Well, I the MO in HK was kind enough to send me a certificate for a free night at the MO Tokyo, so I took the subway from the apartment in Aoyama and checked in for the night.

I had been here a couple of times before to check it out and to have tea with Mrs. Pickles, and it was off to a slow start. However, things are improving rapidly, and the hotel is starting to find its groove. Upon check-in downstairs, we were escorted upstairs and checked in quickly and efficiently (interestingly enough by one of the staff from the MOHK who is here for training the local staff. A number of them are now here, and they are infusing the place with the MO approach to service). It was of course funny when they asked me how was my trip, and I answered truthfully, "short". Then the check-in guy says, well, yes, you only came from HK (which is where the certificate was sent), so it isn't that far.

The common areas are quite busy, it seems the locals have taken a shine to the bars and restaurants at the hotel, and there are lots of patrons at the different establishments, which gives the place a bustling, lively feel.

The rooms are quite nice, very well appointed, newer and less "heavy" than the PHT. The bathroom is very good, not as big as the PHT's, but well appointed. Water pressure is fantastic, and there is a rain shower. Full floor to ceiling picture windows are a big plus over the PHT. They have the same look and feel as the LMO, but they are more spacious and less cluttered, I like the room very much.

We went out for lunch in Fukagawa (the pickle restaurant), and we bought some strawberries off a farmer in a truck, in a cheap plastic bag. When we came back to the hotel, a staffer ran up to us and offered us a nice heavy MO bag to put our stuff. Definitely starting to reach the required level of service here.

Thankfully this isn't costing me anything, but rack rate in the room I'm in (facing the palace and Mt. Fuji, which you can't see today, very cloudy, but you could see briefly yesterday at sunset) is about 60K yen++ which is rather steep. I don't know if it is worth the 10K yen premium over the PHT, even if the location can be considered better in general.

Tonight we have dinner at the Molecular Bar, will report back on what it is all about.