Green space isn’t the first image that springs to mind when one thinks of Tokyo, but the sprawling gardens of the city’s Imperial Palace will be on display from every room at the new Palace Hotel Tokyo (111 Marunouchi; 81-3/ 3211-5211; palacehoteltokyo.com; doubles from US$596). Opening in May, it sits on a prime moat-side location, a successor to two previous hotels—Hotel Teito and the Palace Hotel—that occupied the same site from 1947 and 1961, respectively. Ten restaurants run the gamut from Japanese to French, each with direct links to two-star Michelin chefs. Evian, famous for its mineral water and luxe resort in France, is opening its first spa in Japan on the hotel’s fifth floor.
Originally appeared in the April/May 2012 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“A Moat in the Eye”)
