A Roman holiday, but make it Tokyo. Check into the Bvlgari Hotel

Hovering across the 40th to 45th floors of the Tokyo Midtown Yaesu skyscraper, the first Bvlgari hotel in Japan – the eighth in the brand’s Hotels & Resorts collection – seems to rise out of the city, its vertiginous views letting Tokyo dissolve into the horizon. Japanese hospitality rituals set the rhythm of the stay, while the brand’s Italian heritage is woven in with an assured touch.

Wallpaper*checks in at Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo

What’s on your doorstep?

Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo anchors itself in the Yaesu district, a landscape of glassy towers, clean lines and instant access to the city’s major transit hub. The buzzy shopping corridors of Nihonbashi and Ginza are a short walk away. For a dose of history, the Imperial Palace awaits – its East Gardens an ideal place to re-enter reality after the hotel’s cloudlike calm – while Tokyo Station, the 1914 red-brick landmark by architect Kingo Tatsuno, sits close by. Yaesu’s core may lean corporate, shaped by Japan’s leading business and financial institutions, but wander a few blocks in any direction and Tokyo’s contrasts reveal themselves.

Who is behind the design?

The interior design was entrusted to ACPV Architecture, the Italian practice led by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel and responsible for the brand’s hotels in Paris and Rome. Their concept takes the precision of a Bvlgari jewel as its guide, pairing it with a dialogue between Japanese craftsmanship and Roman design heritage. That duality registers from the moment of arrival, where the drop-off pavement echoes traditional Roman ‘sanpietrinio.’ Before stepping into the lift to the 40th floor, guests pass drawings from the Bvlgari archive, including the Mount Fuji brooch that linked the brand to Japan in the 1970s.

At the upper level, a polished corridor lined with a Bisazza mosaic – inspired by a traditional Japanese ‘peacock tail’ textile sets the tone. Beyond full-height sliding doors lies the vestibule connecting reception and the hotel’s F&B spaces. The lofty volume is structured by elm-wood portals that nod to katōmado window forms, while two monumental Carrara marble tables by Naoto Fukasawa for Marsotto Edizioni ground the space, topped with sculptural Gaya ceramic vases.

The room to book

Book the Deluxe Room with a skyline view. At 56 sq m, it delivers the kind of panorama that stops you the moment the door swings open. Rooms come with Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts amenities and a well-stocked minibar featuring Niko Romito snacks and organic teas from Kitano Chaen in Ureshino, best brewed in the traditional kyūsu teapot. According to ACPV Architects, the design is ‘an accurate and balanced blend between the brand spirit and local culture,’ expressed through Italian furniture (Maxalto, Flexform, B&B Italia), ikebana arranged in a Japanese Kago basket, a Hosoo-produced bedspread (from the historic Kyoto kimono textile house), silk-and-elm timber boiserie, and a black-granite bathroom revealed by a sliding door with vertical fins.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The hotel offers two distinct dining experiences. Il Ristorante – Niko Romito delivers Michelin-starred Italian cuisine framed by subtle Japanese design cues. Suspended glass lanterns hand-blown in Murano by Barovier & Toso glow above Maxalto chairs and sofas upholstered in Dedar fabrics. A light brown-and-white palette is punctuated by champagne-gold curtains and mesh-metal columns in a herringbone pattern. Dishes arrive on Ginori 1735 porcelain, paired with Bvlgari silver cutlery and Salviati Murano glassware, each plate charting a journey through Italy. Don’t miss the tender Cotoletta di vitello alla Milanese (milk-fed veal, Milanese style) or the impossibly light tiramisu.

For a contrasting experience, Sushi Hōseki offers an ultra-intimate, eight-seat omakase led by Michelin-starred chef Kenji Gyoten. The room is a study in restraint, lined with brushwood and dark oak and centred on a single hinoki-wood counter. Pendant lamps by Kajiji – a traditional wood producer from Aichi prefecture – cast a warm, focused glow over the service. Elsewhere, you can settle into the Bvlgari Bar for signature cocktails, unwind in the fireplace lounge, or sample Bvlgari Dolci’s exquisite confections.

Where to switch off

Jet lag finds its cure in The Bvlgari Spa, perched on the 40th floor with sweeping views across Tokyo. The 25-metre swimming pool, clad in emerald-green mosaic tiles, turns each lap into an otherworldly drift. The vitality pool is just as transporting, wrapped by a curved mosaic wall that recalls the floors of Rome’s ancient Baths of Caracalla – the very motif that inspired Bvlgari’s Divas’ Dream collection. Settle into the wooden cabanas if you want to linger, or head to the 24-hour Technogym-equipped fitness area if you’re feeling revived. Both the men’s and women’s changing rooms offer saunas, hot onsen baths and Japanese showers.

The verdict

Bvlgari aimed for the sky with this opening and quite literally reached it. Ranked No. 15 on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025 list, the property stands among Tokyo’s finest, delivering a standard of refined Japanese hospitality that’s increasingly difficult to match. From attentive service to its detail-oriented design, this aerated refuge above the city is an essential way to experience Tokyo. Here, Japanese minimalism and Italian warmth coexist effortlessly, shaping a stay that feels both spectacular and deeply considered.

Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo is located at 2 Chome-2-1 Yaesu, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0028, Japan.