Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo is a luxurious retreat beloved for its enchanting gardens, world-class hospitality, Japanese heritage, beauty in all seasons, and refined cuisine.
In the summer of 2024, the hotel further elevated its already exceptional offerings with the opening of its Executive Lounge “Le Ciel.” Le Ciel is exclusively available to suite room guests and features a classy indoor lounge, terrace seats, a gallery space, and delectable food and beverages throughout the day.
On January 8, 2025, the hotel will also unveil a new mist spectacle called “The Pagoda in the Clouds” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its three-story pagoda’s relocation from Chikurinji Temple in Hiroshima to Chinzanso Garden. This show will occur nine times a day, year-round and will recreate Japan’s renowned natural phenomenon, the “sea of clouds.”
Learn more Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, The Pagoda in the Clouds, and Le Ciel below. True Japanese hospitality and refinement await.
A brief introduction of Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo
Located in Bunkyo City, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo is a highly esteemed hotel with a vibrant 70-year history. The moment you enter the facility, its beautiful aesthetics, which balance Japanese and Western styles, envelope you in a grand, yet comforting welcome. A stay at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo encompasses the following elements.
Chinzanso Garden
Perhaps one of the hotel’s most recognizable features is its sprawling garden. Chinzanso Garden originated during the Meiji Era (1868–1912) and was erected by former Japanese Prime Minister Yamagata Arimoto. This natural oasis seamlessly blends ponds, streams, plant life, and cultural artifacts to create a peaceful getaway. The garden’s most prized feature is the Entsukaku Three-story Pagoda, a national tangible cultural asset that was relocated to the garden in 1925. The structure sits perched atop one of the garden’s highest points, making it feel like the guardian of the grounds.
The moment you enter the greenspace, the tranquil sound of running water greets you. The garden’s visuals transform throughout the day—being reborn under bright morning sunbeams, evening’s orange glow, and atmospheric lantern lighting at night.
In addition to the time of day, the time of year also highlights the garden’s dynamic appearance. Rather than four, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo has seven seasons, showcasing numerous environmental changes across winter, spring, summer, and autumn.
Repeat visits are essential to truly appreciate the garden’s shifting wonders.
Elegant rooms
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo is home to a host of rooms and suites that feature elegant designs, wide windows with garden or cityscape panoramas, and elevated homey comforts, such as high-end amenities, dreamy mattresses, and quality bedding. You will feel simultaneously pampered and relaxed.
Unparalleled cuisine
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo has no shortage of mouthwatering eats with nine restaurants, cafes, and lounges that serve Japanese and Western cuisine. Enjoy everything from kaiseki (traditional multi-course Japanese meals) to Italian to English-style Afternoon Tea. The eateries’ interior designs reflect their offerings, creating immersive dining experiences.
YU, THE SPA
YU, THE SPA is Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo’s gateway to wellness and relaxation, featuring hot springs, a sauna, a swimming pool, and a fitness gym. The space also offers rejuvenating services, such as full body massages with aromatic oils, facial treatments, and hot stone massages. Adult suite room guests can use YU, THE SPA for free.
The Pagoda in the Clouds
In 2020, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo started the Tokyo Sea of Clouds—a mist show that transforms Chinzanso Garden into a mystical realm. The natural phenomenon “sea of clouds,” or unkai in Japanese, is a rare occurrence in which clouds form at low elevations, allowing you to view them from above. This natural spectacle typically occurs in mountainous regions and only happens under certain conditions.
At Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, you can experience this rare occurrence multiple times of day with its manmade mist spectacles. Generally occurring twice an hour, these ethereal performances blanket the garden in ever-moving fog that swells, dissipates, and changes direction. During the day, sunlight illuminates the mist, casting spotlights on the sometimes opaque, sometimes transparent clouds. At night, the garden’s 1,000 light bulbs enhance the surreal show, brightening the fog with warmly-lit orbs.
On January 8, 2025, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo will begin a new mist show called The Pagoda in the Clouds to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the three-story pagoda’s relocation. This new event will bring the “sea of clouds” to the pagoda’s level, allowing you to witness the pagoda resting atop a bed of mist. The Pagoda in the Clouds will occur daily at 7:10am, 11:10am, 2:10pm, 6:10pm, 7:10pm, 8:10pm, 9:10pm, 10:10pm, and 10:40pm. At all other times, the regular Tokyo Sea of Clouds will appear. At 7:10am, 10:10pm, and 10:40pm, The Pagoda in the Clouds will meet the Great Sea of Clouds, which covers about three quarters of the garden in mist.
