crowning Glory
Like a crown perched atop the gleaming Tokyo Garden Terrace skyscraper in upscale Kioicho, The Prince Gallery is easily one of Tokyo’s most stunning hotels. The country’s first Luxury Collection property located on the top seven floors of the tower impresses with chic interiors offering panoramic views of the metropolis at every turn and a curated collection of artworks by Japanese artists.
The 250-room hotel takes its name from the Akasaka Prince Classic House adjacent to the tower. The 1930 European-style mansion, which served as the former residence of the last crown prince of Korea, Yi Un, has been gorgeously restored and is a charming venue for weddings and other special functions.
If the mansion is a reflection of Tokyo’s recent past, the hotel is a striking picture of its present — a city pulsating with art, culture and design. The hotel’s arresting artworks and design elements referencing nature and levitation create a stylish, dreamlike tableau. At the 36th-floor elevator lobby, I am greeted by a futuristic sculpture evocative of clouds and wind by Atsushi Hosoi. This cloud motif is also evident in the pearlescent ceramic and porcelain assemblage by Asaho Kamiya at the main reception area, while the metal sculpture by Takenobu Igarashi is reminiscent of windflowers.
The all-day dining venue, Oasis Garden, enchants with its chic glen in the sky concept of steel tree trunks and framed, earthy mossy foliage. Meanwhile at the Japanese restaurant Souten, the crystalline ice motif is realised in objets d’art hung from the ceiling. Most impressive is the Levita sky bar and with its jaw-dropping city views framed by floor-to-ceiling glass waterfall installation by artist Mari Noguchi that glow luminescent at night.
At each floor of the elevator lobby leading to the guestrooms are niches displaying whimsical glass sculptures, from abstract works to intricate organic forms and geometric butterflies. Artworks such as metal sculptures and contemporary paintings adorn the plush guestrooms, and spacious daybeds that anchor massive windows afford iconic views of Tokyo — from my room, I was afforded a view of the imperial grounds, skyscrapers and on towards the snowcapped Mout Fuji.
