Review of Tawaraya Ryokan, by Caroline Major

The dark wooden floors and mud walls defining the twists and turns in the 300-year-old Tawaraya Ryokan disguise its age well. Maybe they're pine, maybe they're Japanese cypress; the family members who put them there have long since passed on.

Today, the well-travelled matriach of the family heads the continuing renewal of the house, carefully picking pieces from around the world but most often impressed by offerings from Swedish and Korean design teams. Her son, the GM, lectures in art and culture at the Kyoto University and together they have taken a wonderful canvas and implemented their continuously evolving sense of aesthetic, design and function.

The facilities

Each year one of Tawaraya Ryokan's 18 rooms is selected for refurbishment, making it a wonderful showcase of the best and most long-lasting design. It's noteworthy that the 2006 refurbishment is the first to include two low-rise beds in addition to the choice of a futon, and more low chairs are appearing to supplement the floor cushions and low tables as the aging Japanese population worries about their knees.

Unique to Tawaraya Ryokan are the two libraries hosting extensive collections of art and design books - one in English, the other in Japanese - and the respective lounges housing them. The perfect way to pass a rainy day in Kyoto: ensconced in a private ryokan stocked well with cultural artefacts and a curated reference to the city.

The rooms

Rooms at Tawaraya Ryokan come in three types; bedrooms, small rooms and suites. Each has some kind of garden view. The more expensive have direct access to the gardens; in the smaller bedrooms access is limited to visual stimulation through the windows. Tatami mat flooring and large windows are standard. Colours complement the earthy mud of the corridors and rooms are divided with screens and white paper walls.

Each of the bathrooms contain the traditional cypress tub but plumbing and flooring are new and effective. The fixtures are new and the smellies - made specifically for Tawaraya - are stylishly packaged.

Dinner and breakfast are served, ryokan-style, in the room. Once you're in for the night, the idea is to relax and enjoy the ambiance and the hospitality of your hosts.