Far EA(s)Ts .... The Golden Triangle!

[amaroo]

The arrival process was efficient and quick ... hotel car was waiting and soon enough we were on our way.

When selecting a hotel for this stay we were indecisive and ended up making reservations at three hotels. In the end we rolled the dice and took a punt on a newly opened SPG property - The Prince Gallery.

So glad we did. http://www.princehotels.com/en/kioicho/

Checkin is on the 36th floor



View from the ground - there is a moat like feature on one side



The hotel is the top section



The view as you walk out of the lift at reception... the lit structure in the middle of the picture is Tokyo Tower

 

[carls888]

Another awesome TR!
Book marking some of the restaurants for our next trip to Bangkok and Singapore in July. Loooove foodie holidays.
Glad to hear the Pen in Bangkok is good, we normally stay elsewhere but are booking here this time. Same style room, does the extra room open up in a shared entry, so the outside door is lockable?

 

[amaroo]

The kids room - club deluxe twin







With a flick of a switch the glass wall turned frosted.



The view - Imperial Palace, among other things

 

[amaroo]

Our room - grand deluxe corner king... this room comes with club lounge benefits.

 

[love_the_life]

Which airport did you fly into? Just wondering as it is quite a drive from Narita.

Your hotel is quite close to where we stayed (Tokyo Station Hotel).

 

[amaroo]

The views from this hotel are amazing!









I took this one still tucked up in bed.



I've never seen so many heli pads and flashing red lights on top of buildings - just an awesome view!

 

[amaroo]

Which airport did you fly into? Just wondering as it is quite a drive from Narita.

Your hotel is quite close to where we stayed (Tokyo Station Hotel).

Haneda (HND) the drive was around 40 mins.

That looks like a classy hotel... we like that area. one of the other hotels we booked was around there.

 

[amaroo]

Another awesome TR!
Book marking some of the restaurants for our next trip to Bangkok and Singapore in July. Loooove foodie holidays.
Glad to hear the Pen in Bangkok is good, we normally stay elsewhere but are booking here this time. Same style room, does the extra room open up in a shared entry, so the outside door is lockable?

Thank you. Yes, the rooms are connected via an outer door. IMO the best rooms end in 03 (room) & 04 (suite) on the highest floor you can get. This way you get to look at the pool side of the river whilst retaining the full on view of the everything else.... these are the room numbers we always stay in.

Here is a map of the floor

 

[amaroo]

There are only a few cities where we actively seek out Club Lounge access - Tokyo is definitely one of them, and this lounge didn't disappoint.

The Club benefits



FWIW pool access is US$45 per visit unless you've got SPG status or Club access.... 18 years is minimum age with the obligatory skull cap rule.

Not a bad ice bucket



Afternoon Tea

 

[amaroo]

Club breakfast - comprehensive offer. I recommend the Chef's egg! Yummy...

 

[amaroo]

The room was hi-tech with touch pads to control lights, shades, blinds, etc. From an iPad you could also control all rooms functions, order room service, get weather updates - you name it. The bathroom was fitted out to the max with a toilet with all the trimmings, controlled by the WC door i.e. when you opened the self closing door the lid would lift .... when you were finished the lid would close and the toilet would flush No hands required! Standard Japanese affair like heated seat and the full range of washing functions.

The hotel location is fabulous with Tokyo Metro Nagatacho station located within the basement area of the building - super convenient! The local area was upmarket with plenty of restaurants, Shine, Temple and an excellent Japanese garden a 3 min walk away... it's also where the Diet, other National institutions, and Embassies are located.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would have no problem recommending this property.

 

[LadyC]

Gotta love Japanese toilets!

 

[amaroo]

After we had checkin, scoped the rooms and enjoyed the view from the club lounge the kids decided it was time to eat. We had requested the concierge book a restaurant for tonight however, after discussions with the hotel it was agreed that due to our arrival time and strict restaurant conditions - it was better not to commit. I didn't fancy paying full freight on a truly eye watering expensive meal and not tasting a thing.

FWIW this is the restaurant we wanted to book https://s.tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1307/A130702/13185763/dtlphotolst/?type=1

Unfortunately we couldn't get a booking on another night... next time!

Washoku Souten was a good substitute...

The poor fellows had already started packing up when we walked in.

 

[KitKat]

Do they let riff-raff SPG platinums into the lounge or do we get shunted into a dark corner...

 

[amaroo]

Do they let riff-raff SPG platinums into the lounge or do we get shunted into a dark corner...

LOL, no idea - I'm a lowly nobody in the SPG game.

 

[amaroo]

This stopover trip to Tokyo was completely last minute and only came about due to the smarts of another terrific AFF member. We have 4 nights in total and had pre-booked a couple of activities that filled two of those days.

No 1 son requested that we allocate time for him to browse electric city - all gadgets, games, and anime.





Whilst he was living the dream of a teenager... we found something more interesting.

This place had a constant queue - so we joined it.





Cheesecake - beautiful!

 

[amaroo]

After what seemed like an eternity surrounded by Anime fanatics - we were finally allowed to leave.

We headed over to Hie Shrine - founded 1478, relocated to current location 1659, destroyed during WWII, and re-built 1958.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hie_Shrine

 

[amaroo]

Lunch!

Nagatacho Kurosawa http://www.thebetterlivingindex.com/kurosawa-restaurant-tokyo/

 

[amaroo]

Another fantastic local restaurant - definitely eat here when visiting Hie Shrine!

 

[TomVexille]

Only just catching up with this TR now. What a great trip. Like a few others I'm certainly taking notes on where to eat.

I need to stop reading this TR prior to meal time. I'm starving now!

Thankfully dinner is in a couple minutes

Haven't flown JL for around 15 years. Nice enough flight, the seat/capsule was borderline claustrophobic.... but the lie flat bed made up for it.

The food was very tasty and the beverages were above average.... the 100SC was icing on the cake

That looks like their Sky Suite III, of the at least 4 different seats they have on international routes, and IIRC is the same Zodiac Cirrus base as the CX seat you flew SIN-BKK