Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Japanese Cultural Experience Shinjuku Japan

Located in the heart of the Japanese metropolis, Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo is one of Japan’s leading international hotels. Offering more than just accommodation, the hotel boast of more than 20 restaurants and bars to suit local and international palates and provides a wide variety of facilities and events so that you and your loved ones can enjoy Japanese cultural experiences right within their premises. During your stay, you can immerse yourself in their Hello Kitty themed rooms, wedding kimono fitting experience, traditional Japanese tea ceremony and many others! Let’s explore what Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo has in store for you the next time you visit Shinjuku, Tokyo Japan!

1. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Superb Location

From Haneda Airport, you just need to take a 50 minutes train ride to get to Shinjuku Station. After which, Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo is merely a quick 10 minutes walk away. In fact, the hotel is conveniently connected by a linkway from the train station. If you are unable to locate the linkway, simply head out of the station (to the pavement level) and follow Google map instructions to reach the hotel!

2. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Great Base To Explore The City

Shinjuku is a great base to access most of the city key attractions.  Harajuku, Omote-Sando and Meiji Jingu is just a 5 minutes train ride away via Yamanote Line.  Shibuya is just an additional 2 minutes ride away on the same train line. Even the furthest Sensoji (Asakusa Station) is less than 30 minutes away. When you are in Tokyo, check out Akiba Fukurou Owl Cafe for an adorable afternoon of owl fun!

3. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Hello Kitty Themed Rooms

Hello Kitty fans will go absolutely gaga over the Hello Kitty Themed Rooms at either Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Shinjuku (Central Tokyo) or Tama (West Tokyo)! Located in the South Tower of Keio Plaza Hotel Shinjuku, the Hello Kitty Rooms were opened from 1st November 2014.  A total of eight rooms were remodelled in two different adorable themes – “KITTY TOWN” or “PRINCESS KITTY”. The creative folks at Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo are also proud to present their newly created “Hello Kitty Room Original Breakfast” to you and your loved ones! The menu is based on the hotel’s American breakfast menu but with colourful and nutritionally balanced food items added such as omelettes, ratatouille and salads using various Hello Kitty images. READ MORE

4. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – A Tokyo Disney Resort Good Neighbor Hotel

As one of the “Tokyo Disney Resort Good Neighbor Hotels”, the hotel provides complimentary shuttle bus service directly to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea! You can choose between these three timing: 6.30am, 9am or 12.30pm bus. If you want to make the most out of your day at Disney Parks, we recommend getting on the 6.30am bus. In the evening, you will be the envy of other tourists when you board the same bus to head back to Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo after a long day at the parks.

5. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Japanese Kimono Experience

Folks who are staying at Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo will also get to try out Japanese kimono worn by brides and grooms at traditional Japanese weddings! Traditional bridal kimonos of more than 3 different colours and patterns for both ladies and men are available at the in-house costume salon located in the hotel lobby. The hotel will also provide several locations with breathtaking backdrops for photographs to be taken such as Japanese wedding ceremony rooms, the Imperial Suite room, and others. Limited to only 2 couples per day on weekdays only, the prices are as follow: 32,400 Yen (Ladies, Maximum height is 170cm, or size 15), 32,400 Yen (Gentlemen, Maximum height 185cm, or 100cm chest size) & 54,000 Yen (Couple).

Besides Japanese wedding kimonos, the hotel also rents Japanese yukata (casual kimono) and help you take photographs within the hotel. The yukata can wore out to visit various destinations outside of the hotel too.  Two rental plans are available – standard yukata plan for both male and female guests (JPY5,400 per guest, including tax) and the premium yukata plan for female guests (JPY7,000 per guest, including tax).  Both plans include traditional Japanese accessories including “geta” shoes, “kanzashi” ornamental hair combs, and “kinchaku” handbags.

6. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Japanese Traditional Tea Experience

Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo offers traditional Japanese tea ceremony experience at their “Sho-fu-an” Tea Ceremony Room. Guided by an experienced Tea Master, the ceremony is conducted in the English language with detailed explanations of the various utensils used and traditional practices. The 30 minutes experience will give you a glimpse into the intricate world of Japanese tea traditions and culture. READ MORE

7. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Ikebana Flower Arrangement Workshop 

Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo’s spacious lobby area with high ceilings allowed the space for large Ikebana (flower arrangement) to be beautifully displayed. Hiroki Maeno uses his skills as both an Ikebana artist and space designer to create a flower arrangement that beautifully accentuates the hotel’s lobby space. If you love flower arrangement, you must go for their special 45-minute Ikebana workshop held on every other Thursday in a private room for 3,000 Yen. Instruction and commentary are provided by the artist Hiroki Maeno.

8. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Japanese Sake Breweries Tour

Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo provides a special sightseeing limousine tour to two sake breweries and a museum with optional English-speaking chauffeurs. The tour will take you and your loved ones to Japanese sake breweries located in western Tokyo. These included Ishikawa Brewery, famous for its sake called “Tama Jiman”, Tamura Brewery, known for its “Kasen” sake created using water from a natural spring within the brewery facility located along the Tama River in Fussa City of Western Tokyo, and Ozawa Brewery, a sake brewer with a history of over 300 years dating back to 1702 and renowned for its “Sawanoi” sake. You will be shown the “Kushi Kanzashi (Traditional ornate hair combs) Museum.”

Each chauffeur-driven minivans can accommodate 6 people. The plan details can be customized to meet your specific wishes.  All of the costs for the tours including admission to the museum, transportation and toll fees are included in the plan prices.

9. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Special Exhibitions All Year Round

Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo regularly hosts special exhibitions of traditional Japanese arts and culture within their space. One of such exhibitions is the entitled “Enjoying Japan’s Traditional Hinamatsuri Girls’ Doll Festival at Keio Plaza Hotel”. It displays various traditional art ornaments in the third-floor lobby of the hotel from 1st February to 27 March 2017.

The annually held exhibition was extremely well received by guests. This year features some 6,500 finely handwoven silk doll decorations, Japanese art items depicting scenes of “Japanese female culture” from the Meiji Period (1868 to 1912), and “Bonsai” miniature decorative sculptured plants gave visitors a taste of Japan’s traditional arts representative of the “Hinamatsuri Doll Festival”. In addition, ten of the hotel restaurants also served specially prepared menu items and will be specially decorated to commemorate this celebratory event.

10. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Night View Of Tokyo City Skyline

Sky Lounge “Aurora” is designed to showcase the panoramic views of the Tokyo City skyline from the 160-meter high 45th floor of the Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo. Here you get to enjoy the wide selection of delicious beverages and dishes prepared by the hotel’s renowned and talented bartenders and chefs at both lunchtimes (*on weekends and holidays only) and in the afternoon to late evening hours every day.

Do come back in the evening to take in the gorgeous night view of Tokyo city too. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo is famous for its skilful bartenders. Led by their legendary bartender Kazuya Watanabe, the first winner of Medal with Yellow Ribbon from Japanese emperor, you can expect delicious drinks and high level of service from their bartenders.

Do reserve your stay at Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo the next time you visit Japan. To fully appreciate your stay make sure you take part in some of their cultural workshops and activities! For more information about Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo rooms, facilities and services, please visit their website, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram.