Stewart K.
The little touches at Hotori made it feel like our own place in Kyoto. Yuri and her team left us tea to prepare in the evenings, along with personal notes and gifts after our days out. The pajamas were so comfortable that we even tracked down the shop address and took a taxi there. It was closed, so Yuri went herself the next day and got them for us. She and the staff also arranged massages, breakfast with a wonderful chef, meals with Chef Hiroshi Takami, and an origami class with Sayuri, who was fantastic. They kept checking in and helped with whatever we needed. The townhouse itself is thoughtfully put together, with several bedrooms, a quiet library nook, and plenty of places to unwind. There’s a huge bathtub that takes a while to fill, but it’s worth the wait, plus an open-air garden in the center with a tree reaching toward the second floor and the sky. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the indoor rain shower. We felt at home there, and leaving Yuri and Sayuri was genuinely hard. I still picture us waving goodbye from the cab while they waved back with both hands. Japan gave us so many memorable days, from the giant Buddha at Tōdai-ji Temple and the deer in Nara to Hakone’s onsens and open-air museum, and the four-story Fender super-store in Tokyo. But Kyoto was the standout, and Hotori became our home there. Kyoto feels like the Paris of Japan, and Hotori is part of what made the city so special to us. We’d recommend it without hesitation.