You can enjoy the sea of clouds within the garden—watching the fog spill onto the path and encircle you—or admire it from above for an all-encompassing view.
Features of Executive Lounge “Le Ciel”
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo opened its new Executive Lounge “Le Ciel” in the summer of 2024. This lounge is only available to suite room guests and is located on the fourth floor.
Indoor lounge area
Design-wise, Le Ciel continues the hotel’s “new heritage concept” with a sophisticated interior that blends past and future styles for a timeless aesthetic. Warm wooden designs illuminated by soft overhead lighting, as well as natural lighting from the massive floor to ceiling windows, create a space that epitomizes luxury and comfort. The attention to detail is exceptional. If you look closely, you will notice geometric-floors inspired by kumiko (a Japanese woodworking technique), ceilings imbued with tiny animal designs, a handmade carpet integrating flowers from the hotel’s seven seasons, and more.
Upon entering, there is a reception area where suite room guests can check-in and out. Here, there is a six-paneled artwork displaying natural sceneries from January to June, and inside the lounge, there is a six-paneled mirror that continues the months. Both are replicas of art pieces that were owned by Yamagata Arimoto.
Extending off of the main lounge area is a gallery space that also doubles as a seating area. This space has massive windows that overlook the garden—like an ever-changing painting—as well as Japanese art in glass display cases, including Hagi ware pottery, Edo Kiriko glassware, an Edo Kimekomi doll, and lacquerware. The hotel also showcases “for sale” pieces that change every three months.
Terrace area
Le Ciel’s outdoor terrace area offers magnificent views of the garden, the sea of clouds, and Tokyo’s skyline beyond in a refreshing outdoor setting.
For an extra special experience of the sea of clouds, try watching it from the terrace seats. During the show, the terrace is doused in atmospheric fog, while still providing elevated views of the spectacle below.
Complimentary food and beverages throughout the day
In addition to its alluring setting, Le Ciel also serves light meals and drinks three times a day free of charge. The menu items are set out in a self-serving buffet area where you can choose your favorite eats and bring them to a table of your choosing. All of the dishes are freshly prepared in-house, and the staff are incredibly attentive.
Morning Light Meal (8:30am–10:30am)
Start your day with Le Ciel’s morning menu, which offers an array of sweet and savory eats. Some typical items include cured meats, bakery goods (like muffins, waffles, and bread), hashed potatoes, sausage, bacon, vegetables, milk and cereal, fruit juice, coffee, and tea. There is also a station where you can order freshly prepared eggs in your preferred style (i.e. omelet, scrambled, or fried).
The morning menu’s signature item is its 100-layered cube croissant paired with original honey collected from bees in Chinzanso Garden. The flaky layers of buttery dough meld perfectly with the honey’s natural sweetness.
Teatime (2:30pm–5pm)
In the afternoon, the buffet reopens with Danish pastries, canapés, bite-sized sandwiches, quiches, cakes, jelly desserts, and more for teatime! Since all of the food items are relatively small in size, you can try an assortment of creative flavors. The lounge also offers soft drinks and beer during this time.
The elegant lounge bathed in late afternoon’s light coupled with the exquisite menu makes for a relaxing treat.
Evening Light Meal (5:30pm–8:30pm)
Le Ciel offers food and beverages once more in the evening for a light dinner. Under the cozy ambience of night, you can enjoy seasonal soups and stews, salad, cured meats, cheese and fruit pairings, small sandwiches, and more.
The cube croissant also makes a reappearance with truffle flavoring. In terms of beverages, the lounge fully opens its alcohol selections with wine, sparkling wine, and various hard liquors.
Complimentary services and restrictions
In addition to Le Ciel, suite room guests also have access to the following services. Please note that the lounge has a couple restrictions.
| Services | Restrictions |
|
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Pricing for Le Ciel
| For suite room guests | For guests of the suite room guests | |
| Adults | Free | 6,000 yen per 60 minutes |
| Children (4–12) | 3,000 yen per night | 3,000 yen per 60 minutes |
| Children (3 and under) | Free | Free |
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo: Luxury in Tokyo
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo offers an unforgettable lodging experience that embodies refinement and comfort. With the additions of its new Executive Lounge “Le Ciel” and soon-to-be-released “Pagoda in the Clouds” spectacle, the hotel’s commitment to excellence continues to shine.
For more information about Le Ciel and The Pagoda in the Clouds, please visit the following links:
- Executive Lounge, Le Ciel: https://www.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.com/executivelounge/
- The Pagoda in the Clouds: https://hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.jp/unkai_lightup/ (Japanese only)
