Tokyo was both our entry and exit point on this whirlwind trip to Japan. With a multitude of hotels around this enormous city, we chose two artfully-decorated boutique hotels to serve as an easy base for three nights each: Park Hotel Tokyo and Shiba Park 151 Hotel.
Both are four-star boutique hotels centrally located with easy access to both Haneda and Narita airports. Upon arrival at Haneda, the Tokyo Monorail whisked us to Hamamatsucho station where we presented our cab driver with a taxi card in Japanese to our hotel.
As you take the elevator to the 25th floor of the Shiodome Media Tower, you’re greeted with a spacious lobby flanked by a gorgeous atrium sky garden that showcases views of the Tokyo Tower as well as two restaurants and a lounge.
Rooms
Perusing Park Hotel Tokyo’s website, we were amazed at the gorgeous room designs on the 29th floor, each one a work of art in its own right. A complete description of each Artist in Hotel room (as well as artist bio and showings) is shown online so choosing was a visual treat!
We were lucky enough to have stayed in one of these 43 themed rooms.
Our highly-requested Zodiac room is a black and white whimsy of animals created by Himeji-shi-born artist Ryosuke Yasumoto.
There’s animals and writing everywhere you look (including in the bathroom). Several pieces are mounted onto the wall; a mirror by the desk contains 12 hand-painted symbols representing the eastern zodiac signs.
The space is well utilized with desk and chair, flatscreen TV, small table and lounge chair with a tea and coffee area in the corner.
By far the most wonderful aspect of the room is the window seat with sweeping views of the city, Tokyo Tower and trains below. We could have sat and watched the bullet trains sweep by all day long. This romantic view is even more dramatic at night.
The bathroom has a combined shower/tub as well as a Japanese-style toilet. Whether or not you choose to make use of its many options, at the very least, the heated seat can be set to low or high.
Dining
The Park Hotel Tokyo has three restaurants (Japanese, French, lounge), a cocktail bar, bakery and coffee shop. The ART Lounge is a beautiful place where breakfast (à la carte, Western and Japanese-style buffet) is served from 7 to 10:30 daily. Room service is an additional option.
We enjoyed the large variety of dishes on offer, from delicious miso soup and tamago to croissants, vegetables, omelettes and fruit. The coffee is superb, made all the better with relaxing music to start the morning.
Luckily this hotel keeps the monotonous drone of Western cable TV news out of the picture.
Amenities
Park Hotel Tokyo stocks THANN bath and skin products in its bathrooms. This award-winning natural skincare line uses essential oils and aromatherapy scents in its collection.
There’s a THANN Sanctuary on the 26th floor offering spa treatments to help unwind after either a long flight or full day on your feet taking in the numerous sights of the city.
On the lobby level is a very helpful concierge staff plus baggage and parcel delivery service, especially helpful when we arrived after a long flight to find our Pupuru pocket wifi package waiting for us.
We also had the chance to visit several Artist in Hotel rooms, wowed by each and every one:
[Room #9: Aki Narita’s colourful Geisha Goldfish room]
[Room #14: Edo era-inspired Castle room designed by Kazuki Mizuguchi]
[Room #11: Japanese Public Bathhouse room by printmaking artist Keiko Migita]
[Room #19: Hyōgo Mino’s Lucky Cat room is filled with manekineko, known to bring good fortune]
Upon check-in, a bellboy removed the airline labels off our luggage, placed our bags on a trolley and took us up to our room to introduce the room’s airco and lighting, making sure we had everything we needed before wishing us a good night.
I’ve never seen hotel staff go as far as to remove expired luggage labels off of suitcases, then again I was reminded that Japan’s level of service is ahead of many countries by leaps and bounds. On-demand amenities include varying pillow sizes, air purifiers, humidifiers, ironing board and iron, blankets, DVD players, etc.
The free wifi is reliable throughout the hotel (we used it while at the hotel and switched to pocket wifi whenever outside).
[Don’t miss the nearby steampunk-themed clock by Hayao Miyazaki]
Location
The Shiodome Media Center is about a 10-minute walk from Shimbashi station and on the edge of Ginza’s lively entertainment and dining district.
After clearing customs at Haneda Airport, we boarded a 15-minute monorail then hopped into a cab for the two to three-minute drive to the hotel. A note to our readers: if you’ve purchased Japan Rail (JR) passes and would like to validate them right at the airport, Narita’s JR Rail office is open until 9:45 pm whereas Haneda’s closes at 6:30 pm.
[Find Boulangerie Tateru Yoshino’s delectable patisseries on the first floor]
Park Hotel Tokyo is located at Shiodome Media Tower, 1-7-1 Higashi Shimbashi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo.
We stayed as guests of Tokyo Park Hotel. Opinions, as always, are our own.
