Kawana Hotel

I was very fortunate to be able to join three foreign/not Japanese friends to tour the Kawana Hotel with our special volunteer guide. Our 80 year old guide speaks four languages, and in addition to being a volunteer guide, he is also a volunteer language teacher, and he retired after a 40 year career working at the Kawana hotel. 

This area was originally planned to be a ranch, but the volcanic ground  made it unsuitable for pasture. Instead it was made into the Oshima Golf Course in 1928. The Kawana Hotel opened in December 1936, by Baron Kishichiro Okura (founder of the Okura Zaibatsu and Hotel Okura) as a luxury retreat. The hotel featured 62 guest rooms. During World War II and the Occupation, the hotel was requisitioned by the Japanese Imperial Army and used as a naval hospital and detention center for foreign diplomats. After 1945, it was seized by American and British Occupation Forces before later being returned to Japanese management. In 2016, the main building and the “Country House” (a 300 year old relocated thatched-roof house) were designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan.

Some famous guests and events include honeymooners Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio in 1954, John Wayne, who stayed while filming The Barbarian and the Geisha in 1958, as well as the 1998 Japan - Russia Summit.

Our tour began in the first lounge.

The carpet design mimics the ceiling light.

We had coffee and dessert in this gorgeous room of windows.

This dining area has a great view.

The small upstairs balcony is where the orchestra played, in earlier days.

Choosing a dessert was difficult because they all looked luscious.

I chose cheesecake with my coffee.

After enjoying our treats, the tour continued on to the dining room.

From the window, we could see the 300 year old thatched roof house that has been designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

We continued our tour of this fantastic historic hotel.

From the orchestra area, we could look down on the area where we had coffee and dessert.

Looking down on the first lounge downstairs.

This is a quiet place where two people can play the game “Go”.

From this area, you can look down on the area that used to be the theater.

From here, we went up about four or five floors to the look out.

The view from the top is amazing!

From the top, we went all the way to the lower level. We could see photos of celebrities and the Emperor and Imperial family who all stayed here, as well as WWII photos.

This poster shows the cost of the room and golf in a much earlier time.

Next, we went out to the gardens and golf course.

Our extraordinary guide - 

Back inside, we saw the theater room and the projection area on the upper floor.

This was a fantastic tour of an extraordinary historic hotel with the best guide ever! Our day with our guide continues in the next post.