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There’s a new Grand Dame Hotel in Tokyo: the JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo, which opened its doors in Takanawa Gateway City earlier this fall.
JW Marriott already has a presence in Japan. The brand opened its first outpost in Nara, a charming city southeast of Osaka and Kyoto. Nara is perhaps best known as Japan’s first actual capital and also for its bucolic deer park where visitors can feed some of the 1200 local (and surprisingly feisty) deer “shika senbei” or “deer crackers.” (The JW Marriott Nara can happily arrange a special deer feeding excursion, as well as visits to local tea farms and temples or sessions with calligraphers and masters in the classic art of making traditional Japanese brushes.)
The JW Marriott in Nara opened first “because it was the authentic way to introduce the brand to Japan,” says Bruce Rohr, Vice President and Global Brand Leader of JW. “Nara allowed us to debut JW Marriott in a setting that truly reflects our spirit of calm and connection.”
A stopover in Nara certainly accentuates an immersive dip into the nature and the meditative culture of Japan. The JW Marriott Nara embraces that ethos, with its soothing atmosphere, emphasized by lovely rooms and more than comfortable public spaces, both often accented with the motif of the local, mystical deer.
Nara provides a calm before the storm of the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, which can be overwhelmingly exciting to even a regular visitor. JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo lies only a 20 minute drive from Tokyo Haneda Airport. It’s located in the new Takanawa Gateway City, offering a metro hub that loops around the entire city of Tokyo, i.e. you can get pretty much anywhere, and fast. But inside, the JW Marriott offers a serene respite from the constant buzz humming through Tokyo, whether that’s from a shopping trip on Cat Street, an unparalleled Omakase sushi dinner or a walk through teamLab, the immersive art installation that’s exceedingly popular in Tokyo.
That’s not to say that the JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo isn’t buzzy. Its two main restaurants, Kako (offering Japanese cuisine) and Sefino (Mediterranean food) and the JW Bar in the lobby, provide plenty of entertainment. In December, the hotel plans to introduce its own Mindful Rooms and Suites, but one can easily capture rest, reflection and well-being of a similar feeling in one of the 200 well-appointed guest rooms which have especially gorgeous walk-in-showers.
The goal, says Rohr, is to inspire a “harmonious stay”—for guests to “pause and rejuvenate amid the city’s dynamic energy.” Consider that achieved.
AloJapan.com