Stepping inside The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon instantly energises you.

Maybe it’s the absurd number of leafy potted plants—biophilic design fans will certainly find much to love here. Maybe it’s the clientele, a hip crowd that oozes youthful luxury and style. Maybe it’s the vibrant colour palette, with saturation levels turned up high. Or maybe it’s simply the vibrant buzz of all the above, smushed together in a potent mix, that sweeps you into its embrace.

Ian Schrager is the man of the hour behind The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon, in collaboration with Marriott International and Mori Trust. Although he has opened many Edition hotels across the world, this one, which debuted in 2020 during the pandemic, holds a special place in his heart. In his own words, he has always fostered “a spiritual connection with the approach and aesthetics of Japan,” finding inspiration in the rationality, simplicity, and restraint of the culture.

Architect Kengo Kuma, he of the Olympic stadium in Tokyo, was tapped to design the hotel as an urban resort, and the brief was taken rather literally; the lobby, imagined as a central courtyard one might find on Buddhist temple grounds, is a terrarium in the sky, the gathering place of choice (read: catwalk) for the fashionable and the artistic. Behold: a streetwear bazaar, modelled by today’s young and deep-pocketed—this is the haunt of the uber-trendy, and the Lobby Bar is the social oasis to which they all flock.

Come for the picture-perfect Lobby Bar, but definitely, absolutely stay for dinner. What we found at The Jade Room, conceptualised by the no-introductions-needed Tom Aikens, is a gastronomic journey though Japan and the UK, and it is a far more interesting and delightful experience than it sounds on paper. Having opened in October 2022—two years after the hotel—the British chef makes his first foray into the country, leaning on his culinary background and the nuances of Japanese cuisine for a respectful pairing of the two.

Emerald-toned velvet banquettes, the same shade as the plants that give the adjoined Garden Terrace its name, bring nature and colour into the walnut-panelled dining room. Photography by Masao Yamamoto and a series of abstract John Jackson paintings grace the walls.

Our amuse bouche of fava bean tart and chawanmushi with turnip consommé, ponzu oil, and ikura is swiftly followed by a basket of simply divine buckwheat bread with a side of signature house-made butter, rotated on a daily basis. (Will it be an herb spread of chives and parsley on a shiso leaf today, or miso stout butter with crispy chicken skin? Only one way to find out.) A no-waste approach is the guiding principle behind the dishes; the bones of flounder are used as the broth base for the egg custard while the fillet features in the multi-course menu.

Aikens’s British-meets-Japanese menu starts us off in the UK with a wood-roasted celeriac carpaccio, dusted in featherlight truffle shavings, and a colourful ode to beetroot, where it is smoked, glazed, soured into a cream, and prepared in such other ways to make the same humble ingredient almost unrecognisable, even when lined up on the same plate. Deliberate choices were made with this dish to build a bridge back to the chef’s Norfolk heritage.

One’s taste buds are quite indulged at this point, but the trio of heavy hitters are just arriving—the moreish onion custard in bread miso with Hokkaido cheese, a skilful blending of British flavours with Japanese ingredients that is wholly emblematic of the restaurant concept; the seasonal kinmedai in ossobuco sauce, draped in magnificently crisped, delicately textured fish skin; and the Ibaraki Wagyu in a maitake purée, beside a “cigar” of chicken mousse rolled in spinach leaf and powder, and smoked mukago tubers. We finish the meal in Japan, with a local take on the rum baba, but instead soaked in shochu.

Such was the effect of this dinner that every course elicited sounds of wonder, praise, and astonishment—new possibilities of food and flavour were unravelled on the plate. Creative, delicious, and novel—what more could you ask of a meal, really? So, if you must try one restaurant in the hotel, make it the flagship Jade Room—it’s a clear winner.

But the night is not over yet—the surprises continue far below The Jade Room, on the ground floor, behind a door that is hardly visible to those not in the know. Step through to Gold Bar, a refined speakeasy that pays tribute to the “golden age of cocktails”—think classic tipples like the martini, daiquiri, and Manhattan. Everything looks gorgeous, of course, from the glitzy bar and the reverent display of exquisite glassware and decanters (an altar to drink, if you will) to the people who come here to see and be seen—“a social playground” in every way, as the hotel declares, and the words ring true.

Gold Bar walks the line between sophisticated and super chic with perfect balance; here is a stately cave of gilded wonders and amber liquids. It’s even got a playful side, thanks to Hideyuki Saito, director of bars, and his team; their collective humour shines through on the short and sweet Two Faces menu, a creative booklet of cocktails in which each theme is interpreted in two ways to highlight the duality of existence. “Nature” can be a rye-based Toasted Brooklyn or an Unordinary Orchard with apple cider brandy, pisco, and grappa; “Human Being” can be a Sweet & Rose with Haku vodka and Japanese rose water, or a Thorns in You with Don Julio Blanco tequila, chilli, rhubarb jam, and citrus.

In stark contrast to the lively restaurants and bar, the rooms are solemnly minimalistic, more focused on function than form. Comfort levels are met, no doubt, but there is an interesting reversal of “business in the front, party in the back” in the design of the accommodations versus the shared spaces. Of the 206 rooms, 22 are suites, and some come with their own private terraces.

A “neutral, no-colour” philosophy is applied to the palette—all whites, greys, and natural browns with a touch of ivory and silver—but what the rooms lack in overabundant décor may be a blessing in disguise if all you seek is a place to relax and leave behind the distractions of the world. (It does provide a respite from the carnivalesque maximalism of the lobby.)

In the morning, breakfast in The Blue Room, so aptly named for its sea of richly-coloured velvet seats, and take in views of the skyline as the city blinks itself awake. Even here, you will not escape the jungle that is The Tokyo Edition’s calling card. Settle in for a classic international menu that will see you eating your way through pancakes, waffles, eggs Benedict, and brioche French toasts, to name a few, though a traditional Japanese set of grilled fish, simmered greens, miso soup, steamed rice, pickled vegetables, and sides is available, too. Chase it all down with an immune shot—black pepper, ginger, and turmeric—for a boost.

Or, if you are a late riser, nip back into The Jade Room for a cheeky four-course lunch of flounder, hamaguri clam, celery root, and whey and Wagyu, maitake, turnip, and spinach, among others. Food aside, now is the perfect time to visit The Jade Room and take full advantage of the spacious terrace that’s open for spring and summer business. If you have not yet seen photos of it draped across your social media feed, feast your eyes on the image above; this beautiful space provides the perfect frame for views of Tokyo Tower, that dazzling steel behemoth rising out of the Shiba-koen district to pinprick the sky.

Wines by the glass and bottle cover Old World and home-grown Japanese labels, sourced from Hokkaido, Yamagata, Oita, and beyond for a touch of local representation—perfect pairings for the list of nature-inspired garden snacks. Crab seaweed rolls, truffle and maitake buns with aged Shintoko cheese, and aged Aomori ham make for delightful bites. As the summer heat bears down on the city, and on the Garden Terrace, cool off with the restaurant’s exclusive bottled cocktails, produced at the Mitosaya Botanical Distillery in Chiba according to The Jade Room’s recipes—the Overgrown Daiquiri with basil eau de vie, rum, Chardonnay, pear green tea, and citrus is a refreshing choice.

When you’re perched on the thirty-first-floor terrace, amidst a forest of evergreen vegetation, with a drink in hand and the city spread out before you, you feel like you’ve tumbled into another world. It’s not quite Alice in Wonderland—more like Welcome to the Jungle.

All images courtesy of The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon and Nikolas Koenig.