As Japan opens its borders to independent tourism and abolishes its daily arrival cap, Jetsetter rounds up the best of Kyoto, with geisha spotting, temples, and wellness experiences all in the mix.

Wellness

A relatively recent opening – debuting last September – is Hilton’s LXR-branded Roku Kyoto (below), situated within the 28.6-acre Shozan Resort Kyoto, a luxury enclave that’s home to some of Kyoto’s most remarkable Japanese gardens, architecture, and tea houses. Surrounded by the Takagamine mountains, the spa features Kyoto’s only outdoor onsen thermal pool that draws natural hot spring water from the adjacent resort, while treatments include Shinso luxury facials, Ayurvedic treatments, and massages featuring an original blend of aromatherapy oils infused with the essence of Kitayama sugi, a Japanese cedar tree native to the northern Kyoto area.

Opened this June by the Banyan Tree Group, Dhawa Yura Kyoto is located beside the iconic Sanjo Ohashi, a bridge that was once the final destination of the Tokaido Road leading from the ancient city of Edo. Check into the 8lement Spa for Thai massages and body scrubs. There’s also a 24-hour fitness centre that’s open to hotel guests only.

Like the Roku, Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto features a thermal spring, while therapies include hot balancing treatments to boost circulation. The Toki Signature Journey features a body and facial treatment menu created with an acupuncturist based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. The hotel itself puts a contemporary twist on the Japanese tearoom, and the courtyard garden in the centre of the property is a great spot for tranquil self-reflection.

If you’re looking to push the boat out, check into The Spa at The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, which celebrates local traditions in its seven treatment rooms and one spa suite. Facilities include a steam room, pool and dry sauna, too. The signature Ryokucha Serenity Ritual makes use of antioxidant-rich green tea leaves from the local city of Uji for body, foot, and scalp massages. The Kyoto Bamboo Ritual, meanwhile, improves flexibility using heated bamboo stalks and warm oil.

Go Geisha

Most of Kyoto’s geisha population is concentrated in the Gokagai, five traditional hanamachi (“flower towns”) districts of Gion Higashi, Gion Kobu, Miyagawacho, Pontocho, and Kamishichiken. Come between 5:30 and 6pm, and you may catch a glimpse of them gracefully shuffling in their kimono and wooden geta sandals between appointments. When it comes to photography, be respectful and discreet — or simply admire from a distance — as you can be fined up to JP¥10,000 (approx. US$70) for taking unauthorised photos on private streets.

An alternative to geisha spotting is to catch them in action at Gion Corner inside the Yasaka Hall facility of traditional performing arts, where 50-minute performances include traditional dances, a tea ceremony, ikebana (the art of flower arrangement), and musical stylings with the koto, the national plucked zither instrument of Japan. Performances are held at 6 and 7pm every day.

Maikoya offers several geisha experiences, including a tea ceremony where guests don kimonos and learn how to make the perfect cup of matcha and while pairing them with wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets. You can also book private lunches and dinners with geisha shows; holding true to its name, most of the performers at Maikoya are maiko, or trainee geishas.

Deeper Japan offers a two-to-three-hour private dining experience featuring geisha, with lunch limited to 10 and dinner, 12 people. At lunch, you’ll play lively traditional games with a maiko, while dinner comprises a 10-course kaiseki experience with entertainment provided by a maiko, a geisha, and a jikata (a musically trained geisha) playing the shamisen, a three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument derived from the 16th century Chinese sanxian.

Temple Time

Zen Buddhist temple Kinkakuji, also known as “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion” because of its extravagant use of gold leaf, has experienced some adversity in its time, including a disturbed monk who burnt it down in 1950 due to his hatred of beauty. The 14th century building was reconstructed in 1955 loyal followers but with more splendour and gold than the 500-year-old original design.

If you are a fan of minimalism, then head to Ryoanji Temple, where one of Kyoto’s most celebrated rock gardens awaits. The large rock formations and smooth river rocks are considered one of the finest examples of karesansui, or “dry landscape”, a Zen Buddhist philosophy of gardening. The Ryoanji garden was carefully designed so that from any vantage point, at least one of its 15 rocks is always hidden from view. The temple also has a water garden, tea house, and tea garden.

Standing halfway up Mount Otowa, UNESCO World Heritage site Kiyomizudera founded by the Kita-Hosso sect of Buddhism, is renowned for its 13m high wooden platform off the main hall, which offers great views of the city outside. Inside, you’ll find the temple’s primary object of worship, a small statue of the 11-faced, thousand-armed Kanzeon Bosatsu also known as Kannon, Goddess of Mercy.

The Shingon Buddhist temple complex of Toji was built between 794-796 CE, and is home to a collection of gold and wooden statues, including the wooden statue of the Yakushi Nyorai Buddha at Kondo Hall. Other highlights include The Five-Storey Pagoda from the Edo period. Standing 180m high, it’s the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan.

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