Epitomising Japanese ideals such as tranquillity, harmony, discretion and wabi-sabi, Four Seasons Kyoto is lavish. The landscaping features an 800-year-old garden as centrepiece, complete with a pond. At roughly 100,000ft2, the well-groomed garden is believed to have belonged to the son of an important 12th century samurai and is referenced in poetry. The gardens have also been compared to the Island of the Immortals in Japanese mythology.