{"id":803066,"date":"2026-05-17T14:56:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T14:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/803066\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T14:56:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T14:56:25","slug":"five-carefully-renovated-machiya-houses-in-kyoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/803066\/","title":{"rendered":"Five carefully renovated machiya houses in Kyoto"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyoto<\/a>‘s historic townhouses, machiyas<\/a>, are increasing being renovated and turned into everything from hotels to perfume stores. Here, we collect five of the best examples.<\/p>\n

\"Nazuna<\/a>Photo by Kenta Hasegawa<\/p>\n

Nazuna Kyoto Higashihonganji by Studio Aluc<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This 100-year-old machiya house was turned into a short-stay hotel<\/a> by Japanese firm Studio Aluc, which “deliberately retained traces of past craftsmanship”.<\/p>\n

The studio exposed the original timber<\/a> framework and earthen walls of the 600-square metre property, which is located in front of the Higashi Honganji Temple in central Kyoto.<\/p>\n

Find out more about <\/a>Nazuna Kyoto Higashihonganji<\/a> \u203a<\/p>\n

\"Holiday<\/a>Photo by Tomooki Kengaku<\/p>\n

Toune by Keiji Ashizawa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The latest of Kyoto’s renovated machiyas is Toune, a holiday home designed by architect Keiji Ashizawa<\/a> to showcase the historical building while still having a contemporary feel.<\/p>\n

“I think much of the appeal [of machiyas] comes from the materiality and human scale that are difficult to find in contemporary architecture today,” Ashizawa said.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Toune \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Le<\/a>Photo courtesy of Le Labo<\/p>\n

Le Labo flagship store by Schemata Architects<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Tokyo-based Schemata Architects<\/a> combined Japanese and Western design touches inside this house in Kyoto’s Kiyamachi area, which is now a flagship store for perfume brand Le Labo.<\/a><\/p>\n

The ground floor has a more Western feel and resembles other Le Labo stores worldwide, while the first floor, which houses offices, a craftsman room and a “fragrance organ”, has a more traditional atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Le Labo\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Issey<\/a>Photo by Masaya Yoshimura<\/p>\n

Issey Miyake store by Naoto Fukasawa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Fashion house Issey Miyake<\/a>‘s Kyoto store is eminently suitable for the city, located inside a 132-year-old machiya that was given a refresh by designer Naoto Fukasawa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He sought to create a “tranquil and elegant atmosphere” in the old townhouse, whose traditional storeroom area \u2013 known as a kura \u2013 was turned into a small gallery space.<\/p>\n

Find out more about the Issey Miyake store \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ChallePhoto courtesy of UNC Studio<\/p>\n

Challe cafe by UNC Studio<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most unusual renovated machiya on this list is Challe cafe, a Japanese-Mexican fusion restaurant<\/a> that has a bold, all-red interior.<\/p>\n

The cafe in Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward serves speciality coffee<\/a>, Japanese tacos and churros.<\/p>\n

“We imagined a fusion of modern Mexican and Japanese style,” UNC Studio founder Keiji Kadota said.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Challe cafe\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyoto‘s historic townhouses, machiyas, are increasing being renovated and turned into everything from hotels to perfume stores. Here,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":803067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,1033,171,64777,326988,15401,92915,94466,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-803066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-design","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-kyoto","13":"tag-machiya","14":"tag-roundups","15":"tag-sectionall","16":"tag-sectioninteriors","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116590503013740744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}