Japan Itinerary | Where we stayed
In March 2026, Mark+Fold founder Amy took her stationery obsession to the next level with a 10-day tour of Japan seeking inspiration from all things paper. From stationery shopping in Tokyo, to traditional washi-making in Shikoku island, she shares her insights and highlights in our Japan Journals series.
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Tokyo | Yuen Bettei Daita
Tucked into a quiet pocket of Setagaya's Daita neighborhood, near Shimokitazawa, Yuen Bettei Daita is a modern reinterpretation of the traditional onsen ryokan. The area was reclaimed when the local railway was moved underground, leaving behind a residential enclave once favored by literary figures, and the hotel leans fully into that sense of neighborhood history. There's an open-air hot spring bath fed with Hakone spring water, a kappo-style restaurant, a spa, and a tea room, a nod to the site's past as a tea farm.
"This place is one of my happiest memories of Japan. It was such a peaceful and stylish place to return to every evening and I loved travelling back on the commuter train with local people. The onsen was incredible, and now I'm back in London I actually frequently crave the sensation of your shoulders dipping into 40-degree water while the rain falls around you, that was just bliss! The room was so stylish and details like the stylish kettle made it feel extra special. The breakfast was sensational and some of the best food I ate in all of Japan."
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Shikoku | Kotohira Kadan
Kotohira Kadan has been welcoming travellers at the base of Konpira-san Shrine since 1627, when it opened as a humble pilgrims' inn called Bizen-ya. There are three detached sukiya-style villas inclluding Enjukaku, where the novelist Mori Ogai stayed in 1908 and later drew on for his novella Konpira. Kaiseki dinners built around Sanuki beef, olive-fed pork, Sanuki Cochin chicken, and Seto Inland Sea seafood round out a stay built as much on continuity as on craft.
"This place was incredibly special — in fact I wrote a whole separate article about sleeping in this 'paper house'. When I was planning my trip to Japan, I dreamed of staying in a traditional house with paper screens like you see in the Ghibli films. This place had all of that, albeit with hints of a 1970's ski chalet about it!
Arriving at night to the glowing house-within-a-house was magical, and sleeping on a traditional futon on the tatami mat was wonderful. The traditional carved wooden floor and variety of papers used in different screens made it a paper-lover's dream."
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Shikoku | Paysage Moriguchi
This 140-year-old Meiji-era merchant house on Mima's historic Udatsu Townscape, largely unchanged since the Edo period. With original beams, lattice screens, and timber framing, it operates more like a private residence than a hotel, with a bamboo garden to the back.
"Having now stayed at this wonderful place, I can't believe that when booking it I was a little unsure. The 'western breakfast' and the Italian sister restaurant made me worry slightly that it wouldn't be a very authentic Japanese experience. But I couldn't have been more wrong.
The warm welcome on arrival was so typically Japanese, and they had even remembered that I wanted to try indigo dyeing during my stay. So no sooner had I unloaded my suitcase from the car, than I was marched up the street about 50m to an indigo dye workshop where I was invited to take part right there and then.
The beautiful paper screens, woodwork and indigo-dyed noren reflected the local culture of the charming town of Mima, which is steeped in craftsmanship."
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Kyoto | Keiko's Guesthouse
A cosy, traditional house just south of the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park, a few meters west of Teramachi Street with all its calligraphy and paper shops.
"It was really fun to end the trip living in my own little Japanese house for a few days in Kyoto. I enjoyed slipping through the little front door off a side street in central Kyoto. I felt very privileged and authentic having the keys to this very typical looking house.
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