Please tell us briefly about Ryokan Kurashiki and its history? Ryokan Kurashiki is located in the lovely Bikan Historical Preserved District in the city of Kurashiki. The district has narrow streets lined with traditional storehouses and the former homes of merchants, recognizable by their thick black-and-white patterned walls and shiny black-tiled roofs. The ryokan [...]

You are a Shugendo mountain priest.  What is that?  Can you tell us a little about Shugendo and your priesthood? Shugendo combines elements of Buddhism with Shintoism, Japan’s original spirituality, and other religions. The worship of nature, particularly mountains, is very important.  I spend a lot of time in the mountains, forests, rivers, and [...]

TRUNK’s Instagram feed – particularly the videos – is terrific. Who produces the videos? Can you tell us more about your social media efforts? We have an in-house Videographer and Social Media Manager who constantly produces videos from our lounge parties, pop-up dinners, etc. TRUNK Hotel was not known to anybody a year ago, and social [...]

How long have you worked for Palace Hotel Tokyo, and what was your first job there? I have been with the company for 30 years now. My first job was as a bellman and I still remember the very first guest that I showed to his room. He was a businessman working for Bankers [...]