I’m told – that call the ponds home. Koi carp dart around the water, with staff supplying dainty sachets of fish food to throw to them.

Despite its well-placed postcode, the hotel feels a million miles from the animated streets of the city, which attracts more than 70million visitors a year. 

If a visit to Kyoto is in your sights, come here to relax, revel in luxury and be transported back to a Japan lost to time.

TRAVEL FACTS 

Ailbhe MacMahon was hosted by Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto. Double rooms are priced from JPY208,725 (£1,104/$1,419). 

Visit www.fourseasons.com/kyoto.

PROS: This is an ideal retreat for those hoping to experience some of Kyoto’s history during their visit to the city, whilst also enjoying peace and quiet. The gardens are its crowning glory – they’re quiet and beautifully maintained, with afternoon tea at the waterside Fuju a highlight. The polished service and the spa and fitness facilities are also standouts.

CONS: Nothing, aside from the expense.

Rating out of five: *****

Want to arrive at the hotel in style? Then book a Blacklane chauffeur

Blacklane chauffeurs are extremely courteous, drive carefully and will transport you in a luxury car. The drivers, all trained at the Blacklane Chauffeur Academy, will always provide bottled water, Wi-Fi, and a multi-charger cable.

The ‘First Class’ service allows clients to travel in ‘true luxury’, with a fleet of vehicles including the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 or EVs such as the Mercedes-Benz EQS.

Chauffeurs will wait up to one hour to allow for delays, and clients can cancel their ride up to one hour before their booking time.

Visit www.blacklane.com/en.

OTHER PEACEFUL GARDENS TO VISIT IN KYOTO

The gardens of the Kodaiji Temple

These gardens feature ‘ponds skirted by maples and undercover walkways designed to evoke the curving of a dragon’s back’, the Japanese tourist board notes, along with a bamboo grove and ‘dry landscape gardens that symbolise the vastness of the ocean’. 

The garden of the Ginkakuji Temple

‘The sand garden of Ginkakuji is famous for its meticulously arranged sand sculpture, said to represent Mount Fuji,’ the tourist board says, adding that a trail behind the garden leads ‘up a hill to a great view of the temple and the surrounding city’. 

The garden of the Shugakuin Imperial Villa

The tourist board describes this as a ‘garden with a view’, noting that a tea pavilion on the villa grounds ‘offers grand views of the surrounding city and mountains’. 

The rock garden of the Ryoanji Temple

One of the world’s most famous rock gardens, this garden is said to have been ‘created at the end of Muromachi Period (around 1500AD), by a highly respected Zen monk, Tokuho Zenketsu’, the tourist board says. To enjoy the garden without any crowds, it recommends visiting first thing in the morning. 

Source: www.japan.travel/en.

 

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