As a brand, the Mandarin Oriental hotels always present the finest service, excellent restaurants and luxurious surroundings. Each Mandarin Oriental hotel also reflects and takes on the character of its location. For the Tokyo Mandarin Oriental, it is Japan’s impeccable standards and pursuit of perfection that comes through.
Stepping out of the elevator on the 38th floor, you enter the stylish lobby with soaring ceilings and panoramic views over Tokyo. Towering high above the city, one can see the Tokyo Sky Tree Tower, the Imperial Palace and even Mount Fuji on a clear day.
From the lobby, one can look down and see the Sense Tea Corner. By day it is a fashionable place to sip on fine tea and by night it is a stylish place to linger.
Around the periphery of the building on the 37th and 38th floors and commanding magnificent views are Mandarin Oriental’s acclaimed restaurants. There are 3 restaurants with 1 Michelin star, Cantonese restaurant – Sense, French restaurant – Signature and molecular gastronomy restaurant – Tapas Molecular Bar.
The hotel’s sushi restaurant, Sushi Sora, serves classic Edo-mae style sushi around a counter with seating for 8. It is also a hot dining destination and advanced reservations are recommended.
At the center of the hotel is the Mandarin Bar on the 37th floor. It is the only open space where smoking is allowed and powerful ventilation ensures that the bar area is not smoky. At night, it is popular with Tokyo residents who come here to enjoy the live jazz performances.
The location is very convenient, the hotel building is located right on top of Mitsukoshimae metro station on the Ginza Line in the Nihonbashi business district. It is 8 minutes to Tokyo Station and walking distance to Tokyo’s main shopping and entertainment districts.
The hotel’s 157 rooms and 21 suites are located on floors 30-36 and there are certain floors dedicated for smoking rooms. The interior design is contemporary and sleek, with elements of Japanese refinement. Our Mandarin Grand King room was a spacious 60 sqm with a view towards Mount Fuji.
Unfortunately, we had cloudy skies during the visit and didn’t have a clear view of the mountain.
A welcome plate of Shin grapes was prepared for our arrival and they were very sweet and plump. This was our first introduction to the many wonderful fruits in Japan.
The bathroom had a shower and a large soaker bathtub. Bathroom amenities were from Bottega Veneta and there were bath salts scented in lavender and juniper. The slate floors had a rough surface which prevented any slipping, a very thoughtful addition.
This being Japan, the toilet deserves a special mention and it is fully equipped with the latest technology.
For turn-down service, slippers and kimonos are laid out and a calming scented essential oil is placed near the bed to aid sleep.
For breakfast, guests can go to the Oriental Lounge for an a la carte menu or to the K’Shiki restaurant for a buffet breakfast. Although the buffet selection at K’Shiki is not the largest, what it offers is the finest of every category. There was milk from Hokkaido prefecture which is known for its creaminess and strong milk flavour, soy milk made with non-GMO soybeans from Canada, Caspian sea yogurt, maple syrup from Quebec and single origin artisanal honey from Iwate prefecture.
There was a rainbow of fresh squeezed juices available – Fuji apple, orange, pink grapefruit, spinach and parsley, carrot and ginger, red cabbage and apple.
Guests can choose an egg dish cooked to order – scrambled, fried, poached and Eggs Benedict with crab. The eggs have a special pedigree, coming from Nakamura farm in Yamanashi prefecture. The chickens are fed a diet of herbs, soy beans, chili, hibiscus flowers, rose hips and seaweed. The resulting egg yolk is red in colour and rich in taste. These eggs made gorgeous Eggs Benedicts and scrambled eggs.
We were given a special treat that morning by the Food and Beverage manager. We were chatting with him about how the Japanese devote so much attention and effort to achieve the highest level of quality in food. He brought over an example, the Shizuoka muskmelon, one of the most expensive fruit in the world, fetching prices up to $200USD per melon.
The muskmelon’s prized sweetness and juiciness has been bred through generations by careful selection of seeds. Modern technology even plays a part now with computer analyses and process optimization. There is often only one melon per vine, the other melons stripped away to allow all the nutrients to concentrate in that one melon. We tasted the muskmelon and it was like eating juice. The sweetness and juiciness were just incredible.
For an impeccable experience of the highest standards, the Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo is hard to beat. It impresses at every level and will delight you at every turn.
From January 4, 2016 until April 30, 2016, MO Tokyo is celebrating their 10 year anniversary and it will be a great time to visit. Rooms rates from JPY 90,000-105,000 and suites from JPY 180,000-250,000.
Where: Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo
2-1-1 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo,
Tokyo 103-8328, Japan
Phone: +81 3-3270-8800
