5 Star Hotels in Tokyo

[LordBalthazar]

My wife and I have tentative plans to return to Tokyo in late November. The last two times we visited, we stayed in Ginza - once at the Imperial Hotel, another time at the Hotel Seiyo - both high-end hotels within easy walking distance of great eats and shopping (for eats). This time around, I was thinking of staying at the Park Hyatt Shinjuku, but was told it is a little out of the way. Someone suggested we stay in Roppogni. So, can anyone recommend some high-end hotels in Roppogni (with either great restaurants or located near some great restaurants). Alternately, if you could stay anywhere in Tokyo for a week, which hotel would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance.

LB

[robyn]

My wife and I have tentative plans to return to Tokyo in late November.  The last two times we visited, we stayed in Ginza - once at the Imperial Hotel, another time at the Hotel Seiyo - both high-end hotels within easy walking distance of great eats and shopping (for eats).  This time around, I was thinking of staying at the Park Hyatt Shinjuku, but was told it is a little out of the way.  Someone suggested we stay in Roppogni.  So, can anyone recommend some high-end hotels in Roppogni (with either great restaurants or located near some great restaurants).  Alternately, if you could stay anywhere in Tokyo for a week, which hotel would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance.

LB

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I am going to Japan for the first time next week for 3 weeks. I am simply overwhelmed by the number of restaurants (there are about 100,000 just in the Tokyo area). So I think no matter where you stay - you will have many excellent choices. Also - it is probably not a bad strategy to plan some days around visiting a particular restaurant in a particular neighborhood - and then exploring the neighborhood either before dinner or after lunch. No matter where you stay - you won't want to stay in that neighborhood for a whole week.

We are staying at the Four Seasons Marunouchi because: 1) it is near Ginza; 2) it is near the main rail station; 3) it is supposed to have excellent service and an excellent concierge staff; 4) the rooms are large; and 5) it has a "meet and greet" service at Narita. I have exchanged email with the hotel - and if the email is any indication - I think the service will be excellent. It is also supposed to have an excellent restaurant - but that isn't the main reason I chose it.

Since you have already been to Tokyo twice - and stayed in the Ginza area twice - I guess the simple question is do you want to stay in the Ginza area again - or try someplace else? Apart from the Four Seasons - there is a very new MO in the Ginza area. It is a bit wet behind the ears in terms of service now (based on what I've read). By November - perhaps it will be working on all 8 cylinders.

Since eGullet really isn't a place to discuss hotels per se - I would suggest taking a look at the numerous discussions of Tokyo hotels in the Flyertalk Japan forum. There are people there who think the Park Hyatt is out of the way - and others who like where it's located. There are also discussions of the hotels in Roppongi Hills (I might be wrong - but I think the Grand Hyatt is perhaps the best in that area). Read the discussions and decide for yourself.

The one thing I would definitely want in a hotel if you are interested in high end dining is an excellent concierge staff. A fair number of high end restaurants - especially traditional Japanese ones - are selective about their clients. Some do not accept non-Japanese patrons. Others do not care to have people who can't speak Japanese. At a minimum - at certain places you would want to have an "introduction" from someone. In my case - that "someone" has to be a concierge. Even though my husband has learned passable Japanese - and I have spent some time studying what one should or shouldn't do when dining in Japan - I don't think I'd care to spend $500+ for dinner and not be able to understand the meal because the staff can't deal with our poor Japanese or has no patience in dealing with us because we are somewhat ignorant (I know the Japanese have a reputation for being polite - but I suspect even they have their limits ). A good concierge can go a long way in terms of seeing that the patrons and the restaurant are a good fit.

By the way - my husband and I intend to concentrate almost exclusively on this trip on traditional and contemporary Japanese and Japanese fusion cuisine. We are not interested in exploring the "clones" of high end restaurants from other countries (like Nobu or Robuchon). I suspect the "clone" restaurants cater to a more international clientele than most of the Japanese restaurants I am considering - and might be easier to deal with.

