Give us the skinny 

Fairmont has finally made its Japan debut. While the storied brand name is 98 years old (beginning with Fairmont San Francisco), the hotel company dates back to the late-1800s, when the Canadian Pacific Railway started building luxury chateaux along its train routes. You can see a through-line from this origin story to Fairmont Tokyo—the first of a wave of their new properties coming to Asia imminently—which towers above the rail tracks for several of the city’s various trains including the Shinkansen. 

Very much a “right side of the tracks” situation, this positioning adds to the hotel’s total Tokyo immersion. The panoramic views—not to mention the abundance of outdoor terraces, for which skyscraper hotels are not known—set you firmly inside the cityscape, while the art, spa, and especially bounty of smartly diverse drinking and dining options in-house offer contemporary interpretations of the Japanese traditions you came here for. 

The vibe  

Light, airy and decidedly unstuffy modern luxury. Yes, at the porte-cochere you’ll be greeted by doormen and -women in top hats and tails in British racing green, but they’re joined by Serene, a now-year-old black lab who’s the hotel’s Chief Happiness Officer. Still a puppy, she’s at turns playful and shy—after some time bonding with her near her doghouse in the foyer, I earned some cute kisses. Her official handler is a trained vet, but her official dogwalker seems to be general manager Karan Singh, whom if you’re downstairs around 8 a.m. you’re likely to see taking her for her morning constitutional in his tweed suit. All of which is to say, from the moment you walk in you know this is a high-end hotel that doesn’t take itself too seriously. 

The location 

Insanely convenient to Haneda Airport, the 20-minute straight-shot drive from Fairmont Tokyo makes catching your flight a breeze for last-minute leavers like me. If you pack light and want to take the monorail to the airport, that’s a 10-minute walk away, at Hamamatsuchō Station, where you’ll also find a city subway station. The hotel is also a 15-minute drive to both Shinagawa and Tokyo Stations.  

As the only major hotel anchoring tranquil, residential Shibaura district, Fairmont stands alone on the waterfront and revels in the promise that its outrageous views will never be blocked. Massive floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the property broadcast Tokyo Bay on one side, Tokyo Tower on the other, and on a clear day Mount Fuji in the distance.  

The crowd  

Being the only uber-luxury Accor product in Japan seems to have excited the ALL (Accor Live Limitless) loyalty program membership, and during my stay at Fairmont Tokyo I heard a lot of North American accents. The hotel has worked hard, and effectively, to avoid being pigeon-holed a business hotel, so while there were definitely dudes in suits around, I saw lots of couples and families—both Japanese and international travelers. (Note to parents: kids are allowed in the pool, not always a given in Japan.)  

The rooms  

Let’s start with mine, because it was glorious, a Fairmont Gold Suite situated on the southwest corner of each of the hotel’s six guest-room floors. This suite feels like living in an aquarium… except the other side of the vast glass panels doesn’t hold a simulated ocean but the real thing (Tokyo Bay) to the east, as well as, to the south and west, the sprawl of the city from up-close-and-personal all the way to Mount Fuji. In a subtle but perspective-changing inversion of typical hotel-suite architecture, the hallway connecting the living room, the space-optimizing closet and bathroom area, and the bedroom is on the exterior—a brilliant interpretation of engawa, the Japanese design concept of a corridor running along the outside of a building, blurring the line between inside and out.  

From my bedroom I felt like I was standing atop the trains rolling far below, their faint white-noise rumble a welcome urban sensory immersion. The bed itself faces Tokyo Tower, and, despite loving sleeping in, I looked forward every morning to raising the blackout shades to this surreal view. The tables are round and not terribly close to power outlets (i.e., not purpose-built for working), the invitation seeming more to be “wrap yourself in lush bathrobes and slippers and raid the maxi-bar while eating giant Shine Muscat grapes.”  

The 217 rooms and suites range in size from 52 to 278 square meters, every one brimming with light and spectacular views. The three top suites seem to stretch for miles, and each have bespoke furniture, art and color palettes. Fairmont Gold is the brand’s new something-extra proposition, and here encompasses 74 rooms. They call it a hotel-within-a-hotel, and while I was skeptical of how this differed from other places’ club-level rooms with lounge access, my stay revealed special turndown treats like sparkling sake, Miyazaki mangoes and even a hand-painted scroll, elevated room amenities like a leather-clad Nespresso, and some memorable VIP experiences.  

 
The food 

Where to begin? First of all, great work to the F&B team at Fairmont Tokyo for conceiving of a diverse array of strong concepts that are accessible, enticing, and rooted in sense of place.  

Upon your first emergence from the elevator on the main lobby floor, its large art installations and double-height windows over Tokyo Bay will elicit a gasp. This space is aptly called Vue Mer (“ocean view”), and is where you take afternoon tea—or, if you’re me, two afternoon teas at once. The French-style set stars sweets using seasonal fruits (mmm, summer white peaches). The Japanese set arrives in a custom wooden box and is mostly savories, such as onigiri and wagyu rolls. 

