Is this Tokyo’s most alluring new hotel?

Slipping into the upper tiers of the Maki & Associates-designed Blue Front Shibaura South Tower, the Fairmont Tokyo hotel (the brand’s debut in Japan) settles at a height where the skyline begins to blur into the horizon. Spanning levels 35 to 43, it sits just far enough above the streets for the city’s noise to fade away and the views to take over. Inside, the lines stay clean, the palette restrained, and every room is attuned to Tokyo’s shifting light. The journey starts in the street-level lobby, where Serene, the resident Labrador and chief happiness officer, offers a gentle welcome before your ascent skyward. Conceived as a place for both locals and travellers, the hotel leans into the city’s contrasts.

Wallpaper* checks in at Fairmont Tokyo

What’s on your doorstep?

The stately hotel sits within Blue Front Shibaura, a new waterfront development in a district that isn’t always the obvious choice for a Tokyo stay, yet offers a surprising sense of calm and a clear vantage point on the bay. Once a fishing village and a transport hub, Shibaura still carries an industrial undertone, but remains well-connected and atmospheric. The Edo-period Kyu-Shiba-rikyū Gardens are a short walk away, with Hamarikyu Gardens further along the waterfront. Hamamatsucho Station on the Yamanote Line provides quick access to Shibuya, Harajuku and the city’s livelier quarters, while the nearby Zojo-ji Temple, which stands next to Tokyo Tower, further anchors the area with a dose of history.

Who is behind the design?

Conceived by Melbourne-based boutique practice Bar Studio, the design embraces the area’s bayfront calm, dissolving the line between interior and exterior with wide, double-height glazing that pulls the landscape straight into the room. On level 35, the lobby lounge flows onto a landscaped terrace where you can catch a salty hint of the bay.

‘We sought to create a link in the design between Tokyo’s contrasts of traditional and contemporary, calm and energy, modern culture and the intrinsic connection with nature that has a rich heritage in Japan. We also wanted to capture a sense of ritual,’ explains Lucas Chirnside, design director at Bar Studio. The design language throughout focuses on intimacy, harnessing warm tones, tactile materials and atmospheric lighting, prioritising the natural richness of materials and plush finishes throughout the hotel.

Most furnishings and lighting are bespoke Bar Studio creations, complemented by pieces from Giopato & Coombes, Lasvit, B&B Italia, Minotti and Molteni&C. As a special touch, the lifts feature a delicate installation developed with Wanda Barcelona, reimagining Japanese botanicals through intricate paper-cutting. Artistic gestures continue in the Vue Mer lobby lounge, where a vibrant suspended work by Berlin-based artist Tomislav Topić nods to the translucency of washi paper. Meanwhile, custom carpets in corridors and guest rooms incorporate the graphic lines of Japanese Zen gardens.

The room to book

Fairmont Tokyo offers 217 rooms, ranging from 52 to 278 sq m, situated on the 36th to 42nd floors. The Fairmont Gold suites have access to a private lounge serving gourmet breakfasts, afternoon tea, evening canapés and all-day drinks. The Fairmont Gold Tokyo Tower View King Suite keeps the city’s hum in frame, with the crimson glow of the tower at night and Le Labo Santal 33 amenities in the bathroom.

Interiors nod to traditional Japanese architecture – the genkan-style entry, engawa-inspired seating – and feature karakami (woodblock) prints from printmaking duo Aiko and Takuma Noda and hand-drawn calligraphy by Shun-Yo, who uses crushed shell for luminous pearl pigments. ‘We’ve incorporated the calm, natural shades of Japanese sen timber, cloud-white quartzite stone and brass. Guestroom bathrooms feature textured granite, evoking tranquil onsen rituals,’ explains Chirnside.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The hotel runs five distinct culinary rooms, from Mediterranean to French and modern Japanese. Afternoon tea anchors café Vue Mer; next door, Kiln & Tonic serves pizzas, grills and charred seafood. Migiwa, a six-seat counter, focuses on seasonal seafood, while Totsuji handles Wagyu and a Parmigiano-crisped take on okonomiyaki via teppanyaki.

Driftwood turns Yōshoku (a Japanese style of Western-influenced cuisine) into a luxe affair; think scallops shoyu-yaki with edamame purée and caviar beurre blanc, or Kagoshima Megumi Black Pork Katsu in a house sauce. Its bar, Off Record, feels like a cocooned listening room of vinyl, rare spirits and soulful bites. Here, Bar Studio designed a custom chandelier, which incorporates illuminated bubble-texture resin, making for a soft glow.

Where to switch off

The spa on the 35th floor extends the hotel’s altitude-induced calm. ‘At Fairmont Spa, expect a soothing urban retreat, drawing on warm tones and elemental, natural stone. The spa’s atelier centres on a monolithic quartzite island bench,’ says Chirnside. Treatments begin with choosing your scent blend from seeds and spices.

The ‘self-love’ magnesium ritual is the post-Tokyo antidote: dry brushing, warm basalt stones charged under the full moon, and a slow, restorative massage. A 24-hour Technogym space offers full free weights and there are private studios for yoga and Pilates. Afterwards, drift into the 20m indoor infinity pool, pause on the outdoor sundeck or reset in the heat of the sauna.

The verdict

Japan is famously exacting in its approach to hospitality, yet Fairmont Tokyo (five months in) feels determined and confident. Service is attentive without theatrics; the Fairmont Gold lounge is a standout, letting guests graze, decompress and recalibrate all day. The balance of serenity and city energy is deftly handled, so much so that staying indoors becomes its own temptation.

Fairmont Tokyo is located at Blue Front Shibaura Tower S, 1 Chome-1-1 Shibaura, Minato City, Tokyo 105-0023, Japan. Rates: from JPY 127,600