Tokyo’s Second EDITION Hotel Brings Understated Charm to Ginza
The EDITION brand’s second Tokyo property opens in the heart of high-end retail hub Ginza, delivering a standout offering to a neighbourhood short on luxury hotels
The rate at which new hotels open is Japan’s capital is dizzying. Hospitality groups big and small, foreign and local, chase a seemingly insatiable demand for a well-made bed in a city already full of them. And of course, many of these properties were on track to open years ago, before the pandemic and in time for the 2020 Olympics. This is one of them.
Marriot’s EDITION brand managed to get its first Tokyo property opened in time, but decided the city could handle two: the original in Toranomon, one of the city’s bustling business districts, and as of December 2023, The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza. The new hotel follows the same playbook as its cross-town sibling: confident and convivial, moody and a bit glamorous, but it trades the party vibe for something a little more muted and in keeping with the old-money codes of Ginza.
The 14-storey property occupies a corner site accessible from one of the neighbourhood’s charming narrow streets. A facade of latticed metal and a vertical garden give it a distinct street-level presence. A compact, curtained vestibule ensures privacy from within and a sense of mystery from the tourist-taxed street outside.
The interiors are the result of a collaboration between Kengo Kuma and Ian Schrager Company and reflect a sparseness that EDITION properties have become known for. And while there perhaps aren’t many obviously local touches, there’s a strong sense of intentionality, and a remarkable consistency with the global EDITION brand and palette.
From lobby to guestrooms, that colour and material palette is impressively restrained: every surface is either snow-white or covered in walnut wood. The scheme barely breaks for the lobby bar’s sculpted brass panelling and the pale grey carpeting in the corridors. In guestrooms, the wardrobe, cupboards and other fixtures sit flush in their surroundings, creating the impression of invisibility. The bathroom counter is a single marble plinth that appears to float, while the wet room is an unbroken beige and white cube with inconspicuous chrome tapware. Guestroom walls are also completely unadorned except for black-and-white prints by Tokyo- and New York-based Takay Photography.
This Tokyo EDITION feels like a natural addition to Ginza, which, despite its masses of retail-hungry tourists, is surprisingly short on luxury hotels. Like the neighbourhood it’s centred in, this hotel feels grown up. There’s a clear focus on getting the details right for guests and the hotel’s efforts in delivering good hospitality first and foremost should be applauded.
Text by Jeremy Smart
Images by Nikolas Koenig
