We Stayed at Hoshinoya Tokyo, a Luxury Ryokan—Here’s What it Was Like

AFAR

Join us as we tour one of Tokyo’s most beautiful luxury hotels in Tokyo, Hoshinoya Tokyo. Despite its central, downtown location, the hotel is a tranquil retreat with plenty of opportunities to relax (private onsen, anyone?) and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep. Other highlights include the onsen, food, and cultural immersion experiences—some of which are rather unexpected.   Read the full article: https://rebrand.ly/hfm70sr  Hoshinoya Tokyo: https://hoshinoya.com/tokyo/en/  ---- CONNECT WITH AFAR Afar.com is a digital and print magazine that publishes travel tips, guides, news, and stories: https://www.afar.com  Get updates on the latest articles, travel news, and more from AFAR by signing up for the AFAR newsletter: https://afar.com/newsletters  Follow AFAR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfarMedia Follow AFAR on Twitter: https://twitter.com/afarmedia Follow AFAR on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afarmedia Follow AFAR on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/afarmedia  ---- CREDITS  Jennifer Flowers - Senior Deputy Editor, Hotels Claudia Cardia - Video Editor Jessie Beck - Senior Manager, SEO & Video Elizabeth See - Designer Sarika Bansal - Editorial Director Michelle Heimerman - Photo Editor  MUSIC Musicbed  FOOTAGE / PHOTOGRAPHY Jennifer Flowers iStock  --- Chapters 00:00 Location & History 00:47 Checking In 01:45 Room Tour 02:27 Breakfast 02:50 Activities 03:44 Onsen 04:09 Dinner

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 Hi, I'm Jen, and I'm here at the Hoshinoya Tokyo,

00:07 which is a really unique hotel

00:08 here in the center of the city.

00:10 I love all of the cultural immersion

00:12 I'm getting right here on the property,

00:14 and I'd love to take you on a tour.

00:16 Let's go.

00:17 Hoshinoya Tokyo is in the Otemachi Financial District.

00:25 Today, the neighborhood is filled with skyscrapers,

00:27 but it's got centuries of history too.

00:29 In fact, samurai from the mighty Tokugawa Shogunate

00:32 lived here between the 1600s and the 1800s.

00:36 The exterior, a stunning lattice metal pattern

00:38 based on a hemp leaf,

00:39 is inspired by an auspicious Edo Komon pattern

00:42 that was once used on kimonos in the Edo period.

00:44 This hotel is a true urban resort,

00:48 inspired by a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn,

00:51 which is normally found in rural settings.

00:54 Even checking into the hotel is an experience unto itself.

00:57 There's a large entrance hall with soaring ceilings

01:00 and a wall of woven baskets that stretch all the way up.

01:03 These woven baskets are for your shoes.

01:06 You're asked to remove them,

01:07 and you keep them off during your stay

01:09 because all the hotel's floors, even the elevators,

01:12 are covered with beautiful tatami mats.

01:15 The idea is to encourage guests to leave the city behind

01:17 and to become immersed in another world

01:19 through all five senses.

01:21 It's exactly what I feel when I sense the smooth texture

01:24 of the tatami flooring beneath my feet.

01:27 Next, I head for the elevator

01:28 that takes me to the lobby on the second floor.

01:31 It's the afternoon, and a musician in a kimono

01:33 is playing a koto on a stage in the reception lounge.

01:36 The talented Rie Azuma is the architect behind this hotel

01:42 and all the Hoshinoyas across Japan.

01:44 The hotel has 84 rooms with six rooms per floor.

01:48 The kiku room is the largest accommodation

01:50 and fits up to three people.

01:51 While children are more than welcome,

01:53 littles who have a lot of energy

01:54 might feel a little frustrated in the hushed atmosphere.

01:58 Each floor was created to feel like its own private ryokan

02:01 and has a shared tea area called an ochanoma lounge.

02:04 There, you'll find Japanese teas and snacks.

02:07 While the lounge is technically a shared place,

02:10 I often have it all to myself.

02:12 Everything in my room sits a little lower,

02:15 including the chairs and the bed.

02:17 The mattresses, which are custom-made for the hotel,

02:20 are truly amazing.

02:22 I'm not sure if it was the jet lag,

02:24 but I don't know the last time

02:25 I got such a fine night's sleep.

02:27 My favorite time of day here is morning,

02:30 when the light floods into the room through lattice screens

02:33 that leave patterns in the tatami flooring.

02:36 In the morning, a member of staff arrives in my room

02:38 with a Japanese breakfast,

02:39 which is one of my favorite rituals whenever I'm in Japan.

02:43 The ingredients change every day

02:44 according to the dozens of micro seasons found here.

02:47 Hoshinoya Tokyo sits next

02:50 to the massive Tokyo Station subway hub,

02:52 and it's close to the Imperial Palace,

02:54 but the hotel offers plenty of cultural experiences

02:57 on site too.

02:58 You can take a workshop on incense

03:00 or take part in a tea ceremony tutorial.

03:02 I'm a martial artist,

03:04 so I've decided to go with one of their more active offerings.

03:07 So I'm here in the lobby.

03:12 It's really early in the morning,

03:13 and I'm about to do a Kenjutsu practice on a rooftop,

03:18 and I'm really excited.

03:20 The class focuses on breathwork and basic swordsmanship,

03:23 but the views themselves are taking my breath away.

03:26 You can see Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Tower.

03:29 The Kenjutsu practice pays homage to the samurais

03:32 who used to live in this quarter during the Edo period.

03:36 I also join a class on Japanese tea ceremonies,

03:38 which show just how carefully considered

03:40 every detail of the experience is.

03:42 And then there's the onsen,

03:45 one of the most coveted features of this property.

03:48 It's the only hotel in Tokyo with an onsen

03:51 that's fed directly by hot springs

03:52 close to 5,000 feet below the hotel.

03:55 The onsen is separated by gender,

03:58 and you need to give yourself a good scrub before you enter.

04:01 The bath leads to an outdoor space

04:03 where walls frame the sky above,

04:05 and you can feel cool breezes at night.

04:07 For dinner, I get a private room

04:10 at the subterranean restaurant

04:12 and am treated to a multi-course meal of Nippon cuisine

04:15 that features fish and seasonal ingredients.

04:18 (upbeat music)

04:20 So that concludes our tour of the Hoshinoya Tokyo.

04:23 I hope you liked it.

04:24 Be sure to tell us what you liked in the comments.

04:26 Don't forget to hit like and subscribe on your way out,

04:28 and happy travels.

04:29 (upbeat music)

04:32 (upbeat music)

04:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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