Equally airy Kiln & Tonic has an open-show kitchen at its heart. This is your spot for Roman pizzas and lamb chops. Though the all-day-diner, it avoids feeling like your typical hotel breakfast restaurant because there’s no buffet to breakdown at 11 a.m.—everything is ordered a la carte, with set morning menus on offer here as in the Gold Lounge. 

Fairmont has paired their sushi and teppanyaki bars with a central lounge between for pre-dinner drinks and post-dinner dessert. At eight-seat Migiwa (dinner sets from JYP18,000), chef Takanobu Kayama offered a pretty parade of nigiri, seasoned with soy sauce from a vat his father started 55 years ago, that ended with two bowls (dry with caviar and in a broth with sudachi limes) of 100-percent buckwheat soba he makes by hand each morning. So grateful chef shut his long-standing restaurant in Ebisu to move into Fairmont! 

Next door, Totsuji (dinner sets from JPY18,000) is a study in the gracefulness of grilling, this was my favorite meal of the visit. For starters, anyone who regally presents your raw wagyu in custom treasure chest at kick-off has my attention. Among the many dishes from chef Ryusuke Sato that I cannot get over: abalone cooked under salt-crusted leaves and served with clam-butter sauce and shiso ravigote topped with loads of creamy uni. The sublimely charred steak (of course) served with sea salt, fried garlic, and fresh ground wasabi. And seafood okonomiyaki, the savory Japanese pancake, topped with grilled whitefish—I’d eat this for breakfast daily. 

The most experimental venue at Fairmont Tokyo is Driftwood, offering a high-end extrapolation of Yoshoku cuisine overlooking Tokyo Tower. Dating to the Meiji Restoration, when the Japan opened up to the world, Yoshoku is Japanese interpretations of Western dishes, and forms a core of the country’s comfort food. Here, effervescent server Girly suggests the hamburg made of wagyu and crab cream croquettes, both of which go down well with craft cocktails… But not too many, for more alcohol awaits at Yoi to Yoi around the corner. Fairmont’s take on the standing bar, it’s known for highballs but the gin selection is excellent. It’s impossible not to order a small second dinner of gyoza with pork pate and chicken meatballs. 

Rounding out this floor of delights is Off Record, a vinyl-focused speakeasy where you have to find the secret sensor to open the door. The night I visited, the DJ was spinning soul divas like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, and the bartender countered with an equally smooth dry martini.  

Experience matters 

Fairmont Spa: Your treatment prelude is a session at the herbal bar, where you select the fresh ingredients for your foot scrub. I went with charcoal, matcha, rice and plums, and calming therapist supervisor Chang Seonghee ground them up with mortar and pestle. I had the signature “Serenity” treatment, a whole-body massage and facial based on the tides and lunar cycles. Moonlit stones and acupressure in service of lymphatic flow; pearl-enriched Mikimoto serums and oils for a radiant visage. Two hours of bliss.

In-house VIP experience: Artist Shunyou created bespoke in-room pieces for Fairmont Tokyo, and she gave me a private calligraphy class unlike any I’ve ever taken. There was experimentation, there was meditation, there were brushes made of ostrich, peacock and bantam feathers as well as sheep wool, horse hair, racoon fur, and bamboo. Importantly, there were no right answers or technique, only the encouragement to be mindful and express myself. 

Off-site excursion: One of the more hilarious tourist experiences I’ve ever had was being pulled in a rickshaw by a 20-year-old, rugby-playing college student named Tiger who ran me around Shibaura for 90 minutes, while alternatively showing off his thigh muscles, biceps, knowledge of history and architecture, and photography skills. Regal crimson and velvet, rickshaws are never seen in this neighborhood, a fact commented upon by many a bemused bystander on the street. Tiger’s company and Fairmont secured special permission for this experience, and it’s a must. 

The service 

All senior-level guest-facing staff, including servers, I interacted with were stellar: on-the-ball and not afraid to show their personalities. Special shouts out to the team at Driftwood/Yoi to Yoi/Off Record, who had me and my friend rolling laughing during every conversation the entire evening, and to concierge supervisor Saori Ueda, who worked hard to secure me last-minute killer seats to a Yomiuri Giants baseball game. (We won, in the bottom of the ninth.) 
 

Would we visit again?  

Very much so. It’s a great gateway to the city. And every morning since is a disappointment without my wake-up view of Toyko Tower.  
 
fairmont.com/en/hotels/tokyo/fairmont-tokyo; rates from JPY127,600 net for Fairmont Bay View room; Fairmont Gold Suite, where we stayed, from JPY255,200 net.  

Note:
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

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