In the middle of Tokyo’s Otemachi district, an area synonymous with identity-free glass-and-steel skyscrapers and charmless towers, stands a building that looks nothing like the rest. Cloaked in a dark chainmail with a beguiling floral-effect pattern, alarmingly narrow and dramatically uplit at night, the Hoshinoya doesn’t belong among the banks and business hotels. It belongs to a different dimension.
It’s a tragic cliche to describe a hotel as both traditional and modern. But the Hoshinoya takes the old-new concept and takes it to new and exciting places. It’s not just modern – it’s downright futuristic; a utopian vision of luxury hospitality that’s close to science fiction. A blissfully tranquil yet uncompromisingly urban take on a ryokan, Hoshinoya asks ‘what if you took the concept of traditional Japanese spa inns, and replicated it multiple times inside a modern high rise?’
The moment you step through the hotel’s front door you’re hit with something unique. Actually that’s wrong. It begins when you see the front door: a whisper-silent automatic sliding number that’s made out of centuries-old bewitchingly warped wood. Once you’re inside, the friendly and endlessly patient staff avail you of your shoes (stored from that point inside a nifty bamboo tower) and ferry you into the building proper. From that point the real world basically fades into non-existence. Japanese tatami is everywhere, including in the elevators, (which announce their arrival with the thwok of a Noh drum). The atmospheric murmurings of shamisens, kotos and shakuhachi flutes follow you through the corridors, providing a poignant ambience for even the most mundane activity. Each floor also has as its focal point, a communal tea room, in which guests, shuffling about in their robes, can intermingle if they so wish.
It’s hard to tear yourself away from your quarters, though. The hotel’s 84 rooms are elegant, exceedingly comfortable and confidently simple. We took a south-facing Kiku room, (larger than a standard) and immediately began cooing over its mellow blue walls, bamboo and chestnut furniture and soft furnishings for lounging about. Paper sliding doors in front of the windows successfully conceal the fact you’re halfway up a skyscraper in Tokyo’s financial district. The spacious bathrooms have shining marble walls, stone floors and some very swanky Hoshinoya-brand products. They also house massive black basin baths, which are intentionally redolent of onsens.
The onsen spa on the seventh floor really does merit its own review. This is like something out of Blade Runner. Embellished with a single flower. Mineral-packed volcanic waters channeled from the depths of the earth, something presumably extremely rare in Tokyo.
Neighbourhood
Otemachi – Tokyo’s financial district – isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. Compared to the rest of the capital, it’s fairly impersonal, (appropriately) businesslike and dishearteningly similar to every other financial district on Earth. However, you don’t have to wander far to access some adjacent areas which are totally different. There’s Tsukiji to the south east, with its fish market, temple and gardens. Then Kanda, which contains book-lovers paradise Jimbocho and electronics mecca Akiharbara is directly north of the hotel. Also Hoshinoya is a short hop skip and a jump from Tokyo station, a transport hub connecting you to pretty much anywhere in the entire country.
Nearby
Time Out Tip
Make the most of the traditional activities and classes on offer. We tried both the tea ceremony and the kendo practice and enjoyed both immensely (despite the latter occurring at the jetlag-baiting time of 7am).