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Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to visit Tokyo. It’s a fizzing, seemingly never-ending city with a million exciting and distinctive qualities. Perhaps it’s the niche museums, the shady shrines, the lesser-known neighbourhoods, the world-class bars and restaurants or the shops that somehow remain open despite making no fiscal sense whatsoever. Whatever it is, chances are you're not there to waste too much time swanning round your hotel room in a bathrobe. You want to get out there. And arguably nowhere ‘gets you out there’ as efficiently and as stylishly as Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street.
That’s right. To stay at Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street is to be placed into a (very comfortable and undeniably chic) cannon, which fires straight into the heart of what is arguably Tokyo’s coolest and most fashion-forward neighbourhood. The titular street on which the hotel is built is a long and winding (and surprisingly un-hectic) pedestrianised thoroughfare that separates Shibuya from Harajuku. It’s a bit like staying in the middle of Seven Dials in Covent Garden. Only with much better clothes shops and at least two places serving what might be the best doughnuts on Earth.
Why stay at Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street?
Because it’s an impressively calm, restorative base somehow hiding in the middle of one of the busiest bits of one of the busiest cities in the world.
Architecturally, Trunk(Hotel) smooshes together local design principles with recognisably ‘global’ boutique-y idioms. So despite being four stories high the building blends tastefully into its surroundings like a man paid to look cool and handsome in the background of parties. The interior of the lobby, bar and hallways however, hum with the kind of energy you’d associate with the creative industries, trendy co-working spaces and members clubs. The ground-floor lounge and terrace - an open-plan area featuring soft-tan seating, warm wooden tones and contemporary furniture - function as public-facing spaces, accomodating Tokyo residents as well as hotel guests. During the day it’s filled with aggressively well-dressed people on laptops drinking (very decent) hand-drip coffee; at night it’s a lively bar with DJs, cocktails, and locals mingling with guests.
For travellers who value proximity to the action, the location of this place is another decisive factor. Within minutes on foot, you can transition from the quieter stretch of Cat Street into the denser, more kinetic zones of Shibuya or Harajuku. Getting to dip in and out of Tokyo’s most intense (some might say unbearably intense) neighbourhoods on a whim, is one hell of an advantage and in fact, for a lot of crowd-averse people, strolling through certain parts of the city at 9am (before the masses arrive) might be ideal. Think of all those trendy cafes that won’t yet have (much of) a queue.
What are the rooms like at Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street?
Accommodation is divided into 15 units: four suites and 11 standard rooms. We stayed in both types. Materially, all of the rooms follow a consistent aesthetic, with neutral walls, off-white or light grey colours and Scandi-inflected Japanese furniture (often using reclaimed timber). Both varieties had tiled bathrooms, with posh-feeling Trunk toiletries and nice coarse cotton bathrobes. Beds in both room types were large queen-sized models, with 100 percent cotton Simmons sheets. Mattresses at Trunk have been developed specifically, and they use pocket springs.
The suite was hilariously huge. Way bigger than we deserved or needed. The room furled out over two floors and featured a long meeting table, a large kitchen, a comically gigantic corner sofa and a rooftop terrace with a little dipping pool that lights up at night. One to consider if you're planning an album launch party for the Wu Tang Clan.
What’s there to eat and drink at Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street?
The hotel’s food and beverage offering is centred around the previously mentioned ground-floor restaurant and bar. The open-plan layout features dining tables, lounge seating and a bar counter. The menu primarily leans towards contemporary and international, the type of fuss-free food an actor doing press junkets or jet-lagged DJ might want. Chargrilled hamburger steak, steamed salmon, panko-coated lamb chops and Caesar salads. Western-friendly comfort food, but make it premium. There are also a few dishes that play it less safe, including a conger eel risotto and pan-roasted ezo venison.
The bar offering is great, featuring fun signature cocktails as well as local beers and high-quality wines. Don’t sleep on the coffee, either. I enjoyed a supremely well assembled cortado early one morning and still occasionally think about it fondly. Breakfasts are both Japanese and western. The terrace area, when weather permits, extends the dining space outdoors, offering a vantage point over this gratifyingly chilled-out chunk of Shibuya.
What’s the service like at Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street?
Service at Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street reflects the property’s informal but still high-end positioning. The agonisingly hip-looking staff are efficient and polite, but intentionally low-key. Due to Trunk's contemporary stylings, there’s also none of the overt ceremonial hospitality you associate with traditional Japanese service culture.
Check-in processes are streamlined, often conducted within the open-plan lobby rather than at a formal front desk. Staff during our visit seemed well-versed in the local area and were able to offer recommendations and also advice about where to buy specific things in a pinch. Housekeeping was consistent and invisible.
What’s the area like around Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street?
Not to downplay the exemplary job done by the lovely men and women at Trunk(Hotel) Cat Street, but for most international travellers, the area is the draw. And it should be! Shibuya is a big, beautiful, maddening place, arguably the most full-on and hyper-real bit of the world’s most full-on and hyper-real country. Being able to leisurely dawdle at 9am out of Trunk(Hotel) and onto the semi-deserted neighbourhood streets is a real privilege.
Cat Street itself is pedestrianised, and features a lot of genuinely unique and rewarding shops. It’s also a great way of accessing all of the adjacent areas while also avoiding any of the large arterial roads, like a little conveyor belt that takes you through the heart of the district. Whether you crave the more-perfect-than-perfect boutiques of Omotesandō, otherworldly sleaze and squalor in Dōgenzaka or whatever it is they’re currently up to in Harajuku, you can get there via Cat Street.
Despite its centrality, the immediate vicinity of the hotel retains a degree of calm, particularly in the early morning or late evening. This duality is part of the property’s appeal. For travellers who prioritise location, material detail and a degree of cultural integration over sheer scale or opulence, Trunk(Hotel) remains a fantastic option.