What kind of food are you interested in eating in Tokyo? Robyn

[pirate]

My wife and I have tentative plans to return to Tokyo in late November.  The last two times we visited, we stayed in Ginza - once at the Imperial Hotel, another time at the Hotel Seiyo - both high-end hotels within easy walking distance of great eats and shopping (for eats).  This time around, I was thinking of staying at the Park Hyatt Shinjuku, but was told it is a little out of the way.  Someone suggested we stay in Roppogni.  So, can anyone recommend some high-end hotels in Roppogni (with either great restaurants or located near some great restaurants).  Alternately, if you could stay anywhere in Tokyo for a week, which hotel would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance.

LB

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I left Tokyo two weeks ago after an 8 day stay at the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku. Yes it is a bit out of the way but Shinjuku has its attractions like Opera City. The Park Hyatt is the best hotel in the world. currently in my opinion. I've been alternating between staying at the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi and the Park Hyatt over the last few years. The Park Hyatt is much more luxurious; the Grand Hyatt is more of a business hotel. For example, on this trip I had a continental breakfast in my room every day. The Park Hyatt is the only hotel I've ever stayed at that serves freshly squeezed tomato juice. The croissants and viennoiseries are excellent (far superior to those of the Grand Hyatt). I've never been pleased with my meals at Grand Hyatt restaurants. I've liked some meals at the Park Hyatt. I've not stayed at the Imperial but I did eat at the Saisons restaurant there. A noted French chef, Thierry Voisin, was put in charge last year. The menus are haute cuisine, well executed, with fine service;probably two Michelin star caliber. I must admit that I enjoy the small French restaurants around Tokyo run by French-trained Japanese chef-owners far more.. There is the several years old Four Seasons Marunouchi in the lower seven floors of the Pacific Century Tower. Only one restaurant Ekki which I liked when the hotel first opened. A visit the following year put it on my avoid list. There is the Conrad in Shiodome which I haven't checked out. I did check out the new Mandarin Oriental in Nihonbashi, a good location almost next to the main Mitsuikoshi store. I lunched at their Italian restaurant. The hotel is nice but for me. it's a comedown from the Park Hyatt. The restaurant is not worth a revisit. Again there are excellent small Italian restaurants sprinkled around Tokyo. The Peninsula currently being constructed not far from the Imperial has the attributes of a winner. The Ritz-Carlton under construction in the Midtown Center would be an excellent choice if they can avoid the hideous interior decor of their hotel in Osaka. Neither the Peninsula or Ritz-Carlton will be open this year.

[pirate]

We are staying at the Four Seasons Marunouchi because:  1) it is near Ginza; 2) it is near the main rail station; 3) it is supposed to have excellent service and an excellent concierge staff; 4) the rooms are large; and 5) it has a "meet and greet" service at Narita.  I have exchanged email with the hotel - and if the email is any indication - I think the service will be excellent.  It is also supposed to have an excellent restaurant - but that isn't the main reason I chose it.

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The Four Seasons Marunouchi is on the bottom seven floors of an office tower. Not much to look out the window at. The Mandarin Oriental is high in its office tower and one can get rooms looking over the grounds of the Imperial Palace. The Mandarin Oriental has several restaurants. In addition, it's closer to stores and restaurants I like. I must admit I'm not a Four Seasons fan but in less than a week I'll be staying at my first one, the Four Seasons on the Nile in Cairo (followed by the Paris Park Hyatt which is not in the same class as the one in Tokyo).

[robyn]

My husband dislikes heights. So the Four Seasons is perfect for him. Last time we were in a really tall hotel (40th floor) was in New York on 9/11. I like views - but that scared the heck out of me too.

