Often referred to as Tokyo’s “Little Kyoto,” the historic Kagurazaka district is on the up thanks to a slew of heavyweights like Noma offspring Inua and the Yayoi Kusama Museum setting up shop here in recent years. Trunk (House) is the latest buzz-worthy addition: an ultra-luxurious one-bedroom boutique stay tucked away between hidden sake bars and izakayain the neighborhood’s warren of cobblestone streets. Here, the team behind Shibuya’s hipster hangout Trunk (Hotel) has restored a 70-year-old okiya (geisha house) and kitted it out with a professional kitchen, tatami-floored tearoom, and minimalist upstairs bedroom. While much of the original structure was left intact, its interior has been spruced up to pay homage to 21st-century Tokyo: globally influenced, but inherently Japanese. Modern classics such as a Prouvé Potence wall lamp and Eames side tables stand alongside shoji paper screens and Noguchi lanterns, while the bathroom centers on a hinoki-wood tub backdropped by a cheeky sento bathhouse–inspired mural, with amenities created in collaboration with French cult beauty brand Buly 1803. Nights here don’t come cheap, but they include the services of private chefs and dedicated butlers who can whip up modern Japanese fare and fresh matcha tea upon request. Other perks include Tokyo’s tiniest karaoke parlor (complete with a state-of-the-art sound system, fully stocked cocktail bar, and a riot of disco lights); leather trays and slippers handcrafted by Tokyo-based menswear label Hender Scheme; and a brilliant collection of Japan-inspired artworks by contemporary artists from around the globe.
—81/3-3268-0123; trunk-house.com; from US$4,650

See the full 2019 Luxe List in the October/November 2019 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“The Luxe List 2019: Trunk (House), Japan”).