Aman Kyoto

Aman took their time getting to Japan, but the results have proven to be well worth the wait. The third, after the skyscraper-topping Aman Tokyo and the ryokan-style Amanemu, is set in one of Kyoto’s most extraordinary places: a vast private garden and an expanse of unspoiled forest — within the city limits, at the foot of a wild mountain — that was intended as the site for a textile museum before it became the immaculately designed, fantastically luxurious Aman Kyoto.

If you’re familiar with their hotels you’ll know this combination of high style and high luxury is a certainty — and you’re also familiar with the work of the late architect Kerry Hill, whose haute-minimalist buildings and exquisite garden landscapes are an Aman signature. The rooms and suites are typically extraordinary, and vary in views: Western style or tatami furniture, garden, mountain or city views, with traditional Hinoki baths. And the freestanding pavilions are on another level, both figuratively and literally, as they occupy the property’s most elevated vantage.

The spa offerings, naturally, are quite over-the-top as well, including spring-fed onsen baths as well as more typical treatments and even mindfulness sessions. Meanwhile The Living Pavilion by Aman serves as the hotel’s restaurant, serving Kyoto-style cuisine impeccably sourced from local purveyors. And while the on-site experience is perfectly complete as it is, Aman Kyoto happens to be surrounded by no fewer than 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including temples, shrines, and much, much more.

How to get there:
Aman Kyoto is a two-hour drive or a 90-minute express train ride from Kansai International Airport, and a one-hour drive from Osaka International Airport (Itami). Aman Kyoto is about 30 minutes by car from Kyoto Station.