Kyoto: A blend of nature, culture and tradition, far from clichés
FeatureThe former imperial capital is both the symbol of Japan's temples and geishas and of globalized overtourism. And yet, blocks away from the crowds and Instagram spots, designers, chefs and gallery owners are opening experimental restaurants, sharing the art of lacquerware and rescuing architectural nuggets from oblivion.
When René Redzepi, founder of Noma (voted best restaurant in the world five times), announced in October 2022 that he was bringing his famous restaurant to Kyoto, it came as a complete surprise. At the end of the Covid-19 pandemic period, when Japan was still closed to foreign visitors, the move of the highly experimental, Copenhagen-trained culinary team to Japan's conservative former capital was a bold decision, to say the least. Especially since Kyoto is perceived as so overrun by tourists that it has become uninviting. The Danish chef should logically instead have chosen Tokyo, the economic, political, cultural and culinary capital, with its 181 Michelin stars (including 12 three-stars). Tokyo, the eternal "adversary" of the former capital Kyoto, from whom it "stole" the emperor during the Meiji restoration (in 1868).
Noma's creator saw things differently. Firstly, as he recounted in Noma in Kyoto magazine, published in November 2023, he is very close to Yoshihiro Murata, the three-starred chef of the Kikunoi Honten restaurant, who introduced him to the city and its culinary specialties some 15 years ago. Redzepi had always dreamed of returning, and the opening of the Ace Hotel in 2020 acted as a detonator. He decided to install a Noma branch within the establishment for a first residency, from March to May 2023. A second residency would follow, between October and December 2024.
According to Meriem Soliman, marketing director of the American-born hotel group, which has spin-off establishments in New York, California and London, the Ace had long been looking to set up shop in Kyoto, "a city animated by Japan's long-standing legacy of craftsmanship and local traditions, but at the same time thrumming with the energy of emerging creatives, restaurateurs and gallerists. The city has an innate connection to craft and design, which can be seen in the work of contemporary local artists and artisans, many of whom we collaborated with on design touchstones at the hotel. The city's been an inspiration and muse to global creatives for decades, from David Bowie to Akira Kurosawa."
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