The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto; General Manager: Keisuke Hitomi) is marking its 40th anniversary this autumn with a special stay plan called "Jissoin Monzeki Special Viewing and Saryo Kaiseki Dinner: Rakuhoku Stay."
The Rakuhoku area surrounding the hotel is dotted with numerous temples and shrines that have long served as spiritual anchors for the people of the old capital.
The plan centers on Jissoin Monzeki, also known as Iwakura Monzeki or Iwakura Goten, a temple with deep Imperial connections. For roughly 800 years, it has carried on the history and culture of the Iwakura area of Rakuhoku, and it still retains the atmosphere of courtly culture today, with a guest hall relocated from the Omiya Imperial Residence and a four-pillared gate among its features. On this plan, a steward of Jissoin Monzeki guides guests through the temple, offering a chance to experience the depth of Kyoto's history and aesthetic sensibility firsthand.
Dinner is served at "Saryo," a sukiya-zukuri building set in the hotel's Japanese garden, where a kaiseki course inspired by autumn in Rakuhoku awaits guests.
The Appeal of Jissoin Monzeki
Founded in the Kamakura period, Jissoin Monzeki is a prestigious temple with ties to the Imperial family, and courtly elegance lives on in both its buildings and gardens.
The temple holds numerous fusuma paintings, scrolls, and historical documents from the Kano school, including "Cranes" and "Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons." On this plan, guests can also view fusuma paintings normally closed to the public, including a depiction of the legendary Yellow Emperor building ships and carts, as well as the "Teikanzu" alcove painting. The temple also holds the "Jissoin Diary," compiled by successive head priests over more than 400 years. Mr. Iwatani, a steward of Jissoin Monzeki, guides guests through this profound world of history and beauty.
"Jissoin Monzeki Special Viewing and Saryo Kaiseki Dinner: Rakuhoku Stay" — Plan Overview
Period: September 1 (Tuesday) to November 20 (Friday), 2026
Price: From ¥39,949 per person (Forest Floor Twin room, 2 guests per room)
- Includes one night's room rate, the Jissoin Monzeki special viewing (temple guide fee, tea and sweets), dinner (at Saryo), and breakfast. Service charge and consumption tax are included; accommodation tax is charged separately.
- Rates vary depending on the stay date and room type.
- Reservations require a minimum of 2 guests.
- Please reserve at least 7 days before your check-in date.
- The content of the special viewing is subject to change.
Special Viewing and Dinner Schedule
3:00 PM — Check-in
4:00 PM — Depart the hotel by shuttle for Jissoin Monzeki
4:15 PM — Special guided viewing led by a temple steward, including tea served in the shoin hall, which is normally closed to the public
5:30 PM — Depart Jissoin Monzeki, return to the hotel
6:00 PM — Dinner at "Saryo": a special autumn kaiseki course featuring matsutake mushroom and Omi beef
Course Menu
- Appetizers: Chrysanthemum greens and chrysanthemum flower with dressing, smoked salmon, sake-steamed persimmon, shirakake (white sauce dressing), pine nuts, shrimp mino-age (deep-fried, wrapped in fine noodle strands), and more
- Soup: Matsutake mushroom in a clay teapot, mitsuba, sudachi citrus
- Sashimi: Tuna, sea bream, and squid with karasumi, garnish, soy sauce
- Simmered dish: Taro dumpling shaped like autumn hagi flowers, maple-leaf shaped carrot, shrimp, snow peas, maple-leaf shaped fu (wheat gluten cake), ginger, and yuba with a thickened mushroom sauce
- Hot pot: Omi beef and matsutake mushroom shabu-shabu, hot pot vegetables, assorted mushrooms, condiments, ponzu
- Rice: Three kinds of nigiri sushi
- Soup with rice: Red miso soup, nameko mushroom, nori, sansho pepper
- Dessert: Assorted sweets and fruit
Menu photos are for illustrative purposes. Ingredients and menu items may change depending on availability.
Food allergy accommodations at the hotel's restaurants and banquet facilities are limited to the 8 designated items (shrimp, crab, walnut, wheat, buckwheat, egg, milk, and peanut). Guests requiring accommodation for these items should inform the hotel in advance.
Reservations can be made through the hotel's official website: https://www.princehotels.co.jp/kyoto/plan/jissoin_rakuhokustay
Inquiries about this stay plan: The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike, Reservations Desk. Tel: 075-712-3456 (10:00 AM to 5:30 PM)
About "Saryo"
Saryo, the sukiya-zukuri building set in The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike's Japanese garden, was one of the last works of the renowned architect Murano Togo. Its finely refined details reflect both the craftsmanship of the artisans who built it and Murano's own aesthetic sensibility.
Beyond its seasonal afternoon tea offerings, Saryo can also be reserved for tea ceremonies and dining. The hotel also opens the space free of charge on select mornings for guests staying at the hotel, and holds occasional tea ceremony experience days. The Japanese garden is illuminated seasonally as well.
The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike's 40-Year Journey
At the close of 1983, architect Murano Togo visited Takaragaike for the first time. He returned to the site repeatedly, sketching again and again with what is said to have been the intensity of a man devoting his final years to the project. Murano passed away the following year, before the hotel's completion, but his disciples carried on his vision, and in October 1986 a donut-shaped hotel harmonizing with its natural surroundings opened on the site.
True to the hotel's original catchphrase, "a beautiful moment of relaxation," its soft, curve-filled design continues to welcome guests into a sense of ease today.
Murano held a strong vision for the hotel as an "internationally first-class hotel." As a hotel located in the Takaragaike convention area, it has served as the stage for a wide range of conferences, academic conventions, and parties, welcoming many guests over the years, including distinguished visitors from Japan and abroad.
Notable MICE History
- December 1997: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 3rd Conference of the Parties (COP3)
- March 2003: 3rd World Water Forum
- May 2005: ASEM 7th Foreign Ministers' Meeting
- September 2019: 25th ICOM (International Council of Museums) Kyoto General Conference
- 2024: Selected for "Best Meetings Hotel (Japan)" at the "M&C Asia Stella Awards 2024," hosted by MICE industry media "M&C Asia"
In recent years, the hotel has also stepped up its sustainability efforts as a way of giving back to the community.
In May 2025, the hotel obtained the "4 Gyoiko Zakura" rating under Sakura Quality, a Japan-originated ESG certification for accommodation facilities. Since 2024, it has participated in the "Kyoto Satoyama SDGs Meguru Project," which turns food waste into fertilizer used to grow rice that is then served to hotel guests, connecting the hotel with the Keihoku area of Kyoto through a resource-circulation loop. The hotel has also introduced a joint food delivery system in collaboration with Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide, Inc. and ORIX Hotel Management Co., Ltd. (since 2024). As a hotel rooted in its local community — one even visited by flying squirrels — The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike plans to continue pursuing sustainable initiatives that contribute to solving environmental and social challenges.
