Hoshinoya Tokyo

In the middle of Tokyo’s Otemachi district, an area synonymous with charmless glass-and-steel skyscrapers, stands a building that looks nothing like the rest. Cloaked in a dark chainmail with a beguiling floral-effect pattern, alarmingly narrow and dramatically uplit at night, the Hoshinoya doesn’t belong among the banks and business hotels. It belongs to a different dimension.

Approximately 99 percent of the luxury hotels in Japan describe themselves as a mix of the traditional and modern. But the Hoshinoya - one of the nationwide Hoshino chain’s flagship properties - grabs the old-new concept and takes it to new and exciting places. It’s not just modern – it’s downright futuristic; a utopian vision of luxury hospitality that’s close to science fiction. A blissfully tranquil yet uncompromisingly urban take on a ryokan, Hoshinoya asks ‘what if you took the concept of traditional Japanese spa inns, and replicated it multiple times inside a modern high rise?’

Why stay at Hoshinoya?

The moment you step through the hotel’s front door you’re confronted by a unique, self-contained world. Actually that’s wrong. It begins when you see the front door: a whisper-silent automatic sliding number that’s made out of centuries-old, bewitchingly warped wood. Once you’re inside, the friendly and endlessly patient staff avail you of your shoes (stored from that point inside a nifty bamboo tower) and ferry you into the building proper. From that point the outside world basically fades into non-existence. Japanese tatami is everywhere, including in the elevators, (which announce their arrival with the thwok of a noh drum). The atmospheric murmurings of shamisens, kotos and shakuhachi flutes follow you through the corridors, providing even the most mundane activities with a poignant ambience. Each floor also has as its focal point, a communal tea room, in which guests, shuffling about in their robes, can intermingle if they so wish.

Hoshino - of which I am a fan - is one Japan’s most well-loved and idiosyncratic hotel chains. Hoshinoya Tokyo is clearly the project into which they’ve poured more of their energy and imagination (and money) than any other. The 17-storey building contains just 84 rooms, with every floor designed to feel like an independent ryokan. However, Hoshinoya's pride and joy is arguably the onsen, improbably located high up on the 17th floor. Whatever you’re imagining, you’re probably wide of the mark. Hoshinoya's sky-spa is like something out of Blade Runner. Embellished with a single flower, the baths are enclosed by towering onyx-black walls that eliminate almost every visual reminder of the surrounding city. It’s you, the hot water and the night sky, basically. The effect is so poignant it borders on the religious: a site of urban-folk magic.

What are the rooms like at Hoshinoya?

Once you’ve checked in, it’s hard to tear yourself away from your quarters. The hotel’s 84 rooms are elegant, exceedingly comfortable and confidently simple. We took a south-facing Kiku room, (larger than a standard) and immediately began cooing over its mellow blue walls, bamboo and chestnut furniture and soft furnishings for lounging about. Paper sliding doors in front of the windows successfully conceal the fact you’re halfway up a skyscraper in Tokyo’s financial district. The spacious bathrooms have shining marble walls, stone floors and some very swanky Hoshinoya-brand products. They also house massive black basin baths, which are intentionally redolent of onsens. 

Furniture is low and thoughtfully proportioned. Hoshinoya’s beds are enhanced, very plush reinterpretations of the classic futon, meaning visitors get a dose of modern comfort while also experiencing the authentic Japanese sleeping experience (eg being on the floor). Concealed cupboards swallow luggage, televisions disappear behind sliding panels and lighting is deliberately subdued. It’s all very nice, and feels more like cutting-edge Japanese residential design than a hotel room. 

What's there to eat and drink at Hoshinoya?

Food and drink at Hoshinoya revolves almost entirely around one otherworldly subterranean restaurant serving a high-concept tasting menu which applies thoroughly modern and ultra-complicated techniques to old-school Japanese regional home recipes. Dinner unfolds across multiple courses inside hushed private or semi-private dining rooms. The lack of windows (combined with the fact you’re eating in what feels like a cross between an art gallery and a cave) means your attention can be fully focused on the food.

The food, by the way, was exceptional. It’s easy for these kinds of high-concept kaiseki experiences to fall flat on their fine-dining faces. I’ve been lucky enough to try dozens of them and to be honest I struggle to remember which was which. No one’s going to forget Hoshinoya’s tasting menu. Dishes were beautifully assembled but still recognisably related to the rustic dishes from which they’d evolved. Flavours were bold, textures perfect and the service irreproachable. 

Breakfast was equally memorable. The Japanese option arrives as an elegant procession of lacquered boxes, grilled fish, rice, miso soup and dozens of tiny accompaniments. A Western breakfast is available too, but eating sausages and bacon at Hoshinoya would feel deeply incongruous, like turning up to a funeral in clown makeup. 

Elsewhere, the communal ochanoma on every floor functions as an informal lounge rather than a bar. Complimentary tea, coffee and snacks are available throughout the day, while evening drinks can be quietly enjoyed without ever having to descend to reception.

What's the service like at Hoshinoya?

As you’d expect: attentive and professional without ever becoming intrusive. The whole operation is run with the type of silent elegance you’d usually associate with royal visits and religious rituals. Shoes vanish the moment you arrive and reappear when needed. Tea materialises before you've realised you're thirsty. Bags seem to transport themselves between spaces without your noticing.

English is spoken confidently throughout the hotel and the staff are wonderfully patient explaining everything from bathing etiquette in the onsen to local points of interest to visit. They also encourage guests to participate in the property's programme of traditional activities, which ranges from tea ceremonies and incense appreciation to morning kenjutsu practice and seasonal cultural workshops. 

Most impressively, the staff fully commit to maintaining the illusion that you've left Tokyo behind. Despite being right in the middle of one of the busiest business districts on Earth, you'll probably find yourself instinctively lowering your voice by the second day.

What's the area like around Hoshinoya?

Otemachi – Tokyo’s financial district – isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. Compared to the rest of the capital, it’s fairly impersonal, (appropriately) businesslike and dishearteningly similar to every other financial district on Earth. However, you don’t have to wander far to access some adjacent areas which are totally different. There’s Tsukiji to the south east, with its fish market, temple and gardens. Then Kanda, which contains book-lovers paradise Jimbocho and nightmarish electronics mecca Akihabara is directly north of the hotel. Also Hoshinoya is a short hop skip and a jump from Tokyo station, a transport hub connecting you to pretty much anywhere in the entire country. 

Ultimately though, Hoshinoya isn't somewhere you stay because of the neighbourhood. You stay because, once those ancient wooden doors slide shut behind you, the neighbourhood effectively ceases to exist. The rooftop onsen encapsulates the wonder and weirdness that define Hoshinoya: genuine volcanic water, hot and sodium chloride-rich, being pumped into the sky from 1,500 metres beneath the city. Few hotels anywhere are quite so successful at convincing you that you've travelled not just to another place, but to an entirely different version of reality.