There is a reverence that hangs in the air at Aman Kyoto — an almost imperceptible stillness that humbles you as you enter. Tucked into an ancient forest that once belonged to a textile magnate’s abandoned garden project, the resort whispers rather than shouts, its architecture barely visible at first glance. This sense of quiet unveiling is intentional. For Kerry Hill Architects, the challenge was not to build on the land, but to listen to it.
A LANDSCAPE-LED MASTERPLAN
The 80-acre site is located in the north of Kyoto, near the famed Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), and is a hidden gem in a city already steeped in ritual and history. The design embraces the natural sloping topography, winding stone paths, and moss-covered gardens that already existed, using them as the framework around which the architecture is gently arranged.
Pavilions housing the guest suites appear like shadows between cedar and momiji trees. Built with steel framing, blackened sugi (Japanese cedar), and granite, they are long, low, and deliberately restrained. Deep eaves and timber decks hover above the mossy floor, inviting nature to flow in and around. Nothing interrupts the natural order.
A STUDY IN WABI-SABI MINIMALISM
Inside, the suites mirror traditional ryokan proportions but are contemporised in line with Aman’s pared-down DNA. Chestnut floors, washi paper screens, and hinoki wood bathtubs offer tactile cues rooted in Japanese craftsmanship.
The palette is subdued: warm timber, soft earth tones, and the occasional contrast of stone. Spaces unfold rhythmically, choreographed around shifting light and views of foliage that change with the seasons.
Every design move speaks to wabisabi—the Japanese aesthetic of impermanence and imperfection. Floorto-ceiling glass panels frame scenes of wind-rustled maple trees or snowfall on moss. Tatami-inspired rugs define zones of movement and meditation. Minimalist furnishings are custom designed in natural materials, allowing texture and form to take precedence over ornamentation.
ARCHITECTURE AS SILENCE
Aman Kyoto is not about spectacle. It’s about clarity. And nowhere is that more evident than in the public spaces. The Living Pavilion, Aman’s version of a lobby lounge, features a fireplace centred around a granite hearth and walls that retract entirely to dissolve into the forest beyond. Afternoon tea here feels more like a spiritual practice than a ritual indulgence.
The resort is also quietly sustainable. Buildings were positioned to avoid tree felling. Lighting is kept deliberately low, preserving the nocturnal rhythm of local wildlife. Materials were sourced locally—stone from Shiga, timber from Kyoto—and constructed using minimal intervention techniques that echo traditional Japanese joinery. In more than many ways, Aman Kyoto is a meditation on how to build less, mean more, and disappear beautifully. It doesn’t impose itself on the landscape—it becomes part of it.
STRIKING FEATURE
Landscape Integration: A network of shadow-like pavilions built into an untouched moss garden, where architecture becomes indistinguishable from the forest.
