At the project’s construction site, there once stood a long-established ryokan founded in 1908 (Meiji 43), which had been used by school-trip students and travelers visiting Kyoto. Due to aging facilities and business succession challenges, our group, by meaningful circumstance and connection, took over the business and redeveloped the site.  Sanjo-Ohashi Bridge, located in central Kyoto, was known in the Edo period as the final point of the 53 Stages of the Tokaido, and flourished as the concluding destination that welcomed people who had completed long journeys. From the Meiji to Heisei era, long-established ryokan assumed part of that welcoming role.

It was in 2019 that our group inherited this role in the modern Reiwa era through redevelopment, expressing the land’s history in design and artwork, renewing its look, and opening its doors with expanded charm as Dhawa Yura Kyoto.  Following the restoration of political power to the Emperor in the late Edo period and the wave of the Meiji Restoration, Sanjo-Ohashi Bridge became the gateway through which Western culture flowed into Kyoto from the Meiji to Taisho era. Standing at the foot of the bridge, Dhawa Yura Kyoto embodies Taisho romance, harmonizing Japanese and Western aesthetics, retro and modern, and was reborn in the present day of Reiwa with time travel that unravels Kyoto’s timeless history as its hotel concept.

Having transformed from a long-established ryokan that continued for more than 100 years into a refined hotel, Dhawa Yura Kyoto now welcomes diverse guests from around the world and provides services aligned with modern lifestyles, carrying forward the ancient capital’s unending cultural narrative.