In a small garden open to the sky sits a single bath of black tile. Sink in and look up, and the night sky of Kyoto spreads out above you. On a night when the moon rises, you'll surely understand the meaning behind this inn's name. Washing takes place indoors, in a shower room finished in black plaster. The bath itself is meant for one purpose only, gazing up at the sky.

The star of this garden is neither tree nor stone, but shadow. In the small courtyard enclosed by charred cedar walls, ferns grow thick between volcanic rocks, and a single young tree rises straight toward the sky. When the lights come on at night, shadow pictures of branches and leaves begin to sway across the black wall. Slide open the shoji screens in the lounge, and take a moment to watch the shifting shadows.

Pass through the curtain, and a single andon lantern glows on the stone floored entryway. In the tatami lounge, a built in sofa faces the garden, and beyond the shoji screens, steam from the open air bath drifts faintly. Dinner is served at a single slab counter beneath the open ceiling. Arrange black tableware and glasses along it, and it feels like the best seat in a fine Kyoto restaurant. Upstairs are two bedrooms, their beds set beneath exposed wooden beams. The deliberately dim, shadow filled design draws you dee