Don't know how you can say you aren't a Four Seasons fan if you've never stayed in one (think that's what your message said unless I misread it). On my part - I've stayed in many. Some are better (especially the newer properties like Miami) - some aren't so hot. Since none of the luxury hotel chains has a frequent stayer program - I pretty much choose the properties on a case-by-case - city-by-city basis. When I was in Cairo - I stayed at the Mena House - in a room with a view of the pyramids . Of course - that was a long time before any luxury chain hotel existed there. Robyn

[LordBalthazar]

Thanks for the responses. Since a friend suggested Roppongi, I was looking into the Grand Hyatt. But now, I'm not sure... The more I hear about it, the more I think the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku is the place for us. It may be out of the way, but we usually cab it around Tokyo anyway. And good room service is important. We stayed at the Hotel Seiyo in Ginza two years ago and it was the best room service we've ever experienced (and the best breakfasts we've ever eaten). Also, we're looking for a hotel with a good restaurant or two on the premises.

I've heard good things about The Four Seasons Marunouchi, Robyn. Please let me know how you enjoyed your stay.

As for what type of food we're interested in trying: mainly Japanese (some Korean being the sole exception because my wife is a huge fan of the Korean restaurants we have tried in Tokyo). Some of our favorites we'd like to to re-visit include -

Serina Honten - a beautiful restaurant that offers top quality shabu-shabu and teppanyaki. The place we first fell in love with Kobe beef. The bar offers a gorgeous view of the Tokyo cityscape.

Gompachi - great yakitori and robata with locations in Ginza and Odaiba.

Places I plan to check out this time around:

Sushi Restaurant Hashida - for the out-of-this-world uni

Chikuyoutei Ginza - for their famed barbecued eel

Bairin - for their purportedly lightly panko-crusted yet delectable kastu

Chanoha - for some highly-recommended chestnut delicacies

Ginza Miyachiku Restaurant - for their Miyazaki beef teppanyaki and steak fat-soaked dessert cracker my friend raves about

[MakeLifeFun]

I am going to Japan for the first time next week for 3 weeks.  I am simply overwhelmed by the number of restaurants (there are about 100,000 just in the Tokyo area).  So I think no matter where you stay - you will have many excellent choices.  Also - it is probably not a bad strategy to plan some days around visiting a particular restaurant in a particular neighborhood - and then exploring the neighborhood either before dinner or after lunch.  No matter where you stay - you won't want to stay in that neighborhood for a whole week.

We are staying at the Four Seasons Marunouchi because:  1) it is near Ginza; 2) it is near the main rail station; 3) it is supposed to have excellent service and an excellent concierge staff; 4) the rooms are large; and 5) it has a "meet and greet" service at Narita.  I have exchanged email with the hotel - and if the email is any indication - I think the service will be excellent.  It is also supposed to have an excellent restaurant - but that isn't the main reason I chose it.

My wife and I stayed at the Four Seasons Marunouchi for over a week in November. Definitely an excellent hotel. Nearby foodwise, there's the entire Tokyo station for all levels of food. We became VERY fond of the fast, affordable, and tasty Italian restaurant Hiro in the station. (Try their carbonara spaghetti, try their desserts). There's also a step-up-in-class Hiro bistro in the Marounuchi building, a 15 minute walk from the hotel on the other side of the station. We only ate at the hotel restaurant Ekki once, for breakfast, and their Japanese breakfasts were outstanding, very very well done. Most of the other patrons were all obvious gaijin (non-Japanese) and were universally eating Western breakfasts of pancakes and french toast and the like... those looked very tasty, but we never tried them. (I'm American, my wife Japanese).

The Four Seasons staff were eager to give food recomendations BUT they were not too helpful since they tried to they were comfortable giving us advice for "high end" dining but not for the "hey, which of the quick little hidden restaurants around here is tasty?". They were clearly just being conservative, worrying that a simple ramen shop would be too inelegant or something.

The Four Seasons has a famous "Paul" bakery on the bottom floor. We went several times and were NEVER impressed. Instead, go to "Veron", which just opened in November. It's a 5 minute walk, under the train tracks, in a new skyscraper. We always enjoyed Veron in Shibuya, the Marounuchi versiion is just as good.

