The Okura Tokyo

The original Hotel Okura opened in 1962 and became, over the subsequent decades, one of the most beloved mid-century hotel interiors in the world. Its lobby — a composition of Japanese lanterns, tatami-inspired geometry, washi-paper screens, and low furniture arranged in a space that felt at once modern and deeply Japanese — generated an unusual degree of affection among architects, designers, and travelers who found in it a coherent argument for what Japanese modernism could achieve. Its demolition in 2015, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, prompted a level of public mourning uncommon for a hotel.

The Okura Tokyo that reopened in 2019 navigated this inheritance with care. The new Okura Prestige Tower provides contemporary luxury facilities — rooms, spa, and dining — at a level consistent with a flagship luxury hotel. Alongside it, a Heritage Wing preserves and reinstates elements of the original design, including lobby furniture and decorative elements faithful to the 1962 original. For guests who arrive with knowledge of the hotel's history, the Heritage Wing is a form of encounter with something already partly mourned and returned.

The hotel's location in Toranomon — near the US Embassy, long a center for diplomatic Tokyo — gives it a geopolitical adjacency that has shaped its clientele for more than six decades. The combination of Japanese aesthetic authority, consistent service at a high level, and proximity to Roppongi, Azabu, and the government ministries makes The Okura Tokyo one of the most contextually embedded luxury hotels in the city.

For travelers who want to understand what made Tokyo's luxury hotel culture distinct before the international brand wave of the 2000s — and for those who simply want a great hotel with a story — The Okura Tokyo provides a rare opportunity to inhabit a place whose past is genuinely present.