Noku Kyoto
Kyoto, Japan
When some hotels profess minimalism, you get the impression that they’re striving for an aloof, inhuman emptiness rather than simplicity, clarity and thoughtfulness. Not so with Noku, a medium-sized number at the southwest corner of Kyoto’s imperial palace complex. Simplicity rules the day here — as it should, to distance the neighborhood from the city’s hectic retail sectors — but it’s a warm, breathing simplicity built on acknowledging and fulfilling travelers’ needs.
Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo doesn’t really have a single central downtown district, but if you’re in the business of banking and finance, you’ll find you’re spending an awful lot of time in Marunouchi. (And with easy access to the Imperial Palace and to Ginza, it’s not a bad spot for sightseers or shoppers, either.) Some of the world’s most impressive high-end hotels are located here — and they’re joined by Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo, whose serviced apartments give the luxury chains a run for their money.
Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel
Tokyo, Japan
Foreigners traveling to Tokyo face a set of obstacles they’re unlikely to encounter elsewhere — just getting around can be a struggle, given the sheer size and complexity of the city, and the fact that many streets seem to be unnamed. Selecting a hotel, one soon finds, is also not without its challenges.
Park Hotel Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Like many Tokyo hotels, the Park Hotel occupies part of a mixed-use skyscraper; in this case, ten uppermost floors of the Shiodome Media Tower, right in the heart of downtown. Architecturally, the Park Hotel is rather unique — the core of the building has been hollowed out, so that its 273 rooms all face outward.
The Capitol Hotel Tokyu
Tokyo, Japan
It’s a rare Tokyo hotel where you’re in touch with nature, aside from a distant view of Mount Fuji — but the Capitol Hotel Tokyu is anything but typical. Here, surrounded by greenery on the edge of the Imperial Palace, guests can use the local flora as their calendar: camellias mean winter, cherry blossoms spring, and the red-orange-yellow leaves of the maple tree are a sure sign of fall.
Trunk Hotel
Tokyo, Japan
From American blue jeans to French pastry to Italian coffee — increasingly, Tokyo is where other countries go to see their local arts and crafts practiced at the highest possible level. The youth-oriented, high-design, hyper-social boutique hotel certainly didn’t originate in Japan, but again, it just might be in Tokyo that it finds its most perfect expression. TRUNK Hotel is the local version of something like the Ace Hotel Shoreditch or the Wythe in Williamsburg, but it’s no mere copy — as is so often the case in Japan, what sets it apart is the sheer quality of its execution, which is in turn the product of a fanatical attention to detail.
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