Aman Kyoto is one of the most celebrated luxury properties in all of Asia — a secret garden resort set in the foothills of the iconic Hidari Daimonji mountain in Kyoto's northern Takagamine district, adjacent to the golden Kinkaku-ji Temple and within easy reach of 16 other UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The resort was conceived over more than a decade by the late Australian architect Kerry Hill — his deepest engagement with Japan — as a living conversation between the landscape, the light and the traditions of the ancient imperial capital.
The resort's 26 suites and pavilions are set in tranquil glades within a secret forest garden that feels entirely removed from the city, yet is only 30 minutes by car from Kyoto Station. The minimalist ryokan aesthetic that defines Aman Kyoto — natural stone, raw timber, washi paper panels, and the constant presence of water — creates spaces of extraordinary calm. The resort's naturally occurring hot springs feed the private onsens at the Aman Spa with mineral-rich waters that have been healing body and spirit in this Kyoto hillside for centuries.
The Deluxe Villa Suite is the most private and characterful accommodation at Aman Kyoto — a self-contained universe with a private courtyard that opens onto the forest, a personal butler, and a relationship with the natural landscape that changes with the morning mist, the afternoon birdsong and the evening fireflies. The suite's architecture speaks the same quiet language as the forest — no decoration, no excess, only the beauty of materials used with mastery.
This four-night martial arts package pairs Aman Kyoto's extraordinary setting with private training in kendo or kyudo (archery), a Michelin 3-star kaiseki lunch at Kikunoi Honten — one of Japan's most celebrated restaurants — and an immersive programme of Kyoto's most rarefied cultural experiences: Nishijin silk weaving, the Fushimi Inari thousand-torii pre-dawn walk, the Nishiki Market food tour and a private tea ceremony in the resort's own traditional tea house.
The Deluxe Villa Suite at Aman Kyoto is the resort's most intimate and private accommodation — a self-contained courtyard suite set within the secret forest garden, with its own private exterior space that extends the living area into the natural world. The suite's architecture, designed by Kerry Hill with a profound understanding of traditional Japanese space, creates an atmosphere of absolute calm through the careful arrangement of natural materials, controlled light, and the constant background presence of the forest.
The personal butler at Aman Kyoto is not merely a concierge but a cultural guide — a team member with deep knowledge of Kyoto's temples, artisans, tea masters and martial arts traditions who arranges experiences that are genuinely impossible to access without their connections. The butler coordinates the kendo or archery lesson with the private instructor, secures the reservation at Kikunoi Honten, arranges the Nishijin weaving workshop with a master craftsperson, and ensures that the Fushimi Inari walk begins at precisely the right moment before the crowds arrive at dawn.
The resort's 26 suites and pavilions house a total of no more than 52 guests at any time, creating an atmosphere of genuine privacy and intimacy that defines the Aman experience at its most intense. At Aman Kyoto, this sense of having found a secret world — a garden that has been here for centuries, waiting to be discovered — is more profound than at almost any other property in the group. The combination of location, architecture, nature, food and personal service creates an experience of Japanese culture that is both accessible and completely authentic.
Dining at Aman Kyoto unfolds across two extraordinary spaces. Taka-An is the resort's Japanese restaurant — a private dining experience named for Executive Chef Shinichiro Takagi, whose mastery of the omakase kaiseki form brings together Kyoto's finest seasonal ingredients in a constantly evolving menu that follows the agricultural and cultural calendar of the ancient capital. The menu at Taka-An is entirely seasonal — in spring, cherry blossom tofu and mountain asparagus; in autumn, matsutake mushroom rice and persimmon; in winter, fugu and yudofu drawn from the mineral waters of Kyoto's deep aquifer.
The special day-trip lunch at Kikunoi Honten represents one of the most prestigious dining experiences available to any traveller in Japan. One of only three traditional kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto to hold three Michelin stars — and arguably the one that most faithfully represents the original Muromachi-period tradition of kaiseki — Kikunoi Honten offers an experience of Japanese culinary heritage at the absolute summit of the form. The private kaiseki course, arranged exclusively through the Aman Kyoto concierge, proceeds through fourteen courses of near-religious precision.
The Living Pavilion at Aman Kyoto is the resort's all-day social space — a warm, convivial room serving Western and Japanese fusion dishes, a celebrated afternoon tea with Koyama-en matcha, and the most relaxed eating experience at the resort. It is here that guests gather after morning meditation, before and after forest walks, and in the long Kyoto evenings when conversation is the only activity required. The Living Pavilion's connection to the forest through its glass walls makes every meal feel like a picnic in the deep green shade of the garden.
4 nights Deluxe Villa Suite · Kikunoi 3-star · martial arts · Fushimi Inari · Nishijin weaving · tea ceremony
Package price USD 28,000 for 2 guests / 4 nights. Add-ons: Japanese sword workshop ¥50,000 · Geisha private dinner ¥200,000.
Aman Kyoto is the only luxury resort in Japan that places guests in a secret forest garden at the heart of the world's greatest living cultural tradition — Kyoto's 1,200-year heritage of imperial, martial, aesthetic and spiritual practice. The combination of private martial arts training, the Kikunoi 3-star kaiseki lunch, the Nishijin weaving workshop, the Fushimi Inari dawn walk and the tea ceremony creates a four-night experience that would take months to arrange independently — and is impossible to experience with the same depth, access and quality outside the framework of the Aman.
Aman Kyoto is a secret forest garden resort in northern Kyoto — 26 suites and pavilions designed by Kerry Hill set among natural hot springs at the foothills of Hidari Daimonji, adjacent to Kinkaku-ji Temple and 16 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
This 4-night martial arts package includes private kendo or archery training, a Michelin 3-star kaiseki lunch at Kikunoi Honten, Nishijin weaving, Fushimi Inari dawn walk, Nishiki Market tour and a private tea ceremony at the resort's traditional tea house.
All components are fully flexible — this is a curated starting point, refined with your Richseen specialist prior to confirmation.