The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto

The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto is a restaurant and wedding venue located in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, Japan. It opened in 2003 inside a Japanese-style house built in 1929 as the residence and studio of Takeuchi Seihō, a master of modern Japanese painting. The property, originally named "Higashiyama Sōdō," sits on a roughly 2,000-tsubo (about 6,600-square-meter) site next to the five-story pagoda of Hōkan-ji, known as Yasaka Pagoda. The surrounding area is one of Kyoto's most famous sightseeing districts, with Kiyomizu-dera, a UNESCO World Heritage site, Chion-in, Kōdai-ji, Yasaka Shrine, and the historic lanes of Ichinen-zaka and Ninen-zaka all nearby. The venue is operated by Plan Do See Inc., a company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, that runs hotels, restaurants, and wedding businesses. The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto functions as a multi-purpose hospitality destination: it offers restaurant dining, wedding ceremonies and receptions, and banquet, meeting, and event spaces. Its wedding services include Christian-style ceremonies, Western-style and Japanese-style ceremonies with the couple standing before guests, and garden ceremonies at affiliated shrines or at Kōdai-ji Gesshin-in. Reception rooms include six named spaces: Camera, Atelier, Yasaka, Terrace, Pagoda, and Higashiyama. The restaurant emphasizes local Kyoto ingredients and seasonal sensibility, presenting dishes that combine the character of the region with a contemporary approach. The building itself is a major part of the experience. The main dining room features a high ceiling and traditional miya-daiku-style construction said to be assembled without nails, while other rooms retain lattice windows, imported chandeliers, and antique furniture, preserving much of the atmosphere of the original residence. The site also includes a garden that reflects the changing seasons. Because it is both a dining destination and a wedding venue in a historic setting, The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto occupies a distinctive position in Kyoto's hospitality scene. It is not a hotel brand or a chain restaurant in the conventional sense, but a single-location venue whose identity is tied to its architecture, its garden, and its location in the historic Higashiyama area. The official website presents it under the concept of a place where "Kyoto-ness and the extraordinary coexist."

The building that now houses The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto was constructed in 1929 as the private residence and studio of Takeuchi Seihō, one of the leading Japanese painters of the modern era. Seihō, celebrated alongside Yokoyama Taikan with the phrase "Taikan of the East, Seihō of the West," received the first Order of Culture in 1973 together with Taikan. He named the property "Higashiyama Sōdō." The roughly 2,000-tsubo estate sits immediately east of the five-story pagoda of Hōkan-ji, commonly called Yasaka Pagoda, in Kyoto's Higashiyama district. In 2003, the approximately century-old Japanese house, which retains many of the artist's design choices, was renovated and opened as "The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto." The renovation sought to inherit as much of the original design as possible. The venue is operated by Plan Do See Inc., a company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, that is active in hotels, restaurants, and weddings. Since opening, the venue has offered restaurant dining, wedding ceremonies and receptions, and banquet, meeting, and event facilities. Its wedding services allow couples to choose among Christian-style, Western-style, and Japanese-style ceremonies, and garden ceremonies at affiliated shrines or at Kōdai-ji Gesshin-in. Six party rooms—Camera, Atelier, Yasaka, Terrace, Pagoda, and Higashiyama—are available for receptions. The main dining room features a high ceiling and traditional miya-daiku construction said to be assembled without nails, while other rooms preserve lattice windows, imported chandeliers, and antique furniture. The garden reflects the changing seasons. The official website presents the venue under the concept of a place where "Kyoto-ness and the extraordinary coexist," emphasizing its location amid famous sites such as Kiyomizu-dera, Chion-in, Kōdai-ji, Yasaka Shrine, and the historic lanes of Ichinen-zaka and Ninen-zaka. Recent notices on the site include an anniversary proposal plan and the relocation and renewal opening of Sushi Azabu Higashiyama.

• 2003

  The renovated residence opens as "The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto," a restaurant and wedding venue.

• 1973

  Takeuchi Seihō receives the first Order of Culture together with Yokoyama Taikan.

• 1929

  Takeuchi Seihō builds his residence and studio, named "Higashiyama Sōdō," next to Yasaka Pagoda in Kyoto.

A historic Kyoto venue combining restaurant dining, weddings, and events in the former residence of painter Takeuchi Seihō, where "Kyoto-ness and the extraordinary coexist."

• Restaurant dining

  Dining that combines local Kyoto ingredients with a sense of season and culinary contemporaneity.

• Weddings

  Wedding ceremonies and receptions in a 2,000-tsubo estate, with Christian-style, Western-style, and Japanese-style ceremonies, plus garden ceremonies at affiliated shrines or Kōdai-ji Gesshin-in.

• Party & MICE

  Banquet, meeting, and event spaces in various rooms across the estate, each with different interiors and views.

1. 1【公式】ザ ソウドウ 東山京都｜THE SODOH HIGASHIYAMA KYOTO-京都 レストランthesodoh.com
2. 2ザ ソウドウ 東山 京都の魅力｜【公式】ザ ソウドウ 東山京都｜THE SODOH HIGASHIYAMA KYOTOthesodoh.com
3. 3ザ ソウドウ 東山 京都 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
4. 4The Sodoh Higashiyama Kyoto - Wikidatawikidata.org