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By RUI HOSOMI/ Staff Writer
March 29, 2026 at 07:00 JST
👁 Photo/Illutration
The Imperial Hotel, Kyoto, in Higashiyama Ward is in the repaired and partially preserved Yasaka Kaikan building, as seen on March 2. In the foreground is the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo, a theater for geisha and “maiko” apprentices. (Toshiyuki Hayashi)
KYOTO—What was once a performance space in the Gion district here for geisha and their apprentices is now a luxury hotel, furthering a broader trend of repurposing historical structures into overnight lodgings to fund their survival and upkeep.
The Yasaka Kaikan building reopened as the Imperial Hotel, Kyoto, on March 5.
A government-designated tangible cultural property, it joins a former prison, what was once the mansion of a wealthy merchant family and other unconventional properties reworked to accommodate guests.
Along with tourism revenue going toward preservation efforts, the idea is these places will serve as venues where the public can interact and potentially help revitalize the communities around them.
OVER 10 YEARS, 10 SITES
Landing on the Yasaka Kaikan was the culmination of a lengthy search. Imperial Hotel officials said they had sought to set up operations in Kyoto for more than a decade and considered more than 10 candidate sites.
As land prices soared in central Kyoto, however, officials said they thought they might have to give up on the plan in consideration of commercial viability.
It was around this time that parties including the Kyoto city government approached Imperial Hotel officials to ask if they could use the Yasaka Kaikan, which was completed in 1936, and had fallen into disuse.
Along with its history, the building is also in a prime location that is about a five-minute walk from Yasakajinja shrine.
This exchange would pave the way for its transformation into the fourth hotel under the brand and the first to open in 30 years since 1996.
Some 12.4 billion yen ($79 million) was spent on renovations, with a portion of the original structure preserved. It now has 55 guest rooms and rates for two start at 164,500 yen per night, including tax.
The most expensive option, the Imperial Suite with a space of about 200 square meters, is priced at 3 million yen per night, including tax.
LAW CHANGE AIDS PROJECTS
A 2018 amendment to the Law on Protection of Cultural Properties is partially behind the uptick in turning heritage sites into accommodation facilities.
The change also reflected a rising push to pursue the dual goals of preservation and use of cultural properties as there is only so much that can be achieved when relying solely on donations and local government subsidies to fund preservation efforts.
The “Fund-Raising Handbook for Cultural Properties” issued by the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes methods including the use of the private finance initiative (PFI) formula and the use of regional revitalization funds.
In Nara, Hoshino Resorts Inc. is scheduled to open a luxury hotel with 48 guest rooms in a former building of Nara Prison in June. The original structure was completed in 1908 and counted as one of the five major “modern” prisons of Meiji Era (1868-1912) Japan.
Room rates start at 147,000 yen per night.
“Few other buildings are so compelling in quality,” said Masaya Kakegawa, the hotel’s general manager. “We saw this as a golden opportunity.”
In Hakodate, Hokkaido, the Old Soma Residence with important cultural property status began operating as a hotel on March 1.
Only three parties a day are eligible to stay at the private residence, which combines Japanese and Western styles of architecture.
The building was put on the auction block in 2008 and was on the verge of being demolished before being preserved.
Kazeno Heritage Ltd., the Kyoto-based operator of the Old Soma Residence hotel, has so far turned 25 cultural property buildings into lodging facilities.
“We will take it upon ourselves to promote regional community development through the use of those properties,” said Jun Tarikino, head of Kazeno Heritage.
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