From a distance, the building that houses Hoshinoya is another high-rise wrapped in glass and steel. Up close it’s apparent that the steel facade is actually intricately patterned. “It’s called Edo kimono, ” explains Fumi Arai, a public relations manager at the hotel. “In the Edo period, commoners were not allowed to wear patterned kimonos, so they developed Edo komon.” It’s a tightly repeating pattern that looks solid from a distance but is discernible up close. “We are a ryokan This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Two Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture The Touch Hoshinoya Kyoto At the edge of Kyoto, a slow sailboat takes hotel guests downriver to a bygone world. Arts & Culture Issue 32 Seven Cuts An umbrella. An octopus. A mask. Tokyo seen through still life portraits. Arts & Culture City Guide Issue 32 Yaeca Home Store A shop inside a home. Arts & Culture City Guide Issue 32 Morioka Shoten A one-book shop. Arts & Culture Issue 32 Essay: One Up, One Down Tim Hornyak explores Tokyo's scrap-and-build culture. Arts & Culture Issue 32 Apocalypse Next Why is Tokyo the canvas for so many disaster fantasies?
Arts & Culture The Touch Hoshinoya Kyoto At the edge of Kyoto, a slow sailboat takes hotel guests downriver to a bygone world.
Arts & Culture Issue 32 Seven Cuts An umbrella. An octopus. A mask. Tokyo seen through still life portraits.
Arts & Culture Issue 32 Essay: One Up, One Down Tim Hornyak explores Tokyo's scrap-and-build culture.
