Aman Tokyo is the city's best luxury. Its rooms are bigger, views are better and minimalist design provides a stronger sense of place than the competition.

With its imposing latticework metal and glass exterior, the building that houses the Capitol Hotel was designed by architect Kengo Kuma, and fits seamlessly into the Japanese capital’s space-age skyline. Its location, just north of Roppongi in the Akasaka neighborhood is another plus. It's next to the Prime Minister's residence, Parliament and the Hie Shinto Shrine that draws pilgrims year-round but especially for New Year's prayers. More modern conveniences include the Tameike-Sanno subway station and a 7-11 in the basement. While this hotel is not in the center of the action, it is located only two stops from Ginza’s shopping district.

Inside, Kuma artfully integrates traditional Japanese elements, like shoji paper screens and indigenous woods, into all 251 guestrooms. Entry-level rooms seamlessly combine the indigenous elements with standard conveniences like generous workspaces, modern technology, comfortable beds, powerful showers and plenty of room to move around. Rooms on higher floors have exceptional city views.

Those who want to see more of this modern Japanese master’s work can head to the Nezu Museum in Aoyama, Kuma’s traditional Japanese structure updated according to the principal of wa, or harmony.

This modern 389-room business hotel is situated amidst some of Tokyo’s finest dining and the world’s top luxury shops.

The Mandarin Oriental is designed in timeless chic aesthetic, creating a relaxing refuge for both business and leisure travelers.

Though Shangri-La is not nearly as familiar a name in the West as in the East, in the short time since its debut, the Shangri-La Tokyo has come out on top. Residing in the uppermost 11 floors of a 37-story tower in the Marunouchi business district (adjacent to Ginza), the Shang, as Asia insiders refer to the brand, is a full-scale hotel with 200 rooms, 2 restaurants, a lobby lounge and bar, a club floor, spa and pool. But step out of the elevator into the 28th-floor lobby, and you might think you’ve arrived at a far smaller establishment; this is a lodging that isn’t trying to impress with scale or magnificence as much as to convey serenity and refinement. Tokyo Station, the city’s spectacularly huge and advanced mass-transit complex (3,000 train departures daily), is directly beneath. The Shang is housed in one of several commercial towers rising from it. And views from one side of the hotel include a never-ending procession of trains. Up here none is ever heard and all is calm in the extreme. Even when almost fully booked, the hotel feels more cocoon-like and cosseting than some its of grander, flashier competitors. It's a subtle and custom-tailored oasis above the core of this vast city.

Rooms here are spacious. The lowest-category lodgings are among the largest in the city at 538 square-feet. The color scheme, mostly shades of brown, beige and gold, with ruby accents, conveys warmth, as do the densely textured fabrics. The mattresses are made with 300-count Frette sheets in standard rooms, while the number rise to 1,000 in the suites. Marble from Turkey and Mongolia fills the bathrooms where even in standard accommodations there is a rain shower/bathtub combo larger than most dressing rooms. Regular guests know to book a room with Horizon Club access: the up-front cost is higher but more than pays for itself for those who take advantage of the generous array of delectable edibles set out during the day and drinks served in the evenings.

Public areas abound with museum-worthy art, displayed at every turn in the halls and foyers (paintings, sculptures, and works in glass, ceramics, embroidery, gesso and wood, among other media). The two restaurants—one Japanese, one Italian—are both designed by Hong Kong wunderkind Andre Fu, who created the super-chic looks of Hong Kong’s Upper House and Singapore’s Fullerton Bay hotels. Reserve in advance for a teppanyaki lunch or dinner at Nadaman, the Japanese restaurant. Course after course created and cooked at the table: seafood pancakes with dashes of yam, beet, garlic and ginger; Hokkaido scallops with anchovy, basil, white wine and garlic sauce; and brandy-seared cuts of Wagyu beef so tender each forkful dissolves in your mouth.

One of Tokyo's newest properties, the Edition, Toranomon opened in 2020 with 206 rooms and suites, across the 31st to 36th floors of a skyscraper in the up-and-coming Toranomon neighborhood (located between luxe Marunouchi, to the north, and chic Roppongi, to the southwest). It was designed by Kengo Kuma (who recently completed the National Stadium for the 2022 Olympics), and thanks to his artistry, alongside, Ian Schrager’s lifelong passion for Japanese aesthetics, the property manages to have an authentic sense of place—helped by spectacular views of Tokyo Tower—that merges easily with the Edition’s signature sexy vibe (and scent). In addition to the location and airy, fresh atmosphere—which leaves the drama for the public spaces, keeping the guest rooms both peaceful and highly functional—the main draw of the hotel is the dining program, which includes a leafy, jewel-toned enclave for all-day bites and drinks, a photogenic Sky Garden, a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge, Gold Bar, and The Jade Room restaurant, featuring British-Japanese tasting menus (a surprisingly successful combination) by award-winning chef Tom Aikens, of the Michelin-starred London restaurants Pied à Terre and Muse.