The entrance to FUFU TOKYO GINZA is easy to pass by — it’s completely unassuming, nestled within a quiet back street in Tokyo’s central Ginza district. Yet it’s exactly this unobtrusive and modest design that defines its sense of luxury: one where privacy and a sense of peaceful calm generate its unique atmosphere in the bustling city centre.

Guests arrive by the front entrance decorated in repurposed traditional Japanese kawara tiles complemented by a minimalist floor lantern light with the hotel name. Taking an elevator to the 12th floor where the main reception and lobby are found, guests are welcomed to a world of Japanese craftsmanship and authentic artisanry found in details of the property: he elevator’s interior, flushed with a textured silver, was hand-pressed by a Kanazawa-based ginpaku (silver) artisan. The arrival floor features a large draping of dorozome mud-dyed washi Japanese paper hanging works, crafted from the original soil from the site. Throughout the lobby, various woven bamboo artworks fill the space, creating a calm but natural-inspired space that exudes both style with peace and calm.

The hotel’s 34 guest rooms include 11 room types, with each featuring individual onsen natural hot spring within fragrant hinoki wood baths. It’s an exceptional offering — each day two truckloads of natural hot spring water are transported from Atami (about an hour and a half away from Tokyo) to provide this luxury. The water is rich in calcium, perfect to soothe any tiredness from a day of sightseeing. Guest rooms range from Stylish Suite at 55sqm to the FUFU Luxury Premium Suite at 163sqm. During my stay, the Executive Comfort Suite (64sqm) was spacious, with a walk-in luggage area followed by the expansive bath with organic amenities, a large bedroom with yukimi-shoji screens and an adjoining outdoor lounge and small garden. The minimal interior is an example of unassuming sophistication, where complimentary snacks and the kettle are poetically hidden under hand-woven bamboo baskets and covers. A seasonal treat is also prepared for guests, during my stay I enjoyed Fukura, a chocolate-soaked rice crackers by local Kagurazaka confectioner Kanokoya — perfect to enjoy with FUFU’s Japanese green tea or original 12-herb tea, both available for purchase in the lobby’s exceptional retail space.

Yet even in the heart of the Ginza shopping district, FUFU has created a small nature-led haven on their rooftop. The rooftop lounge Yusora features an open-air foot bath with individual cabanas for guests to enjoy the cityscape view from — with a sparkling wine or yuzu soda in hand, of course!

Whilst the hotel is quite compact, it offers privacy and a quiet intimacy that creates a kind of calm retreat when inside. In the unique configuration of the hotel, it’s seldom that you will come across other guests. FUFU’s kaiseki seasonal course dining, restaurant GINZA GAYU, sees guests dine in individual private rooms with neighbouring views of the city, whilst the hotel’s sushi counter GINGA offers intimate counter seating.

As an established hotel group, FUFU have a true approach to omotenashi, or sense of hospitality. Real omotenashi is an ethos that comes from within and I feel that from the Fufu Group’s staff. Here at FUFU TOKYO GINZA they’ve taken great care to work with various talented and esteemed artisans to create an authentic space that reflects the beauty of Japanese traditional culture and craftsmanship.

There is a quiet confidence emerging in merging traditional Japanese design, led by a new value for the timeless beauty of traditional craftsmanship and reframing it through a modern lens that feels effortlessly relevant to today. It offers a rare ability to feel both ancient and entirely of the moment; it draws on centuries of refined aesthetic philosophy — wabi-sabi, ma, and the art of impermanence — while embracing clean minimalism. This is the kind of meaningful space that FUFUTOKYO GINZA have created, offering a secluded and sophisticated offering, rooted in locality, history and traditional culture — one where craftsmanship, privacy and peace are the real luxury.

FUFU TOKYO GINZA
Hulic Ginza Building
1-7-10 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tokyo, Japan

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Text: Joanna Kawecki
Images: FUFU TOKYO GINZA

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