Japan Rituals

Aman Tokyo. Aman Tokyo occupies the top six floors of The Otemachi Tower, within walking distance of Tokyo Station, looking across the Imperial Palace Gardens and, on clear days, to Mount Fuji. The eighty-four suites are dressed in washi, wood and stone with deep furo baths, and the spa pool high above the streets makes the first nights after a long-haul flight far easier. Our Tokyo guide covers the city around it.

Aman Kyoto. Aman Kyoto sits on a forested hillside below Mount Hidari Daimonji, in a restored hidden garden of moss and stone, close to cultural Kyoto yet removed from its crowds. Pavilion suites look onto garden or forest, and onsen waters under the trees close days of temples, crafts and quieter districts. The house is small and fills early around cherry blossom and autumn foliage. See our Kyoto guide.

Amanemu. On a sheltered bay in Ise-Shima National Park, Amanemu is Aman’s onsen retreat: suites with hot-spring baths, spa days, gentle coastal walks and seafood-led evenings. We usually place it last, so the journey ends with a morning soak rather than another station. Our Ise-Shima guide covers the coast.

The usual order is Tokyo, then Kyoto, then Amanemu, though the circuit turns around easily for travelers arriving through Kansai. The Shinkansen links Tokyo and Kyoto; Amanemu is reached by car or rail by way of Nagoya. Late March and early April bring cherry blossom, and mid-November to early December the autumn colour in Kyoto: the most beautiful weeks of the year and the busiest. Winter is often clear, with the best chance of Fuji from Tokyo and fine bathing weather at Amanemu, while summer is hot and humid. Golden Week, at the turn of April and May, and the year-end holidays need early holds.

Additional Japan houses remain available by conversation, and our Japan guide sets the three in the wider country.

For temple towns elsewhere in Asia, continue to Temple Paths, and for pilgrim paths and meditation retreats, Sacred Journeys.