Japan’s first 'dispersed' hotel opens in Kyoto
A quick drink at Enso Ango involves a little more effort than most hotels - the bar is in a different building from most of the bedrooms, a good 10-minute walk away. Breakfast in the hotel restaurant? That's a five-minute stroll to another building. With five separate locations around the centre of Kyoto, Enso Ango is Japan's first "dispersed" hotel, though scattering the rooms and amenities a few roads apart is not for lack of space: the aim is to immerse guests in the local culture.
Between the main roads of Gojo and Shijo but away from the major tourist attractions, the hotel's properties are described as being "out of the static loop of large hotels and staged photo opportunities".
It is the first hotel from new brand Ango Hotels, and guest activities include zen meditation sessions with Buddhist priests of Ryōsokuin temple, Kenninji, obanzai (home-style) cooking classes, guided night runs passing the Kamogawa River and Shinto shrines, yoga, tatami mat workshops and talks from local artists.
