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HOTEL SCREEN

640-1 Shimogoryomaecho, Nakagyo-ku Kyoto; 81 (75) 252 1113; www.the-screen.jp .

Rooms and rates: 13 rooms ranging from $600 to $1,625.

It's easier to buy a postcard. But climb to the top of the Kiyomizu-dera temple and you can shoot a view of classic Japan for yourself: From here, you can see the tops of matchbox houses and shrines and delicate maple trees dotting the hillside.

This is why tourists come to Kyoto. The country's headquarters for more than 1,000 years, it still has an exhausting number of religious and royal sites, as well as exquisite gardens and equally exquisite geishas. And now the city finally has a boutique hotel. Opened last year, Hotel Screen has rooms created by 13 different artists — many of whom play fast and loose with traditional design elements.

Location Although it's 10 minutes by cab to the glut of temples and craft shops that is East Kyoto, Hotel Screen is less than a block from the backside of the Imperial Palace and a short walk from the river.

Design You could call Hotel Screen a riff on the traditional Japanese ryokan, or guest house: There are banners with Japanese characters in lieu of a front door, the lights in the lobby are made from Japanese umbrellas and the rooms include elements such as tatami mats, screens and black lacquer furniture.

But the key word is "riff." The Screen also includes boutique hotel staples such as white leather couches and big-screen TVs. At street level, there's a shop that stocks Valentino sunglasses and shoes from Paris. Oh, and the elevators blast dance music and are lit up with pink and blue neon.

Rooms Since the rooms were designed in collaboration with different artists, each has a unique vibe. In 101, Tetsuei Nakamura weaves together the traditional (screens painted with irises) and the ultramodern (white minimalist furniture). Over in 201, kimono designer Jotaro Saito has lined the walls with brocade, put a gold frame around the window and scattered red details, such as an original horsehair armchair, around the room.

Then there are starker takes. Room 302 is entirely black, with only "subdued lighting," as the hotel puts it, to help guests navigate the room (and cheer up).

What do all the rooms share? Lovely lacquer boxes stocked with bean cakes and green tea from Ippodo (est. 1846), flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations and wonderful REN bath products.

Amenities On the roof is a lounge area where you can look out over the city while sipping a cocktail. Or if you and your partner get really romantic, you can book a wedding here: There's a chapel with funky white brocade chairs.

Service Here, too, hip meets heritage. Our outstanding concierge wore kimonos that have been passed down in her family and conducted a traditional tea service for us, but she also dished on the coolest place in town for Sapporo and snacks. The staff lavishes attention on you, though this can produce performance anxiety (how many times are you expected to bow and say thank you?).

Food and Drink You can eat a $30 Japanese breakfast. Or dine in the hotel's stunning French restaurant: The screens on the ceiling, crystal dishes and grey brocade couches make you feel like you're inside a bejewelled bento box.

Still, this is the home of Japanese high cuisine, so a splurge on kaiseki is a must. It will include more courses than you thought possible, a tableside visit from the chef and a bill ranging from $150 to $300. Other options: There are cool little "bistros" a 15-minute walk from the hotel where you can mingle with Kyoto's cute young things over beer and chicken skewers.

Ambience The mood is bright, open and hip: Kyoto as imagined by a bunch of design-savvy club kids. Not the place for traditional Japanese hospitality.

Things to Do The immediate area is a somewhat odd mix of residential streets, super-expensive antique stores, galleries and pastry shops that sell bean cakes so sculpted that they look like soaps.

While all this is definitely worth a wander, though, you'll likely spend most of your time hopping between the city's temples, gardens and art museums. This can be done by cab, or you can rent a bike: It's hard to say whether Kyoto is officially the Amsterdam of Japan, but residents on two wheels are everywhere — many wearing white gloves and with umbrellas to shield them from the sun attached to their handlebars.

Hotel vitals

TOP DRAWS

Exceptional service and outstanding recommendations on how to make the most of Japan's top food city.

NEEDS WORK

White laminate floors aren't cool, they're cold. And after a day at meditative Buddhist temples, the disco elevators can be jarring.

BOTTOM LINE

The clashing design elements are interesting, but don't really translate into a cohesive, comfortable space.