In the year leading up to the hotly anticipated 2020 Summer Olympics, the hospitality scene in Tokyo has seen a flurry of new hotels, and as of tomorrow Japanese lifestyle brand MUJI pitches in with its MUJI hotel brand. Although the format is as accessible as its merchandise, the property’s location is one of the country’s most upscale, and thus expensive, neighbourhoods. Similar to the previous hotel openings in Shenzhen and Beijing, Muji Hotel Ginza is a collab effort with Tokyo-based hospitality firm UDS, and happens to share the premises with a MUJI flagship store which is situated on the five lower floors. The hotel entrance and reception desk is on the sixth floor, and features just 79 guest rooms spread over four levels. The hospitality on offer is obviously an extrapolation of MUJI‘s brand values, and is also fully captured by the interior design of all the rooms and publics spaces.
A range of natural materials, such as wood and stone, have been used, and the public spaces feature repurposed materials with a specific history, including paving stones used for trolley ways that traversed the neighbourhood half a century ago and recycled ship debris. The guestrooms come in no less than nine categories, each in a different size, configuration, and able to accommodate one or two guests. The interior design is heavily influenced by Japanese aesthetics, and also includes a number of items from MUJI‘s revered product lines. MUJI Hotel Ginza boasts its very own restaurant, called Wa, and situated on the sixth floor right next to the reception desk. Seating 51 guests, it offers a menu of home cooking-style dishes, inspired by regions from across Japan. Food is prepared with seasonal ingredients and sourced from a tightly curated range of local producers.
The adjacent Salon features a spacious bar counter of camphorwood, along with table seating where guests can unwind over a selection of coffees, black teas as well as cocktails. Situated on the same floor is Atelier Muji, a multi-purpose venue dedicated to design and culture, and featuring two galleries for exhibitions featuring craftwork and design. The space seamlessly connects with both the lobby and library with a wide selection of about 500 book titles related to the Land of the Rising Sun, and published in Japanese, Chinese and Western languages. As said, the hotel sits atop a Muji flagship store, and in the basement section, hotel guests are able to indulge in the offerings of MUJI Diner, an informal eatery offering a cosmopolitan range of dishes from across the planet, and a full-fledged Bakery which has a menu of classic concoctions, ranging from fluffy rolls to red bean buns made with Adzuki beans.
MUJI Hotel Ginza
3-3-5 Ginza, Sixth Floor (Ginza)
Tokyo 104-0061
Telephone: +81 3 35386101
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