The Heian period court lady Sei Shōnagon wrote in her essay, “The Pillow Book” (ca. 11th century AD), that one of the most bustling things in the capital city was the Kiyomizu Temple during festivals. A thousand years later, it still remains one of the busiest places in Kyoto; it is clamorous not only on festive days, but every single day.
Yet according to the famous haiku poet Matsuo Bashō, the “clear waters” of Mt. Otowa where the Kiyomizu Temple resides soothes one’s heart, suggesting tranquility in the ever crowded place that seems so disconnected from relaxation. How did he possibly achieve his peace of mind? Unfortunately, it is a bit too late to ask him in person. But what you can still do is to take a vacation in the Kyoto Kiyomizu Villa.
Although it is located only four minutes away from the Kiyomizu Temple, you can enjoy a quiet atmosphere, just like a secret hideout.
Indulge in the fresh, grassy scent of the tatami mat: the ultimate aromatherapy.
Feel the seasons right in front of your eyes, in the comfort of a sunny bath.
Rest to your heart’s content in the spacious bedroom, warmly lit by natural light.
In this Villa, you can feel the greatest luxury of a traditional lifestyle and modern convenience. We warmly welcome you to spend a moment of peace amid the millennia of unending clamor, just like how Bashō the poet might have experienced it.
*THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU GION is best reserved from the official website, where the bookings are available at our cheapest prices! *Every night from 8-11pm, we are proudly hosting our guest-exclusive “Happy Hour” events at our lobby. As a guest, you can enjoy drinks such as wine, whisky and sake for FREE! We the staff hope that you will join us in friendly chats between travelers and guest from all around the world! (^^)
おはようございます。THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU 祇園 暑さにめっぽう弱い支配人の仲西です(;^ω^)
FIFAワールドカップが世界のお祭りなら、京都のお祭りはなんと言っても祇園祭！！
文月朔日より始まった祇園祭も本日が宵々々山！！これから17日の山鉾巡行まで、お祭りムード
がどんどん高まっていきますよ♪♪
THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU 祇園 でも、祇園祭弓矢町武具飾りをはじめ、橋弁慶山デザインの色紙や
粽など祇園祭にちなんだ品々が集まってきております（笑）
THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU 祇園 に来て頂くだけで少しでも京・祇園祭の雰囲気をお客様に
味わえて頂けたなら嬉しいものです★
実際に祇園祭のメインとなる四条通までも徒歩圏内という好立地ですので、
ぜひ、祇園祭鑑賞の際のお宿には当ホテルをお選びくださいませ！！
まだ、本日・明日・明後日と僅かながら空室がございますので、みなさまの直前のご予約を
どしどしお待ちしております (^o^)／
※THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU 祇園 では、公式ホームページからのご予約が最安値で一番お得です★
※毎夜20時～23時は、宿泊者限定のドリンク飲み放題イベント【ハッピーアワー】を開催中♪♪
ロビー団欒スペースにて、ワインやウィスキー・日本酒などをお召し上がり頂けますよ！！
外国人客とのふれあいやご宿泊者同士の交流、ホテルスタッフとの会話も楽しめます!(^^)!
*THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU GION is best reserved from the official website, where the bookings are available at our cheapest prices! *Every night from 8-11pm, we are proudly hosting our guest-exclusive “Happy Hour” events at our lobby. As a guest, you can enjoy drinks such as wine, whisky and sake for FREE! We the staff hope that you will join us in friendly chats between travelers and guest from all around the world! (^^)
When I arrived at work today, it was like, BAM!!!!! right next to the front desk! Totally with hand’s reach!! I can wear the helmet!!! And smell it!!!!!! (I will leave the actual smell to your imagination)
漆塗りの光沢が美しいです！！！ 面頬（顔を守り、敵を威圧する防具）もイケメンさんです！！！！
お髭もじょりじょりです！！！
The beautiful lacquer coating totally glows!!!
It even has a facial mask armor to protect the wearer’s face; so IKEMEN (handsome)!!!!!
The moustache is so fuzzy and bushy!!!!
なぜここにあるかとネタ晴らししますと、もうすぐ【祇園祭】だからです！
Why is it here? It’s because the “Gion Festival” is coming up!
The “Yumiya-machi” district, where our hotel is located, has been the home of armor-clad warriors that have joined the Gion festival’s annual parade since the olden days. However, during the Showa period (in the mid-1900s), the armors became worn down, and they were no longer actively worn but displayed instead.
This blog post features only the image of the armor above the shoulder (I-it’s not like I forgot to take a picture! Really!), so please come see the entire thing in Yumiya-machi! Let’s rave about it!! Come gather, armor enthusiasts!
※THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU 祇園 では、公式ホームページからのご予約が最安値で一番お得です★
※毎夜20時～23時は、宿泊者限定のドリンク飲み放題イベント【ハッピーアワー】を開催中♪♪
ロビー団欒スペースにて、ワインやウィスキー・日本酒などをお召し上がり頂けますよ！！
外国人客とのふれあいやご宿泊者同士の交流、ホテルスタッフとの会話も楽しめます!(^^)!
*THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU GION is best reserved from the official website, where the bookings are available at our cheapest prices! *Every night from 8-11pm, we are proudly hosting our guest-exclusive “Happy Hour” events at our lobby. As a guest, you can enjoy drinks such as wine, whisky and sake for FREE! We the staff hope that you will join us in friendly chats between travelers and guest from all around the world! (^^)
Good morning! (At least here in Kyoto.) This is Takigawa-san again. Today, I will be promoting a special merchandise that is available at our hotel, both for guests and those simply interested in this unique souvenir!
When you hear the word “Kyoto”, there’s a fairly good chance you imagined people walking around in: you guessed it— kimonos. That is exactly what we are offering at our hotel, but even better! How much better and why, you ask? Before I get down to that, let’s show you how it looks like at first.
Pretty, isn’t it? 🙂
But I can totally hear you say, “Ok. So it’s a kimono and that’s cool. But what’s so special about it? They sell the same stuff all over the place in Kyoto.” Mm hmm. That’s trueeeee.
What makes Kasane no iro so special is how super duper easy it is to wear it!
What you need to complete this outfit are just these 2 items: the Kasane no iro brand kimono (￥15,000+tax), and a specialized obi (￥5,000+tax), also designed by Kasane no iro.
This is how it goes:
Put on the kimono with the left side in front. Then, you pull and wrap the thin long belt attached to the kimono around your torso and tie it into a knot.
You hold the obi (the thick belt) in front of your belly. The obi has a slit on one end, so you pull the long end through the slit, to tighten it around your torso.
After that, you pass the long end from below and let it come out at the top. The hanging bit adds an elegant yet playful taste to your obi ‘knot’ 😉
Finally, you just move the knot to your back, and voilà! You’re all set!
(I wish my yukata, i.e. my summer kimono, was this easy to wear!)
While Kasane no iro’s biggest selling point is how easy it is to put on, my personal opinion of it is that how versatile and creative you could be with the kimono and obi.
The kimono comes with a long thin belt already attached to it, which allows you to fasten it comfortably around your torso; because of that, it also looks great worn as a looser dress when combined with a thinner belt of your own. The special slit obi can also be combined with any of your favourite kimono you found elsewhere, and it works great when you don’t have the time to create fancy knots but you still want the nice look!
Here’s a contemporary look that’s hard to get with other kimono’s! 😉
If you’re interested, you can also try it on at our hotel and even rent it out for only 2,000 yen! It’s totally up to you if you want to make it yours forever or make it a memorable part of your trip. 😉 I’d show it off to my friends and family if I were you!
That’s it for today, sayonara for now 😉
*THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU GION is best reserved from the official website, where the bookings are available at our cheapest prices! *Every night from 8-11pm, we are proudly hosting our guest-exclusive “Happy Hour” events at our lobby. As a guest, you can enjoy drinks such as wine, whisky and sake for FREE! We the staff hope that you will join us in friendly chats between travelers and guest from all around the world! (^^)
Hello there, and welcome to THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU GION’s first English blog post! My name is A. Takigawa, and I will be your English guide to our hotel, which is located in the heart of Kyoto. It would be our greatest pleasure if this blog would inspire you to visit us in the future! 🙂
（初めまして。新人スタッフの滝川と申します。本日のブログは英語でお届けします！）
Initially, my plan for this post was to introduce the traditional cultural features our Japanese-modern style hotel boasts… (Which I promise to deliver soon in the near future!) But then I got distracted. And let’s face it; who wouldn’t? The big event is here.
THE FIFA WORLD CUP.
The amazing event that heats up the entire world like a wildfire, hotter than the Kyoto heat in the summer. So just like the rest of the world, we the Gion branch staff got very excited…
And here is our result.
YES.
We must send our most sincere apologies to the interior designer who designed the lobby… But I think we really made good use of the space without killing the original ambiance. Our ceiling is now adorned with flags and a soccer ball to boot! And if you’re following the World Cup at all, you might notice that the flags are categorized by groups… 😉
Additionally, we are offering a limited time sale on alcoholic beverages at our lobby for the occasion. We are now selling Premium Malt’s beer for 300yen (including tax!!) instead of the usual 648yen and Kyoto Beer for 500yen (also including tax!!) instead of 810yen. (It’s a secret between just us and the guests that we are actually selling them for way cheaper than restaurants around our neighborhood!)
We’ve also changed our lobby’s background music to the upbeat World Cup team songs (“WE WILL ROCK YOU” is playing in the background for the umpteenth time as I write this!), so all we need now is YOU, dear guests! Which team are you rooting for? Who is your favourite player? How is your country’s team doing? We want to hear directly from you! Whether you’re a soccer/football fan or not, you will surely enjoy the lively atmosphere! 🙂
That’s all for today; I hope to see you soon at our hotel, or again in this blog! 🙂
*THE HOTEL KIYOMIZU GION is best reserved from the official website, where the bookings are available at our cheapest prices! *Every night from 8-11pm, we are proudly hosting our guest-exclusive “Happy Hour” events at our lobby. As a guest, you can enjoy drinks such as wine, whisky and sake for FREE! We the staff hope that you will join us in friendly chats between travelers and guest from all around the world! (^^)
