Aman Kyoto
Newly opened Aman Kyoto is located in a secret garden that floods the senses and the spirit with nat]re’s goodness GRACE MA checks in for a refreshing retreat
Manabu Horiguchi has lived in Kyoto’s Gentaku neighbourhood all his life. Yet it was only when the 31-year-old was hired as chef de partie at Aman Kyoto that he realised a secret garden had existed all this while, just 10 minutes from his doorstep. Such is the magic surrounding luxury resort chain Aman’s third resort in Japan that even for the locals it’s a mystery waiting to be unravelled.
The resort is only a 30-minute drive from Kyoto station, but as you near the 32-hectare site to the north of the city, the urban landscape fades into a glade of maple and Japanese cedar trees. Granted, it was hard to visualise that beauty in an 8pm arrival, but Aman’s magical hospitality was still felt right away as a team of six welcomed me the moment my car pulled into the driveway.
Dinner had been arranged at the Japanese restaurant
Taka-An, but head chef Koji Mita saw my tired face and suggested a simple but comforting bowl of nyumen and conger eel in kombu and bonito AEake dashi instead, telling me to take the nine-course kaiseki menu another day.
The next morning, the mechanised blinds of my suite rolled up to reveal a serene, sun-dappled garden. It felt surreal, especially in the wake of Typhoon Hagibis, which had hit Japan only four days earlier. My minimalist room resembled an art gallery: an ikebana in a tall earthen vessel and a hanging scroll with the printed image of a fog rising from Kyoto’s Takagamine Mountain occupy a tokonoma – an alcove for the display of artistic pieces.
I spent my free time sitting on the tatami AEoor gazing outside, never once feeling the urge to switch on the TV, which was cleverly hidden – as were other amenities, such as the wardrobe and minibar – behind wooden panels. Add a bath steaming with the scent of herbs and yuzu in a hinoki ofuro tub factor 30 minutes for the tub to fill up, yes, it’s that big – long enough to fit my entire 1.65-metre frame, and there was a real temptation never to leave the room.
But with nature beckoning in the form of gardens, ancient mossy boulders and stone-cut pathways, it’s hard to remain indoors for long. Treatments at the Aman Spa range from Japanese Gold Leaf facials to grounding massages and scrubs, and include dips in the indoor and outdoor onsens (the latter especially bracing in the chilly autumn air).
I had the autumnal version of the Aman Kyoto Signature Journey, which included a foot-bath ritual inspired by a traditional ryokan welcome dating to the 16th century. It features organic rice bran, sea salt, sake (the same one o ٺ ered to the gods in the nearby Kinkakuji Temple and 2 k gold AEakes. My therapist Koko then had me close my eyes while she sounded an orin, a singing bowl. Calm and relaxed, I slumbered through the full body massage that used an essential oil blend of sweet osmanthus, orange and cider.
Nature’s bounty ended up on our plates too. Chestnuts shaken out of their trees by the typhoon became steamed snacks drizzled with molasses. At the all-day-dining Living 8avilion, where a central fireplace and walls lined with handmade tiles bring on a warm feeling, cxecutive chef
Kentaro Torii brings a finesse and elegance to dishes, such as the Aman Kyoto Fish and Chips trout fillet in kataifi pastry served with pickled Kyoto turnip) or a hearty spaghetti bolognese made with one of Japan’s top three wagyus. TakaAn’s kaiseki menu, which I eventually took on the last night seated at a 7-metre-long African cherry wood counter, was filled with seasonal local ingredients" matsutake mushrooms, yuba (bean curd skin), ebi-imo (a kind of taro) and grilled barracuda with ginkgo nuts.
Aman Kyoto was a 20-year project in the making, conceived even before the other two Japanese Amans were on the drawing boards. Kerry Hill Architects, which designed all three, respectfully left the original gardens and pathways untouched. Black-latticed pavilions housing the 2 suites, a pair of two-bedroom villas, and the Arrival, Living, Dining and Spa Pavilions were built on platforms designed as foundations for a textile museum – an unrealised dream by the former owner.
The neighbourhood is full of history and culture, and makes for lovely wanderings. I took an electric bike to the Imamiya-Jinja Shrine and Ryogen-In Temple, the latter famous for its five Ben gardens, and also strolled to Kinkakuji Temple. Also nearby are Matsuno Shoyu, a 200-year-old soy-sauce maker that supplies miso to the hotel, and a market hidden between the lanes, where I bumped into chef Mita who was shopping for vegetables.
On my last day, as I traipsed down the uneven stone paths, grateful for the solitude, I remembered Koko’s words to me during my spa treatment: Aman Kyoto is all about shinrin-aoS], or “forest bathing”, so just breathe in all of nature’s essence for healing. If that were true, I’d inhaled an entire ecosystem of rejuvenation.
With nature beckoning in the form of gardens, mossy boulders and stone-cut pathways, it’s hard to remain indoors for long