Fairmont Tokyo reaches great heights

An engawa is a Japanese architectural feature or edging strip often used to denote the transitional space between the inside and outside of a home or building.

This concept has been so wholeheartedly embraced in the design of the new 217-room Fairmont Tokyo, that I am initially nervous walking next to the floor-to-ceiling windows of my corner suite on the 41st floor. It feels like there’s nothing below or around me but sky.

“Breathtaking” is an overused word in travel stories, so I will instead describe the views as positively jaw-dropping.

When the sheer electric curtains and block-out blinds retract in symphony, it feels like the entirety of Tokyo is spread out below me.

Out of one window, there are endless skyscrapers, the Rainbow Bridge, boats and ships on Tokyo Bay, cars, trains, and distant planes. From the other window, more skyscrapers are sparkling for attention, only to be outshone after sunset by the Tokyo Tower.

I could spend all day and night sitting on the floor, looking out of the windows.

But there are venues to explore, food to be eaten, and experiences to enjoy.

Melbourne-based internationally acclaimed BAR Studio (Capella Sydney, Westin Perth, various Grand Hyatt properties) has used the luxury hotel as a canvas to create a light-filled “living masterpiece”.

Every plant, pendant light and artwork has been thoughtfully placed. And with endless windows, it seems there’s not a bad seat in the house.

Fairmont Tokyo occupies the uppermost floors (35-43) of the new Blue Front Shibaura Tower South on the edge of Tokyo Bay. It can take as little as 15 minutes to get to Haneda Airport by car in off-peak traffic. Hamamatsucho Station, which dates to 1909, is a 10-minute walk. It services two train lines and the Tokyo Monorail that runs to Haneda.

TeamLab Planets is 15 minutes by car, Disneyland and DisneySea around 30 minutes, and some lovely parks and gardens are in walking distance when it’s not so hot.

The hotel is so new, some taxis struggle to find the entry. While I wait, I get to meet the hotel’s resident black labrador and chief happiness officer, Serene.

The 35th-floor main lobby is full of greenery and opens on to a terrace that capitalises on the city views.

The hotel has seven bars and restaurants, including Migiwa for sushi, Totsuji for teppanyaki, and Kiln and Tonic, offering Southern Californian cuisine and its own brand of tonic water.

The more upmarket 43rd floor restaurant Driftwood serves an elevated version of yoshoku cuisine, mixing western concepts with Japanese techniques and ingredients.

My dinner host is director of marketing Michiko Fujikawa. and we share wagyu tartare, arancini, signature Tokyo wagyu hamburg with butter rice and gravy, and Neapolitan spaghetti with Fujisawa cured pork. Imagine if an American diner, an Italian trattoria and a Japanese farm had a baby — that’s how the food is.

After dinner we head to hidden listening bar Off Record, where the DJ is spinning vintage soul; Culture Club’s Time (Clock Of The Heart) gets stuck in my head. Rare spirits, refined bites, and views of the Tokyo skyline until 2am; this will set you back roughly $20 per person for the table charge.

Fairmont Gold room guests have lounge access that includes a la carte breakfast (there are intentionally no buffets), midday refreshments, afternoon tea, evening cocktails, and night snacks. Afternoon tea offers a decadent, rotating menu of sweet and savoury dishes such as grilled wagyu, shine muscat daifuku, scones, and strawberry and cream sponge.

Vue Mer cafe hosts a daily French or Japanese high tea. I opt for the latter and am surprised with an elegant wooden box that opens to reveal tiny dishes including beef tataki, salmon omusubi, pork katsu, and marinated scallops. My sweet selection has been changed to accommodate allergies, so I am not entirely sure what some are; at the end, I’m offered a further selection of caneles and madeleines from the dessert trolley.

Everything at Fairmont Tokyo feels crisp, clean and new, given it only opened in July.

Signature swatches of colour wrap the coffee maker, while the electric kettle in my Fairmont Gold Suite King is the fanciest I’ve seen.

Room sizes range from 52sqm-278sqm. My 88sqm suite has a separate living area with a lounge and a 65-inch flat-screen TV that I never turn on; the view outside is too captivating.

I do, however, use the bedroom TV to catch up on international news, and briefly stream music to the Marshall speaker. I figure out the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer but have no need for the Airwrap.

Two hours at the Fairmont Spa for a signature massage and facial combination is just the tonic after six days of racing around Tokyo and Osaka, clocking up more than 20,000 steps a day. It includes three separate face masks (I think — who’s counting when you’re half asleep?) and a designer foot scrub where you get to choose three key ingredients. Bliss.

Entry to the 20m indoor infinity pool is through the wellness centre. I take the obligatory shower before swimming, making use of the fancy mist and rain shower. I decline the offer of a swimming cap, not realising until my second visit that these are not optional. Whoops!

The heated pool, indoor spa and outdoor spa deck have the same glorious Tokyo views as the rest of the hotel. Better still, the pool is open until 10pm, while the adjacent gym is open 24/7.

The male and female change rooms have their own separate saunas and wet baths which I recognise as onsens. Although it doesn’t state it on the sign, a staff member confirms clothing is not an option — nudity is required.

I challenge myself to visit an onsen on my final night in Tokyo, and it is easy to do so here because at 9.30pm, I have it completely to myself.

Tokyo has stolen my heart, so it’s a somewhat fitting way to end my first trip by “bravely” baring all in return.

+ Sue Yeap stayed as a guest of Fairmont Tokyo. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

fact file

+ Fairmont Bay View King/Twin rooms, at 52sqm, start from $1280 including fees and taxes, per night.

A Fairmont Gold Suite King (88sqm) starts from $2560 including fees and taxes.

fairmont.com/Tokyo

+ For more on Tokyo: gotokyo.org/en/index.html