Where to stay in Tokyo
This hotel, opened just before the pandemic, echoes the Art Deco elegance of New York City while adapting classic Japanese motifs.
New York Meets Tokyo … Manhattan meets Shinjuku. The slogans for one of the Japanese capital’s slickest hotels might seem overblown but there’s much to be said for the truth of Kimpton Shinjuku’s analogy. The Big Apple, like Tokyo, has many boroughs and, in both cities, clusters of skyscrapers and metropolitan buzz lie at the heart of the action. In New York, it’s Manhattan. In Tokyo, it’s Shinjuku, to the west of the CBD (site of the Imperial Palace, Ginza et al), and one of the capital’s 23 “ku” or neighbourhood wards, which are then further chopped into subsections, or “cho”. Shinjuku Station is one of the world’s busiest, with an average of 3 million passengers converging each day. That’d be like almost half the population of Sydney boarding trains across 24 hours.
Head northeast of the rail terminus to Kabukicho, the entertainment district (it can be pretty seedy), where pachinko parlours are madly popular, or stick closer to the station, which is surrounded by department stores such as the glamorous Lumine at the south and east exits, shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and subterranean malls, which include lots of tiny izakaya with just a few stools and many outlets selling bento boxes to go.
At the other end of the scale is the so-called Skyscraper District of Nishi Shinjuku where neighbourhood buzz is muted but significant high-rises include the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (check its public observation decks) and hotels branded by Hilton, Hyatt and the celebrated Park Hyatt, which is still capitalising on its “role” as a film set in Lost in Translation (2003). And it’s to this high-rise precinct that I’m headed.
Kimpton Shinjuku is about 15 minutes on foot from the station, which doesn’t sound far but it is a bit of a trek if you’re dragging luggage. Opened in 2019, the exterior is a clear homage to the sharp Art Deco angles of Manhattan’s skyline, and its corner location profile juts out, vaguely mimicking a cruise liner’s prow. So it’s well at home in the so-called Skyscraper District but its interiors are altogether individual. Kimpton is a “design-driven” brand and, in this case, the adaptation of classic Japanese motifs into more contemporary iterations works extremely well.
It’s a theme that’s evident across artwork, details in public areas (think: neon installations and elevator murals; glistening primary colours and funky round cushions) and guestroom finishes (charred timber bedheads replicating Japan’s ancient shou sugi ban technique; inlaid metal floral emblems; cotton yukata for guests; gorgeous textiles).
Add key decor items and flourishes throughout that embody a neighbourhood association, even down to staff uniforms (and chic shoes) commissioned from community creatives. As further proof that such things matter, there’s a Concept Store to take home mementos, including soft furnishings.
My guestroom is a King Premium, as spacious as it sounds, although no dedicated workspace is included, which could annoy business travellers. But all the requisite amenities are in evidence (even yoga mats) or on call via a supplied iPad and there’s a generous bathtub and good lighting.
Accommodation in the less expensive Essential category looks pretty snug so it could be worth upgrading unless travelling solo but, as with the best Japanese design, there’s an origami-like precision in folding everything that’s needed into compact spaces, and almost all have tubs. There’s also a quadruple family style. And the hotel is big on “perks”, including use of bicycles to explore the ’hood, a hosted “social hour” for guests each evening (beverages and “bites”) and complimentary morning tea or coffee of choice, served at the ground-level The Jones deli-style café/bar or to take away.
It’s a strategy that harks back to 1981 when the brand’s visionary founder, the late Bill Kimpton, launched his concept of smallish properties with a belief that hotels should not feel “lonely, stressful, or disorienting”.
IHG acquired the Kimpton portfolio in 2014, putting the previously US-centric portfolio onto a broader stage, with openings in Europe, UK and Asia, plus the very popular Kimpton Margot, Sydney. Bill Kimpton also believed that the most successful of city hotels are those that actively encourage locals to use food and beverage outlets.
It’s a tradition that’s rigorously upheld across the group portfolio and is extended to four-legged visitors. I see several owners and their groomed canines headed for second-floor District Brasserie/Bar/Lounge, which is well named for its flow of precincts, including an open terrace with greenery, sun umbrellas and (pet-friendly) lounge. Dogs are welcome to sleep over with their owners, too, with special packages offered and bedding, bowls and other necessities provided.
While breakfasting at District, sans canine company, I encounter an eggs benedict that’s up there with my top three (to date), which makes good sense, given the dish’s NYC origins. Prime US sirloin appears on District’s dinner menus but there are Japanese and hybrid specialties aplenty. Also memorable are cocktails at rooftop bar 86. It feels so heady up there, seemingly a lot taller than 17 floors above street level. The 86 monicker is odd as I’ve only heard it as an alternative to “nix” but management contend that it’s inspired by slang used during the Prohibition era (1920-1933) when the NYC police (on the unofficial payroll of many bars) would use the secret phrase “86 your customers” to let the barman at a speakeasy named Chumley’s know that a raid was imminent and patrons should dash out the 86 Bedford St exit as the coppers would arrive at the Pamela Court entry. Tall tale or true, Big Apple connections are at the core of Kimpton Shinjuku, high in the sky above Tokyo’s concrete canyons.
IN THE KNOW
If landing at Narita, take the Narita Express train direct to Shinjuku. If entering Japan via Haneda (Tokyo’s closer airport), board the Keikyu Line to Shinagawa and change for the JR Yamanote Line to Shinjuku. Rooms at Kimpton Shinjuku from about JPY66,000 ($695) a night; seasonal variations apply; slightly higher rates for pet-friendly options.
Jo Makito was a guest of IHG.