By Narbeh Minassian
As far as hotels go, the Four Seasons is as an assured stamp of quality as you can get. Couple this with a location at the heart of Tokyo’s central business district, and you have a very attractive holiday proposition. The Four Seasons Hotel Marunouchi is famed for its style and timeless décor; so timeless that it doesn’t even matter what time of the year you visit as the hotel suits both cold and hot, and both grey and bright. The impressively furnished building is matched by an equally outstanding service -standing as testament to that famed Japanese hospitality- that will personally greet and send you off at Tokyo rail station.
With 57 spacious rooms to choose from, this hotel is not too big and overwhelming but not too small and intimate at the same time. The rooms, just as the rest of the hotel is, are designed in a modern style but with fine furniture, all giving the luxury of state of the art lodging and the character of an antique. Every room is equipped with all the possible technological amenities, but to make the most of your stay, you would be well advised to pick the Chairman’s suite, which has views of the Tokyo skyline through its floor to ceiling windows and exceptional comfort.
As tempting as staying within the boundaries of this quite unique place, a major part of the experience here is the surrounding area of Tokyo, something which the concierge will happily facilitate your arrival to. You are just walking distance from the heart of Tokyo’s business district and a skyline that gives our own Manhattan a run for its money. Beyond that you have Ginza, which has been labelled as a ‘retail Mecca’ with high-end shops galore. Interspersed between these skyscrapers and shops are ancient temples, some dating back centuries. Needless to say that Tokyo is a reflection of the dynamism of the Japanese people.
To escape the madness of the urban landscape, check out the hotel’s spa. The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi offers a quiet and relaxing setting with two private treatment rooms. The separate men’s and women’s changing areas feature wet spa facilities, including a steam sauna, jet showers, and a traditional Onsen bath. The idea of Onsen baths originates from the hot springs across Japan. As a volcanically active country, the Japanese have often had access to natural hot springs, which were used to bathe in a fair few years ago. Now, you do not need to search out volcanic hills for a spot of this very Japanese treatment, as the Four Seasons Spa offers this luxury as well as all the traditional facials, massages, and Asian body treatments.
The Japanese are celebrated worldwide for their cuisine and culinary skills. They are a people who focus on healthy living and this is reflected in their cooking. They tend to boil their food, using fresh ingredients and try to avoid preservatives and other such unfriendly matter. For this reason, the Ekki Bar and Grill is a standout choice in which to try the said cuisine. From their fresh seafood straight from the famous Tsukiji fish market, to their Sendai, and their Kobe beef –which you may have read about before within these pages- that is renowned around the world as one of the finest types of beef, there is little chance of you going wrong, even for the picky eaters.
The Four Seasons Hotel can be found on almost every continent, but this should give the false impression that the Marunouchi chain is banal and unexceptional. On the contrary, virtually anything Japanese is authentic and original, and so it is for the hotel in question. Here is a charming abode in one of the most foreign and wholly unique cities in the world, at least through our western eyes anyway. And for that, the Four Seasons Hotel Marunouchi provides a home so far away from your own.
Four Seasons Hotel Marunouchi
1-11-1 Marunouchi Pacific Century Place
Tokyo, 100-6277, Japan
03-5222-7222
fourseasons.com/marunouchi
