Aman Tokyo, the first Aman city retreat, opens in December

AMAN Resorts opens its only city hotel and first in Japan on December 22 in Tokyo’s financial district.

AMAN Resorts opens its only city hotel — and first in Japan — on December 22, perched atop the new Otemachi Tower in Tokyo’s financial district.

The first of a planned collection of urban retreats (New York, London, Paris and Singapore are on the upscale group’s wish list), the Aman Tokyo occupies levels 33-38 of the tower near Ginza, featuring 84 rooms and suites and an indoor garden.

All guestrooms afford long views of the city or nearby Imperial Palace Gardens while the hotel’s luxury two-level day spa, the largest hotel spa in the city, ­features a 30m swimming pool and eight treatment rooms with private dressing rooms.

Designed by the Australian firm Kerry Hill ­Architects, the contemporary hotel features light-flooded, spare and very Zen interiors incorporating ­traditional ­Japanese materials including camphor wood, Washi paper and stone.

Soaring six levels through the heart of the hotel, the lobby centrepiece, created using layers of ­textured Washi paper, resembles the delicate interior of a Japanese lantern.

Below are a water feature and two traditional rock gardens composed of boulders trucked in from northern Japan.

The spacious guest­rooms (at 71sq m, the “Deluxe” are the largest entry-level rooms in the city) feature Shoji screens, drop-dead views and roomy bathrooms with a large furo (or deep Japanese soaking tub) at the floor-to-ceiling window.

The hotel also has a handsome library stocked with books on Japanese art and culture, a cigar lounge, as well as yoga and Pilates studios.

DON’T MISS: A soak in a traditional Japanese hot tub in the gorgeous day spa.

DINING IN: Executive chef Eiji Ohata will oversee the ground-floor cafe featuring Mediterranean food and the hotel’s signature sake; on the 33rd level The Restaurant by Aman is a fine-dining affair with a large walk-in wine cellar and views of the Imperial Palace Gardens as well as Mount Fuji in the distance. Try the roasted Kyoto duck with Manchurian wild rice or Kagoshima beef fillet with Perigueux sauce and braised radish.

DINING OUT: In the neighbourhood, check out Ginza Kojyu (home to acclaimed three-Michelin-starred chef Toru Okuda), Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten (the concierge can make a booking) and Tempura Kondo.

ASK THE CONCIERGE: The hotel will offer a ­variety of cultural experiences including tours of the world’s largest fish market and a sake brewery as well as ­lessons in calligraphy and Iaido (Japanese sword play).

CHECKING IN: Introductory rates, valid to May, from ¥75,000 (about $734) a night plus taxes.

More: amantokyo.com

ALSO TRY: Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel; Westin Singapore; Amanfayun, Hangzhou, China.

Christine McCabe