A clever addition to Tokyo’s hotel scene, the city’s first luxury ryokan fuses contemporary design and traditional craftsmanship with high-tech touches. Only meters away from the Imperial Palace and its gardens, the tower is encased in a black metal grid repeating a traditional Japanese kimono motif. Inside, there is a dramatic double-height genkan entrance with a seasonal flower display, indigo walls, sliding paper screens, expanses of aromatic Japanese wood and modern-style cotton jersey kimono outfits for guests. The 84 guestrooms are split into groups of six on 14 floors – with each floor resembling a self-contained ryokan inn, with its own Ochanoma lounge. Here, at a communal wooden table or on low sofas, staff serve nigiri rice balls, coffee, tea or seasonal sakes. The scene-stealer is the 17th-floor onsen baths whose hot spring waters flow from 1,500m beneath the hotel.