Ginza is a 20 minute walk away, with all of its restaurants. We were not impressed by Kihatchi China. We both happily endorse the Chinese food at Ginza's Quilin, both for its ground floor tea shop (and tasty 800 yen lunch) as well as for its higher end 5000 yen lunch on the upper floor. Quilin is just off the main Ginza street, near the Foxy boutique and Barneys New York. Try their tea and desserts!!

Don't miss the Marounuchi building (where the other Hiro is). That's got three floors of excellent restaurants in it.. seriously, every one of them would be one of our favorites if they were in California.

There's just way too much good food in Tokyo, it beats every other city I've visited.

[pirate]

Don't know how you can say you aren't a Four Seasons fan if you've never stayed in one (think that's what your message said unless I misread it).  On my part - I've stayed in many.  Some are better (especially the newer properties like Miami) - some aren't so hot.  Since none of the luxury hotel chains has a frequent stayer program - I pretty much choose the properties on a case-by-case - city-by-city basis.  When I was in Cairo - I stayed at the Mena House - in a room with a view of the pyramids  .  Of course - that was a long time before any luxury chain hotel existed there.  Robyn

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The Marunouchi one has contemporary decor which I like. Four Seasons runs the hotel for the Taiwanese corporation that owns it and, as I understand it., the head of the corporation checked out the decor (he has great taste). Most Four Seasons have the cluttered Fremch and English interior decor which I despise. The Ritz-Carltons have that, too. It's my first time in Cairo. I asked a friend who frequently visits Cairo for advice. Four Seasons has a newer hotel near the pyramids but the one on the Nile was recommended.. I'll have to suffer if the decor is not to my liking.

[robyn]

The Marunouchi one has contemporary decor which I like. Four Seasons runs the hotel for the Taiwanese corporation that owns it and, as I understand it., the head of the corporation checked out the decor (he has great taste). Most Four Seasons have the cluttered Fremch and English interior decor which I despise. The Ritz-Carltons have that, too. It's my first time in Cairo.  I asked a friend who frequently visits Cairo for advice. Four Seasons has a newer hotel near the pyramids but the one on the Nile was recommended.. I'll have to suffer if the decor is not to my liking.

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My taste in decor is similar to yours. But - as long as a room is comfortable - decor isn't a high priority in terms of my planning where to stay. And - unfortunately - in the United States - contemporary decor frequently equates with snobby or non-existent service (the hotels are supposed to be "hip" - so why should they bother with service ). One hotel you might like a lot is the Peninsula hotel in Chicago - which manages to combine elegant contemporary decor (think Barbara Barry) and excellent service. Robyn

[robyn]

My wife and I stayed at the Four Seasons Marunouchi for over a week in November. Definitely an excellent hotel.  Nearby foodwise, there's the entire Tokyo station for all levels of food. We became VERY fond of the fast, affordable, and tasty Italian restaurant  Hiro in the station. (Try their carbonara spaghetti, try their desserts).  There's also a step-up-in-class Hiro bistro in the Marounuchi building, a 15 minute walk from the hotel on the other side of the station.  We only ate at the hotel restaurant Ekki once, for breakfast, and their  Japanese breakfasts were outstanding, very very well done. Most of the other patrons were all obvious gaijin (non-Japanese) and were universally eating Western breakfasts of pancakes and french toast and the like... those looked very tasty, but we never tried them. (I'm American, my wife Japanese).

The Four Seasons staff were eager to give food recomendations BUT they were not too helpful since they tried to they were comfortable giving us advice for "high end" dining but not for the "hey, which of the quick little hidden restaurants around here is tasty?". They were clearly just being conservative, worrying that a simple ramen shop would be too inelegant or something.

The Four Seasons has a famous "Paul" bakery on the bottom floor. We went several times and were NEVER impressed.  Instead, go to "Veron", which just opened in November. It's a 5 minute walk, under the train tracks, in a new skyscraper. We always enjoyed Veron in Shibuya, the Marounuchi versiion is just as good.

