From the basement Toranomon Hills subway, the Hibiya line zips you to shopping districts like Ginza and Roppongi within 10 minutes. There’re over 70 retail stores and restaurants in the building itself, including the T-Market Food Hall, a microbrewery and a whisky bar as well as rotating art exhibitions and events at Tokyo Node. Take the link-bridge, whose wide space is decorated with quirky art installations, to Toranomon Hills Business Tower where there are more restaurants, shops and the Toranomon Yokocho, a lively indoor alleyway filled with izakayas and a craft gin distillery. Round the corner from the hotel is the Kikuchi Kanjitsu Memorial Tomo Museum, which showcases ceramic pieces by local artisans, the TeamLab Borderless digtal art museum and the hilltop Atago Shrine for introspective reflection. I found an old-school cafe Coffee Embassy Kamiyacho, which was decked in leather seats and dark wood interiors. As I tucked into my coffee and cinnamon toast with clotted cream to jazz music in the background, there was a different sort of fuzzy warmth to the usual Tokyo jaunt. And I loved that a modern hotel could be found so near to it all.
