New owner for long-abandoned temple in Kyoto
On December 7, 2018, the Shinshu Otani-ha Buddhist movement announced that they were acquiring the former Ryotoku-ji temple in Kyoto City free of charge, and looking to find a new use for the property with the cooperation of Kyoto Prefecture.
Mitsui to open luxury hotel in front of Nijo Castle
On February 7, Mitsui Fudosan released details on a luxury hotel planned for the eastern side of Nijo Castle in Kyoto.
Imperial Hotel sets its sights on Kyoto
On November 28 it was reported that Imperial Hotel, Ltd. is looking to open an Imperial Hotel in Kyoto City. A major contender for the new hotel is the historic 82-year old Yasaka Kaikan building in the Gion district.
15th century home in Kyoto demolished
A traditional townhouse dating back to the 1400s in Kyoto was demolished at the end of August. The Kawai Residence, located alongside the Tenjin River in Nakagyo Ward, was the oldest surviving townhouse in the city.
FrancFranc to open store in historic townhouse in Gion, Kyoto
Home goods store FrancFranc will open their Masterrecipe branded flagship store in a traditional townhouse in Kyoto’s Gion district today.
New minpaku laws decidedly unpopular in Kyoto City
As at the end of August 2018, Kyoto City had only received 129 applications for short-term letting under the new minpaku laws that were introduced in June. Of those, 33 are located in exclusive residential zones where properties can only be rented out to guests for a maximum of 60 nights between January 15 and March 15, with some exceptions allowed for traditional machiya townhouses and homes where the host also lives on the premises. This pales in comparison to the total number of 7,028 applications made nationwide. In Kyoto Prefecture, excluding Kyoto City, only 18 applications have been received as at September 14.
Kyoto Nijo Castle Machiya Project
Follow our journey below as we renovate a traditional machiya townhouse in Kyoto. The renovated machiya has since sold. Read more