Ginza is a 20 minute walk away, with all of its restaurants. We were not impressed by Kihatchi China. We both happily endorse the Chinese food at Ginza's Quilin, both for its ground floor tea shop (and tasty 800 yen lunch) as well as for its higher end 5000 yen lunch on the upper floor.  Quilin is just off the main Ginza street, near the Foxy boutique and Barneys New York.  Try their tea and desserts!! 

Don't miss the Marounuchi building (where the other Hiro is). That's got three floors of excellent restaurants in it.. seriously, every one of them would be one of our favorites if they were in California.

There's just way too much good food in Tokyo, it beats every other city I've visited.

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You are right about the food - too much that looks terrific. I'm afraid I really won't get into full eating mode until we're in Osaka a week after we arrive due to jet lag. We have a bed & breakfast rate at the hotel - so we will be able to eat a full Japanese breakfast every day. At about our normal dinner time. I really like Japanese breakfast although it is usually too filling for me at breakfast time. Will probably be able to do justice to it at my normal dinner time.

I wouldn't expect the concierge staff at a high end hotel to give "official recommendations" of holes-in-the-wall or places off the beaten path. For those - I will usually try to bend the ear of other staff people (like the bartenders). Or talk to people I know or meet who are familiar with the area.

And - like I've said before in some other threads - my husband and I are pretty ignorant of Japanese food in general. We have had high end sushi in LA - Vancouver - and Hawaii. And one kaiseki meal in Hawaii. And we recently ate at an excellent Japanese restaurant in Orlando - Ran-Get-Su (which is a branch of a restaurant in Ginza). But we've never had soba - or udon - or ramen (we did have a Japanese noodle dish once in Wagamama in London - but I can't remember what it was). So we are pretty much a clean slate with an undiscerning palate. We may like things that aren't technically very good - or dislike things that are technically very good.

About all we plan to do because of our ignorance is avoid things we know we won't like. Like okonomiyaki restaurants where you make your own - if we wanted to make our own - we would stay home . Or very expensive restaurants where there is a huge emphasis on texture as opposed to taste (I read one review of Kozue which dwelt on that aspect of the chef's cuisine). There is nothing wrong with this type of cuisine in my opinion. It's just that I don't think that one can learn to appreciate it enough in a short trip to justify a very expensive meal. Or chicken sashimi (don't think I'd appreciate it enough to make me comfortable in terms of potential GI problems).

But other than the few things like that - we're open to just about anything. And I definitely want to do some things that I won't find anywhere else in the world - like a vegetarian kaiseki restaurant (best place to do that is probably in Kyoto). Or yuba. I just hope everyone else in the restaurant doesn't fall over laughing when I try to eat a fresh tofu skin with chopsticks. Robyn

[pirate]

to Robyn:

I was in Kyoto and Osaka in January and posted brief comments about my visit in this forum. I have tried to retrieve it but it seems to have been deleted by the controllers of this forum.

[torakris]

to Robyn:

    I was in Kyoto and Osaka in January and posted brief comments  about my  visit in this forum. I have tried to retrieve it but it seems to have been deleted by the controllers of this forum.

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There is only one controller of this forum and I almost never delete things. Topics are often merged so it will be easier for searching and reading later on down the road. Your post can be found here, in the eating in kansai thread.

[MakeLifeFun]

And - like I've said before in some other threads - my husband and I are pretty ignorant of Japanese food in general.  So we are pretty much a clean slate with an undiscerning palate.  We may like things that aren't technically very good - or dislike things that are technically very good.

About all we plan to do because of our ignorance is avoid things we know we won't like.  Like okonomiyaki restaurants where you make your own - if we wanted to make our own - we would stay home 

Perhaps the best aspect of Japan's food culture is that you can get excellent food of ALL types, not just Japanese. Italian, greek, steak, burgers, pasta, french, every style has excellent restaurants available. I hate to even admit it, but even chain restaurants like Sizzler (*) are quite good in Japan.

