EXPLORING... Tokyo
(
tokyostationhotel.jp), opened the year after the station itself began operation. It closed for restoration in 2006 and reopened in 2012. There are a number of dining options in the hotel. If you want to splurge, there is fine French cuisine at Blanc Rouge, which has more than 1,000 bottles of wine, including some from Eastern Japan. Take a walk up to the second floor for Sushi Aoyagi, or head to the basement for a choice of Italian, kaiseki (multi-course Japanese meal), yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) or Cantonese fare. Alternatively, visit the Lobby Lounge for desserts, Bar & Café Camellia for casual dishes such as the signature beef stew, or Bar Oak, which opens for cocktails at 5pm. Better yet, make this your home
in Tokyo. The internet rate for a midweek stay with breakfast
60 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
in the Palace Side King room in mid-March starts from ¥41,550 (US$352.50). The European-themed, 34sqm space enjoys great views of the financial district. Or raise the level of decadence to the two-storey Maisonette Twin unit, available from ¥96,430 (US$818) at the time of going to print. There are other points of interest
This page clockwise from top left: Tokyo Station Hotel
Dome Side Room; Ambassador Suite; Bar & Cafe Camellia; fine dining at Blanc Rouge; hotel lobby Opposite page: Tokyo Station's historical dome ceiling
if you want to find out more about the station’s storied past. An original platform pillar can be found on platforms 5 and 6, on Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku lines, heading in the Shinagawa and Yokohama direction. At the centre the station, on the ground floor, lies a plaque that marks the site of the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Osachi Hamaguchi on November 14, 1930. He initially survived a gunshot from an ultranationalist
assailant, but died a few months later. Nine years prior to this, Prime Minister Takashi Hara, known as the “commoner prime minister” for his frugal lifestyle, was knifed and killed by a right-winger on a train journey to Kyoto. The plaque that commemorates this incident is located behind the hotel. Located in the northern end of the old terminal building is Tokyo Station Gallery (
ejrcf.or.jp/ gallery). Founded in 1988 with the objective of offering visitors a venue to appreciate arts and culture in a historical setting, it hosted 105 exhibitions before it closed temporarily in 2006 for renovation. It has since reopened, operating Sundays to Thursdays from 10am- 6pm (and until 8pm on Fridays). It is currently running the “Tokyo Station: A Hundred Years of its
Visit
www.businesstraveller.asia
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