If the playful, design-forward and effortlessly luxurious EDITION hotels in Japan were a family, then The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon would be the globe-trotting sibling who jets in from L.A., charms the staff and effortlessly steals the spotlight at dinner. Bigger, brasher (in the best possible way), flamboyant, loud and perhaps a bit more American in its self-assurance than its more understated younger sister in Ginza, Toranomon turns heads, and oh, doesn’t she know it! But we’ve got to admit that she’s undeniably fun to be around.
While the other EDITION hotel in the Japanese capital, the Tokyo EDITION Ginza, is compact, minimalist and quietly confident – a members’ club-like property of sorts – Tokyo EDITION Toranomon is all sweeping views, dramatic lighting and the kind of lobby that makes you wonder if you’ve accidentally wandered into a very chic penthouse nightclub.
We arrived, bleary-eyed from our 13-hour flight, and were instantly hit by towering ceilings, striking artworks and potted palms the size of small elephants. The ‘Emerald City-esque’ lobby thrummed with life – there were beautiful people who were glued to their phones like a Fashion Week after-party, A-listers flanked by hulking bodyguards in dark glasses and discreet earpieces, tech entrepreneurs conducting Zoom calls while sipping matcha, and content creators vying for that oh-so-perfect shot. As with EDITIONs the world over, this lobby wasn’t just a space you passed through – it was the beating heart of the hotel. And it was busy… and over the many days of our stay, we’d say ‘always busy’.
The view, though, silenced all our snark. The Tokyo skyline stretched out in all directions like an architect’s fever dream, an endless cascade of gleaming towers, blinking antennae, and, on a clear day, Mount Fuji making a celebrity cameo in the distance. This was quite simply stunning.
Check-in itself was… let’s say efficient. Not unpleasant, but neither was it the warm ceremony one might expect in Japan. More ‘processing’ than ‘omotenashi’, if we’re to be completely honest – swift, professional but about as personal as a dry-cleaning ticket. But then again, perhaps that’s the price of popularity. With a lobby this Instagrammable and a hotel this in demand, staff have more crowd-control to manage than time for idle chit-chat.
All this was precisely why our room became a sanctuary. When we stepped inside and closed the door, we immediately heard something rather rare in Toranomon: silence. Our room was predictably stylish, in that Schrager-ian way – blonde wood, clean lines, a tiny bonsai near a glowing panel of light that felt both soothing and slightly sci-fi, and of course that signature ruched-up blanket on the corner of the bed, reminding us this was an EDITION. It was a space designed for the kind of traveller who doesn’t actually unpack but instead lives out of a Rimowa and knows exactly which corner to prop it in so it looks like part of the furniture. There weren’t any elaborate touches or surprises, but then we weren’t expecting there to be. Yet we found everything we needed, but not a hair more.
Still, the bed was marshmallow perfection, colourful yukata (robes) and a pot of fine Japanese tea ready to go gave us some creature comforts, and the bathroom, though vaguely reminiscent of an Apple Store, did the job beautifully. And this all became something we quickly learnt to crave during our visit – our own private reboot chamber after a day navigating Tokyo’s sensory wonderland.
| Perfect for | Fly into | Right on time |
| The Hedonist | NRT / HND | GMT +9 |
| While you’re Out There |
| Toranomon often flies under the radar compared with its flashier neighbours, but that’s precisely what makes it such a thrill for the curious OutThere traveller. Beyond the sleek office towers and luxury hotels, the district hums with a quietly confident creativity. Take a wander down the narrow streets behind Toranomon Hills and you’ll stumble across tiny local sake bars, minimalist coffee shops and galleries that showcase avant-garde Japanese artists. For a taste of history tucked amid the modernity, Toranomon offers the fascinating Kioicho and Atago Shrine area, where centuries-old shrines and stone staircases sit cheek by jowl with contemporary architecture. Climbing the Atago steps – Tokyo’s steepest – led us to a temple with surprisingly serene city vistas and a sense of timeless calm that belies the district’s bustling reputation. |
Breakfast at the Tokyo EDITION Toranomon deserved high praise. We skipped the continental and dodged the eggs Benedict in favour of the Japanese breakfast literally every morning – in the lobby restaurant with a view of Tokyo beyond – with delicious miso soup, grilled fish and pickles so precise you’d think a jeweller made them. It was nourishing, elegant and totally worth waking up for, even if we might have had one too many cocktails in the lobby bar the night before.
We’ve already given you the low-down on the Lobby Bar, very much the beating heart of the hotel – stylish, sprawling and always alive with possibility at any time of day. It’s the kind of place where you’d probably rub shoulders with a venture capitalist, a pop star and someone who claims to be both.
For a slightly more chilled vibe, we headed downstairs to The Blue Room, the hotel’s main restaurant: far more refined than its name suggests. Bright, breezy and impressively unpretentious, it’s where the hotel earns back some of its quieter luxury cred. The food was excellent – modern, international, confidently plated and all with a level of attentive service that the staff back upstairs could really learn from.
Let’s talk sense of place. The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon is a five-star marvel, there’s no denying that. But it’s also curiously detached from the city it lives in. There are no washi screens, no tatami mats, no hint of the deep aesthetic heritage that defines Japanese hospitality. And while it doesn’t pretend to be a ryokan – and thank heavens for that – it does mean that once inside, you could feasibly be anywhere: Los Angeles, New York, Seoul. It’s a deliberate choice, though. The EDITION brand is unapologetically global, and this hotel feels tailor-made for the international jet set. There’s something quite comforting in that, actually. If you’re not quite ready to dive headfirst into Tokyo’s wild, wonderful culture, this is your luxury introduction, or buffer zone, a sleek staging ground for adventures to come.
Toranomon itself, the area that gives this EDITION its name, was having something of a moment at the time of our visit. Long known as one of Tokyo’s buzzing business districts, it’s steadily transforming into a hub for design, gastronomy and innovation. Think fewer neon signs, more Michelin stars and media start-ups. It’s not the Tokyo of Harajuku chaos or Shibuya’s frantic scramble, but that’s part of the appeal. It’s also extremely well-connected. From the hotel, we walked over to the Imperial Palace, popped over to Ginza for some shopping or shot off to Roppongi for fine dining. Metro access is excellent, and using the Tokyo EDITION Toranomon as a base, we explored the city’s vibrant corners in no time.
Which is all good, as this hotel is certainly not for holiday hermits. If you’re the kind of guest who likes to hunker down, soak in a tub and commune with your room service tray, perhaps consider a more traditional stay elsewhere. But if you’re a cosmopolitan traveller who craves excitement at your doorstep, a place that feels familiar yet elevated and a lobby bar that doubles as a catwalk – then, welcome home.
The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon is many things: a design marvel, a sanctuary in the sky and a buzzing hive of international energy, offering up its own, perhaps more contemporary and worldly, version of Tokyo.
Whether that’s a shortcoming or a strategic triumph depends entirely on what you are looking for.
Photography by Nikolas Koenig and courtesy of EDITION hotels
