Expensive services in Kyoto targeting rich foreign travelers

May 8, 2019

Kyoto-Expensive guided tours and accommodation that give wealthy travelers to Japan rare opportunities to experience traditional culture in the ancient city of Kyoto are picking up steam.

Such services include the company of "maiko" and "geiko" traditional female entertainers, a hard-to-get experience especially for foreigners, as well as temple lodgings that cost a whopping one million yen a night.

They are aimed at meeting growing demand for experiencing the tradition of Kyoto as the purpose of foreigners' visits to Japan is shifting from buying goods to experiencing unique events.

Exclusive Kyoto Inc. started an "ozashiki" experience service in 2016 in entertainment districts such as Gion, where a tradition to refuse first-time customers still remains, enabling foreigners to enjoy conversations with maiko and geiko in a tatami room, with an interpreter, and be entertained with their traditional dances.

The service is more expensive than the price charged to regular customers mainly due to guide fees. But a male customer from the United States expressed satisfaction, saying the experience was worth the money.

Around 80 groups have so far used the service. "We want to offer foreigners a real experience of Kyoto entertainment, while paying maximum respect to local traditions," said Kenji Sawada, chief executive officer of Exclusive Kyoto.

Buddhist temple Ninnaji, a UNESCO World Heritage site, began offering a renovated wooden residence called Shorinan as accommodation in spring 2018.

Shorinan is available to only one group at a time at one million yen per night, excluding tax.

During their stay, lodgers are allowed to use the Goten complex usually used as the chief priest's office. They can also enjoy, for an extra charge, various Japanese cultural experiences such as "gagaku" ancient court music and "ikebana" flower arrangements.

"We accept the one-million-yen (accommodation) fee in part as a donation to the temple," said Chiho Kamoi, a priest in charge of the temple's clerical work.

The number of visitors to Ninnaji dropped some 10 pct last year from 2012, causing a decline in the temple's revenues. It aims to use part of the income from accommodation fees for repair and maintenance work.

The Thousand Kyoto, a new hotel that opened in January this year, offers paid services according to the customer's wish, such as visiting temples that are not normally open to the public. The accommodation charge ranges from around 60,000 yen to 220,000 yen per night.

"Amid growing demand for experience-based consumption, we want to raise customer satisfaction by offering high-quality services," an official of the hotel said. Jiji Press