KYOTO/OSAKA – Raijin (God of Thunder) and Fujin (God of Wind), highly revered deities in Japanese folklore, watch over two Hilton properties in western Japan.

The sculptural work Fu/Rai, comprising microbead spheres, stands tall in the lobby of Conrad Osaka, welcoming visitors to a hotel that towers 40 storeys above street level in the bustling metropolis.

And over at the luxuriously bespoke Roku Kyoto, the two deities discreetly manifest in two paintings in the reception area inspired by the influential Rinpa style, which is heavy on allusions to classical literature and abstract motifs of nature.

This is apt, because Roku Kyoto is located where the Rinpa school of painting is said to have been founded.

It was here, deep in the valley of the Takagamine mountains and along the Tenjin River, where the multidisciplinary artist Honami Koetsu (1558 to 1637) – he was a calligrapher, craftsman, painter, arborist and maker of Noh masks – had built an artists’ village in the 16th century.

Roku Kyoto opened on the prime estate, a historic crucible of art and culture, in September 2021 during the pandemic as the first property in Asia and ninth in the world under Hilton’s LXR Hotels & Resorts label. Hilton created the brand in 2018 to offer a new taste of luxury defined by individuality and rich, one-of-a-kind experiences.

Located deep within Japan’s ancient capital, the resort is half an hour by car from Kyoto Station. Its nearest tourist attraction is the Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) Buddhist temple, about 15 minutes away on foot.

This gives visitors all the more reason to slow down – and perhaps even shun the crowds of Kyoto, where overtourism has been cited as an irritant – in favour of a bespoke Kyoto experience.

Wanting to deepen my historical voyage into Kyoto, I sign up for hands-on experiences arranged by the hotel in honour of its roots. Roku Kyoto is working with artisans to give visitors a taste of traditional crafts, such as porcelain-making, kintsugi lacquer restoration and the Japanese tea ceremony.

Also on the menu is papermaking, a throwback to ancient times. During the Heian period (794 to 1185), a guild of papermakers lived in the region and worked along the banks of the Tenjin River.

Guests will feel the painstaking effort that goes into the craft. Instead of taking home their masterpiece on the same day, the finishing process by the artisans takes weeks and months, with the final product delivered to the homes of guests later on by Roku Kyoto.

Head concierge Eiji Tanaka, who has two decades of hospitality experience, says: “We can show our guests the real Kyoto that lies beyond the Kyoto that everyone knows – and by extension, the real Japan hidden behind the popular image of our country.”

The name Roku Kyoto pays homage to its natural environment. Roku, in Japanese, means both the foot of a mountain and the traditional craft of papermaking.

The show-stopper hotel also doubles as an art gallery and architectural marvel. At its entrance, a beautifully pruned Kitayama cedar tree – from which the hotel derived its logo – welcomes visitors.

The property, with its generous use of wood and symmetry in its design, also imbues in visitors a sense of appreciation for Japanese beauty and its subtleties. A water basin in the courtyard gently reflects sunlight onto the roof of a walkway, casting shimmering patterns that evolve throughout the day.

I am more than content to listen to the murmur of the Tenjin River with a seat on the engawa veranda at all-day-dining restaurant Tenjin, while gazing into nature.

The views, I am told, change from cherry blossoms in spring to maple foliage in autumn. In between, fireflies light up the night in summer, while the Takagamine mountains are dreamily blanketed in snow in winter.

Guests can freely visit the Japanese garden, mountain streams, restaurants and teahouses in the adjacent Shozan Resort Kyoto property.

“It is our wish to transport guests to a world where their everyday stresses melt away, so that they may return to the real world refreshed and rejuvenated,” says Roku Kyoto general manager Yoshinori Nishihara.

There are five room types, most offering panoramic views of the Takagamine mountains, while those who stay in the ground-floor Garden Deluxe units can luxuriate in their own private onsen hot spring.

All guests also have access to a picturesque thermal pool at Roku Spa. The pool draws natural hot spring water and is perfect for soothing aching muscles and joints.

During my stay, I indulge in a meal at the 13-seat Chef’s Table, curated by the award-winning executive chef Akira Taniguchi. The 10-course seasonal menu (35,420 yen or S$349 a person, including drink pairing) is inspired by nature and sources ingredients locally, using a generous amount of herbs and flowers grown in-house.

Over at the Conrad Osaka, the food is likewise the star, inevitably given that the city was historically known as the “nation’s kitchen” as the centre for rice trading.

While there are a variety of dining concepts, including teppanyaki and sushi, I went for C:Grill, which grills premium seafood using old oak wood to bring out a unique smoked scent. Course menus change by season and range from 13,800 to 23,800 yen a person for dinner.

Conrad Osaka, which opened in 2017, has the literal concept “Your Address In The Sky” as it occupies the 33rd to 40th floors of the Nakanoshima Festival West Tower.

Bask in hyper-modern sophistication amid 389 works of art – including Fu/Rai – that aim to inspire, with the hotel located in a district known as one of Osaka’s creative quarters.

The hotel, which comes with a spa, can host everything from meetings to fairy-tale weddings with even a chapel on the 39th floor.

Its floor-to-ceiling windows in the guest rooms are perfect for observing the city’s changing expression throughout the day, from the vibrant dawn to that of a glittery jewellery box at night.

I am so drawn by its house scent Serenity – a blend of bergamot, lemon, jasmine, thyme, sage, white tea, sandalwood and cedar – that I take home a reed diffuser (10,120 yen).

Raijin and Fujin may be rivals for control of the sky, but they are also associated with success, expelling misfortune, and protection against natural disasters.

A stay at the two hotels, watched over by the two deities, is an uplifting experience.

Roku Kyoto, LXR Hotels & Resorts

Where: 44-1 Kinugasa Kagamiishicho, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8451 Japan
Rooms: 114 over five types, from 50 sq m deluxe rooms to 100 sq m suites
Rates: From 70,965 yen a night for a deluxe room
Info: www.hilton.com/en/hotels/itmolol-roku-kyoto

Conrad Osaka

Where: 3-2-4 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka, 530-0005 Japan
Rooms: 164 over seven types, from 50 sq m deluxe rooms to a 220 sq m penthouse suite
Rates: From 61,560 yen a night for a deluxe room
Info: www.hilton.com/en/hotels/osacici-conrad-osaka

• Suite Life is a series on destination hotels and their locales.
• The writer was hosted by Roku Kyoto and Conrad Osaka.