Kayotei

The Kayotei and
Its Partnership with Local Artisans

The Kayotei and
Its Partnership
with Local Artisans

Yamanaka Onsen is a classic hot springs village. Away from crowds, and peopled by local and visiting Japanese, the village is a place where foreign guests can explore and experience tradition and history.

The Kayotei is located in Yamanaka, and is a boutique ryokan with only ten rooms. Omotenashi, the Japanese style of hospitality, informs the service, cuisine, and ambience. It is a place of contemplation as well as a deepening of the senses.

Concept

We invite guests to indulge the senses in a traditional ryokan that has modernity buttressing its adherence to Japanese history. Along with hot springs bathing,
kaiseki cuisine, and the soothing tatami rooms, guests have the unique opportunity to visit the ateliers of artisans. These artisans have acquired international reputations due to the quality of their work with exhibitions in Tokyo, Basel, and NYC. The restaurants, too, are family operated with very personal and traditional approaches to the service and cuisine.

The Artisans

The Wood Turner

Transforming wood into art is a family tradition for Yasushi Satake. Similar to a sculptor in his ability to turn an amorphous thing into an object of beauty, Satake’s work is a way to discover spirituality in nature.

Makie & Kintsugi

Takeshi Matsuyama is painstaking in his methods. He patiently applies layers of gold on lacquerware. He takes precious objects, broken somehow, and restores them. His patience yields beauty in the smallest of things.

Washi-Japanese Paper

The art of Japanese paper making here takes on new meaning as artisan Mika Horie demonstrates her craft. Guests are in her home studio. The intimacy of the artisanship is enhanced by her husband’s invitation to join in a traditional tea ceremony.

Ikebana-Raku style,
Tea Ceremony-Raku style,
Wood Therapy,

Led by Raku Terai, the spiritual power of nature is conveyed through, “wood therapy,” heightened by flower arrangement, and contextualized through a tea ceremony. All of this takes place in Mika Horie’s art studio.

The Restaurants

Yunomachi BistroEnuma Station

With the informality and conviviality of a French bistro, and the structure of Japan, the food is refined. Vegetables are at the core of the cooking. Fine wines and sake are available to match what’s on the plate.

Yamanaka ItalianAlla Contadina

Trained as a chef in Mestre, just outside of Venice, chef Koji Sakamoto combines Italian sensibility and technique with Japanese ingredients at his restaurant. He creates a cuisine that epitomizes seasonality. Italian food by way of Japan marries two of the world’s great cuisines.

The Kayotei

The Kayotei and
Its Partnership with Local Artisans

The Kayotei and
Its Partnership
with Local Artisans

Concept

Atelier Visits

The Kayotei Partner
Artisans and Restaurants