A collector I know introduced me to the founder Mr. Ogisawa, which led to my visit.
Kagan Hotel (Kyoto)
Located on one corner of the area that stretches around the Kyoto City Central Wholesale Market, Kagan Hotel is a residency-style facility that hosts both artists and hotel guests.
Artists are provided with living quarters and studios at very low cost (subject to screening). Hotel guests can choose between the “Hostel” mode using shared spaces and the “Hotel” mode with an in-room shower booth, depending on the occasion.
Floor Layout
5F: Hotel
4F: Hostel
3F: Artist residency rooms
2F: Gallery / Hostel
1F: Gallery, event space, cafe
B1F: Gallery / Shared studios
Floor layout — photographed inside the elevator
1F
The first floor, the face of the hotel, is dominated by shared spaces.
Shared Space
1F entrance1F floor view1F floor view
Cafe
1F cafe / serving space“Chicken curry with spinach and tomato (850 yen)” — very delicious. *Available Fridays and Saturdays only1F floor viewAlso used as a meeting / event space.
B1F
Basement level 1 is divided into two sections — a gallery where art can be viewed, and studios that artists use as production spaces.
The basement gallery seen from the first floorB1F gallery spaceWork by Kanako Shintaku — works are available for purchase.B1F viewB1F shared studiosB1F shared studiosLooking up at 1F from the basement — it is an atrium space.
Hostel Rooms
Prior to renovation, the building was reportedly used as a women’s dormitory.The interior has a functional, minimal designThere is no shower facility inside the room — guests use the shared showers.
Hotel Rooms
5F viewA three-bed room — Room 505Shower cornerArt is also displayed inside the guest rooms.
From the exposed concrete walls onward, the entire facility had a simple, minimal design.
Founder Mr. Ogisawa cites the Chelsea Hotel and Ace Hotel as the images he draws upon.
Rather than a hotel that exists only for tourist consumption, he aims for a hotel that becomes a stage for creation and stories, and a landmark in the local community.
Through the medium of art, this seems to be a place where artists, guests, and art-world figures from Japan and around the world will build new relationships.
Overview
Kagan Hotel
Address: 99 Shujaku Hozocho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture (MAP)
・5-minute walk from Umekoji-Kyotonishi Station on the JR San’in Line
・10-minute walk from Tambaguchi Station on the JR San’in Line
・7-minute walk from the Umekoji Park / Kyoto Railway Museum-mae bus stop on the Kyoto City Bus
・4-minute walk from the Shichijo-Senbon bus stop on the Kyoto City Bus
교토시 중앙도매시장이 펼쳐지는 지대의 한 모퉁이에 자리잡은 카간 호텔은 아티스트와 숙박객을 함께 수용하는 체류형 시설입니다.
아티스트에게는 거주할 수 있는 방과 창작할 수 있는 스튜디오가 저렴하게 제공됩니다(심사 필요). 또한 숙박객은 공용 공간을 사용하는 “Hostel”과, 객실 내에 샤워 부스를 갖춘 “Hotel”을 상황에 따라 구분하여 이용할 수 있습니다.
