Hotel Koo Otsu Hyakucho
Reconnecting past and present at the heart of a Japanese community.
The historic city of Otsu looks over the shores of Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. Today it's often overlooked by visitors, but it was once an important stop on the Old Tokaido Road, a vital Edo-period artery of transport and trade connecting Japan's two largest cities, Kyoto and Edo itself over 300 miles along the eastern coast of Honshu. This road appears throughout Japanese art and culture – it's been the setting for Noh, and was famously depicted by Ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige – and it would have borne witness to the passage of every conceivable part of Japanese society, from samurai to nobility, pilgrims, merchants and messengers, their stories and concerns now lost to time. Art lovers will be familiar with Otsu-e, a form of art born in this region. These cheaper, simpler paintings of popular figures were often bought as gifts by travellers on the road to carry back to friends and family in Edo.
In today's Otsu, part of this well-travelled thoroughfare runs through a contemporary shopping arcade and it is here that the Hotel Koo's faithfully restored machiya townhouses bring together memory and modernity all at once, surrounded by the bustling communities that were as much a part of Japan's past as they are of its present. With one step out of your hotel room you find yourself immediately among shop-keepers and restaurant owners, families and couples, the people of Otsu out for a bite to eat or on their way to pick up their groceries. In many ways, it's this activity on what was once the Old Tokaido Road in Otsu that's the most historic of all. And it was precisely this that led to the creation of the Hotel Koo.
The interior of Kojiya, where the TokudAw team stayed for 2 nights. Image Credit: Hotel Koo official website
Designed by architect Yoshiji Takehara, the hotel's rooms are spread across seven traditional townhouses dating back to the last century, reinterpreted and transformed into comfortable, modern spaces while losing nothing of their original soul, but providing all the facilities modern visitors expect. But the choice of its location was a fundamental part of the design. Otsu is a 20 minute drive from the overcrowded tourist hotspots of central Kyoto and is often overlooked in favour of its more famous neighbour. Bringing visitors here helps to support the regions outside the tourist hotspots and reinvigorate commerce, but also to give visitors a glimpse of the hidden charm that can't be found in the over-travelled centres.
This makes it the ideal location for visitors to Japan who like to see the sights then retreat to a more tranquil vantage without being spirited away into an artificial tourist enclave. In Otsu, after a day spent among tourists, you can spend some time in the real Japan, and even get to know your neighbours. The hotel staff will take you on a tour of the shopping arcade and introduce you to the business owners there, get some recommendations for walking trails or local specialities, and even pick up some cooking tips. In one restaurant, Saka Yamakawa, the secret to the quality of their red-bean paste dessert is trekking up into the Hira Mountains to collect the water then cultivating the red beans themselves. Another restaurant to look out for is Oosugi. It's unagi shabu-shabu – cooked meat and fish dipped in broth and sauces – comes with a spectacular abalone, soy and ponzu sauce that compliments the unagi perfectly.
Visitors who are eager to experience a sense of the Edo era can meet with Otsu's experienced kimono instructor. These aren't the polyester tourist kimonos you might have experienced at other locations, but true works of art, hand-made in silk and passed down through generations of the instructor's family. You can then explore the old town on foot with a professional photographer on hand to capture you in your finery.
Wanping standing outside one of the machiyas of Hotel Koo in the kimono selected by the kimono instructor. Image Credit: TokudAw Inc.
At the end of a busy day sightseeing, the modern features of Hotel Koo's traditional townhouses are the ideal reward for weary travellers. Traditional accommodation sometimes comes at the cost of comfort, but here you can unwind with a hot soak in a hinoki bathtub, enjoy the fluffy towels from the towel warmer, then sink into a stylish sofa with a cup of locally sourced coffee and feel completely at home. This is travelling as it should be done, replete with authenticity, richly restorative and free from the chaos of the Kyoto crowds.