(*) Please forgive me for mentioning such a place on eGullet! But it really was quite good when I went to the Yokohama Sizzler. It was nothing like the vile American version.

So, my specific advice to you for the first few days is to go to the Marounuchi building, about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. (You can cut through Tokyo station underground, or go around and walk the street). The Marounuchi building has perhaps 50 restaurants of every conceivable type... pick the ones that fit your mood. We've tried about 6 restaurants there, 6 winners so far. The Marounuchi building has a huge advantage in that you can go there without a plan and simply decide what restaurant you like when you peek inside and look at the menu.

Being so near to the station, almost all the restaurants are used to foreigners and communication is easier there than perhaps any other part of Japan. And finally, don't skip my favorite nearby restaurant, Hiro.. the small one in the station or the larger (higher end) in the Marounuchi building.

Finally, don't dismiss Okonomikayi because "you have to make it yourself". That's part of the fun! Shabu shabu and yakiniku are also "cook it yourself" foods but usually that adds to the experience. Still, I remember the scene in "Lost In Translation" where they walk out of the Shabu Shabu restaurant and say "What a terrible restaurant, they make you cook your own food!" That's a funny comment on several levels.

[robyn]

to Robyn:

    I was in Kyoto and Osaka in January and posted brief comments  about my  visit in this forum. I have tried to retrieve it but it seems to have been deleted by the controllers of this forum.

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Torakris did direct us to your message. We too will be staying at the Granvia in Kyoto. I understand that it has some good restaurants - but I think we will be able to get out and explore a bit during our 5 days there. Quite frankly - I haven't even started to read about restaurants in Kyoto yet - I am kind of bogged down learning about Tokyo restaurants. Robyn

[JasonTrue]

It may just be the cook in me, but I tend to relish the experiences where dining out involves my participation.

Even in cases where the cuisine doesn't revolve around a tabletop grill, Japanese food frequently requires some kind of participation by the guests. At the ryokan where I last stayed, we grilled our own vegetables (and fish, in my friend's case) on a small tabletop shichirin; I've experienced the same at all sorts of small and grand restaurants. Nabemono, too, require direct participation, at least in deciding when to take out the food, if not always requiring you to put the items into the pot.

Restaurants that involve some kind of customer effort are at every end of the price spectrum in Japan, so it's not about the level of service or quality.

Even at a very basic level, like dipping your zarusoba in tsuyu, or maybe deciding how much soy sauce to drizzle over your onsen-tamago at breakfast in the morning, require a more conscious involvement with the food than average American consumption patterns (ok, we have ketchup and salsa). I'm just fine with that.

You certainly can get hand-holding at almost any okonomiyaki or monja restaurant, though. And you're not doing all of the work, just deciding when it's done.

Finally, don't dismiss Okonomikayi because "you have to make it yourself". That's part of the fun!  Shabu shabu and yakiniku are also "cook it yourself" foods but usually that adds to the experience.  Still, I remember the scene in "Lost In Translation" where they walk out of the Shabu Shabu restaurant and say "What a terrible restaurant, they make you cook your own food!"  That's a funny comment on several levels.

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[robyn]

Perhaps I will get more into the swing of "cooking things for myself" after we arrive and have gotten over the worst of our jet lag. After years of not being able to take a long trip abroad - I had forgotten how difficult the planning is. Both in terms of making sure things at home are taken care of - and things abroad go smoothly (never thought I'd have to spend a lot of time locating an ATM card that has an excellent chance of working in Japan). At this point - a glass of champagne in an onsen sounds good to me . Robyn

[torakris]

Perhaps I will get more into the swing of "cooking things for myself" after we arrive and have gotten over the worst of our jet lag.  After years of not being able to take a long trip abroad - I had forgotten how difficult the planning is.  Both in terms of making sure things at home are taken care of - and things abroad go smoothly (never thought I'd have to spend a lot of time locating an ATM card that has an excellent chance of working in Japan).  At this point - a glass of champagne in an onsen sounds good to me  .  Robyn

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