Welcome to Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi
PHOTO: My delicious mochi welcome at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi (c) Sery Kim
After a long, long 24 hours worth of traveling from D.C. to Tokyo, I thankfully made it safe-and-sound to my first ever trip to Japan. While I have only been here for a few hours, I am already incredibly impressed by the city as a whole, Narita International Airport in particular, where I managed to get off the plane two minutes after landing, through customs in one minute and when I went to baggage claim I found two men whose sole job it was to remove bags from the conveyer belt (which I received in two minutes). I've been to a lot of airports over the last two years, but I have never been anywhere more efficient or clean. Friendly too. Fabulous.
PHOTO: Tokyo treats at Narita International Airport (c) Sery Kim
As soon as I went through the final doors, the super helpful travel agent was there to buy my ticket on the bullet train to Tokyo. The bullet took an hour and was super easy to utilize. The bullet stops twice within Narita Airport and then its straight through to Tokyo without stopping. As far as I could tell, the languages on the train for announcements are Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese so guests shouldn't have any problem using it. Also, there is a very large television screen at the doors telling you how many minutes are you are from the next station. Also, very clean and free wi-fi. Oh and since I am in Japan, I downloaded a fun app to make myself look very anime. Good times!
PHOTO: Selfie on the bullet (c) Sery Kim
Once I was at the Tokyo Station -- officially "First Avenue Tokyo Station" which just so happens to also be the largest station in the even larger Tokyo metro grid -- the concierge at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi was literally waiting outside the sliding doors of the bullet train with a sign. The ease and efficiency of this was flawless. Actually, this is a service they provide to any guest. Called the "Airport Greeting Service," the Four Seasons personnel will meet guests int he arrival hall and assist with currency exchange as well as ground transportation.
We walked through the First Avenue Tokyo Station and I really wish I wasn't so tired so I could have taken a keen look at everything. There were so many restaurants, cafes, gifts, fashion and general shopping but in particular there was a "Tokyo Ramen Street" where you go to a ticket-vending machine to buy a ticket to eat at one of the restaurants and BAM. Ramen! So fun. I will have a chance later today to back and get some ramen, truly looking forward to that.
PHOTO: Late night snacks at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi (c) Sery Kim
The Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi could not be any more convenient to the station or the airport. It was a three minute walk from exit to entry. The hotel occupies five levels of the 31-level Pacific Century Place (an office and retail development). The highest floor of the hotel is floor seven where you will find Motif Restaurant & Bar, a French restaurant with views of the iconic Tokyo Station and the historical Marunouchi Business District. We had some easy bar snacks since everyone just flew in that day and weren't really up to a full dinner. Of course, despite leaving the table full, with a couple of glasses of champagne under my belt, I can't sleep so I've been up all night catching up on work, hitting the gym, reading and binging through Season One and Two of the Showtime series Billions, but I did manage to get four hours of magnificent sleep on the Four Seasons bed.
I have always really liked the Four Seasons bed. In fact, I have liked it so much I tried to buy it from the Four Seasons Georgetown in D.C. when I moved back to D.C. This hotel not only has a fab bed but it has an extraordinarily large "pillow menu." FAB. I am going to try and power through a 24 hour day (after 24 hours of traveling) so I can sleep well tonight.
PHOTO: Tea, Whiskey and hot milk (c) Sery Kim
If not, then I will have to re-create this cure the concierge sent up of tea, whiskey and hot milk. While all were tasty, I think jet lag will be a bit harder to get over this time around!
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi
Pacific Century Place Marunouchi
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6277, Japan
http://www.fourseasons.com/tokyo/
