![]() Mori is eager to welcome guests from abroad, he said, as long as they understand that the experience is focused on contemplation. Seeing the temple at night fundamentally transforms visitors’ relationship with the space, he believes, as the disorienting press of the usual crowds is replaced with the chirr of cicadas, the rich aroma of incense and the soft flicker of shadows on ancient statuary. In recent months he has begun opening the temple at night to small groups, taking the time to personally lead them in prayer and conversation. The last two and a half years, however, have given him an opportunity to “press reset,” he said, and explore different ways of interacting with visitors. Kusui knows that people come to Kyoto with a certain itinerary in mind, and “we can’t tell them not to go to some place like Kiyomizu Temple,” he said, referring to the famous Buddhist temple perched on a mountain face on Kyoto’s east side. It’s a style of tourism the city is trying to promote as part of its new strategic plan to address prepandemic crowding.īut Mr. One of the first is a private tour of Nijo Castle, the residence of Japan’s first shogun of the Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu, conveniently located next to the hotel. Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, a luxury Western-style hotel, opened in late 2020 and has operated well below capacity for most of the pandemic, according to Manabu Kusui, the general manager.Īs tourists begin returning to Kyoto, the hotel hopes to differentiate itself by providing guests with exclusive experiences it has negotiated with some of Kyoto’s beautiful but less trafficked destinations. But on a recent weekend night, “for lease” signs hung in darkened shop windows, and many of the terraces looking out on the water sat unused. Before the pandemic, it was nearly impossible to get a reservation at one of the many restaurants lining Pontocho, an atmospheric alleyway running parallel to the Kamo River in Kyoto’s city center. Visitors are seeking a particular vision of Japan, one that is found in the koi ponds of meticulously kept temple gardens the smell of roasting brown tea, known as hojicha, that wafts from the door of ancient storefronts and the clatter of a geisha’s wooden sandals down a cobbled alleyway.Īt the beginning of the pandemic, “people in the city were saying, ‘We’ve returned to the old Kyoto, isn’t that great?’” said Toshinori Tsuchihashi, the director of the city’s tourism department.īut, as the economic damage mounted, residents “have come to recognize tourism’s importance.” ![]() No one comes to Kyoto looking for a party. Spared from the ravages of World War II, it later became something close to a living museum, a popular destination for school trips and people hoping for a glimpse of the country’s history and tradition. Before Japan opened to the world in 1851, pilgrims trekked from around the country to visit its more than 2,000 temples and shrines. Kyoto had always been a popular destination for domestic travelers. But in the years leading up to the pandemic, it had become dependent on the flood of tourists that bumped, clattered and pushed through its streets. Kyoto is home to several globally known companies, like Nintendo and Kyocera, and has produced more Nobel Prize winners in the sciences than any other city in Japan.
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