HKTraveler

Am curious, where did the MO Concierge manage to get you into last minute?

Restaurant bookings are crazy in Japan now and hotel concierges seem to have less pull than before. My advice is to book online yourself

Smiley90

A lot of the restaurants, especially high-end, don't allow online booking. Need to call. Some even only allow Japanese phone calls.

nlf

kikunoi akasaka (2 star) day-of booking
sushi keita on a saturday

We did a lot more casual/no reservation places this time around though

HKTraveler

The trend is slowly changing and some do allow online booking. Even top sushi places like Sugita and Sawada are online but it really varies by shop

Sounds like a good combination! Haven't been to Kikunoi Akasaka but I have booked Sushi Keita on Pocket Concierge before (on the Japanese language site)

BESVISOR

Here's my quick review of Four Seasons Tokyo Otemachi.

TravelinSperry

Does anyone have the GH concierge email? I'd like to make some sushi reservations.

Anyone happen to know a great sushi place in Tokyo where I can order by the piece? Been eating Omakase for a few weeks and while amazing experiences, tired of getting too much Ika, Roe, Saba, and too little Chu Toro, Toro, Sake, etc.

Smiley90

This won't be very luxury, but I'd try a GOOD conveyor belt sushi place just for the experience.

od_sf

Shimbashi Tsuruhachi (https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13173432/) is a good shop that lets customers order okonomi. Sake is not an Edomae neta, only cheap kaiten sushi type places serve it.

HuntingwithHazel

I would agree, re: hoshinoya. Especially for those who haven't been to jp /Tokyo. Would highly recommend as a first stay. Also much cheaper compared to aman. On second and onward trips, then look at others or different areas. That’s what we did 🤷‍♂️ Only other rec I would have is trunk hotel - but everyone’s travel style/preference is different

KI-NRT

Note that Hoshinoya Tokyo has no views, no suites, and the largest room (Kiku) has a really odd layout. For me, I'd take a suite at Aman, MO, either FS, Palace Hotel, Pen or even Shangri-La over Hoshinoya any day of the week.

HuntingwithHazel

Do not differ, unless it’s your first time in JP/tokyo. For those getting off flight, stumbling through navigating train, and experiencing a foreign culture, I would recommend Hoshinoya. Shoes off at entrance, awesome onsen, plus not terrible cost for decent king bed in similar location for exploration. Again, for me, I’d go for something in a different location based on my preferences but for a first timer (and usually one on a special or extravagant trip), I’d go hoshinoya.

random night, Oct 22. Aman corner suite = $4k usd, 1 night. Hoshinoya Yuri = $450 usd per person.

Again, for someone focused on exploring/first timers, no brainer. Spend on treatments, dinners, experiences. Hell with $3k/night difference, do private tours and tastings. If returning, book a desired location (eg: trunk, maybe other boutiques?). Same reason I would not do four seasons in Kyoto

747FC

Just back from a one-night award stay at the Conrad, our first visit there since 2011. We have been staying at the Palace Hotel on our visits to Japan, but we had a one-night Tokyo stay and enough points for that one night. I thought I would provide a bit of contrast between the two:

Staff: The Palace staff are much more formal than the Conrad. Neither good nor bad here, just an observation.

Breakfast Buffet: The Palace Hotel buffet is the clear winner here on food choices as well as ambiance.

Japanese Restaurant: We find that the Palace Hotel's Wadakura restaurant is much more peaceful a dining environment, with tranquil water features vs. the Conrad's Kazahana. In the Kazahana, which is right off the lobby, one can hear the music and noise from the lobby. A real annoyance, but I have to admit that some of the food preparation is very tasty and unique.

Location: We much prefer the Palace as a place from which to enjoy a great walk. However, our Conrad location enabled our very first visit to the Hamarikyu Garden, which we enjoyed. Way too many people at the Tsujiki Open Market, but that was our first time there as well.

Room: We have been staying in the Palace's club-level, and not sure whether the room layouts are different that their typical rooms. At the Conrad, we got their standard room and was not upgraded. We found the Palace rooms to be larger and a much better bathroom layout. We loved the Conrad pillows, and of course the rubber ducky.

Fellow travelers: The Palace Hotel has a mostly Japanese clientele, while the Conrad seemed like we were in NYC. As we like visiting Japan, we did not like the feeling of being in NYC.

Fitness Center: Big plus for the Palace Hotel. The Conrad’s fitness room seemed to be a jumble of stashed equipment.

In sum, an enjoyable stay at the Conrad, but we will stick to the Palace Hotel.

Arherm

I'd say it's not worth it to shell out that much money over a suite at Aman just to get a separated dining area. Premier room alone is already good enough with roughly similar room size and price compared with the top room at Hoshinoya

stargold

I don't think Hoshinoya should be compared to the usual luxury options in Tokyo - it's a different experience which is pleasant in its own way, but they can't really hope to compete on a number of aspects, particularly the hotel amenities and facilities, as well as F&B.

I also found the underground taxi access in/out of the hotel deeply frustrating, with taxi drivers not knowing where to drop you off, and always needing to call for a taxi and wait rather than grabbing one from the taxi rank.

MattEvan

Hoshinoya Tokyo is like a ryokan. It's very nice for one night, and one night only.