Located in Shinjuku at the very heart of the Japanese capital, Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo ranks as one of Japan’s leading international hotels. Unlike the conventional hotels that merely offer accommodations and quality service (it is near to impossible to find bad service in Japan), the hotel boasts of over 20 restaurants, bars and hosts a wide range of facilities and events to allow you to savour unique Japanese culture and experiences within their space. Some of these included their Hello Kitty themed rooms, wedding kimono fitting experience, traditional Japanese tea ceremony and many others! Join us as we explore all that Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo has to offer! 
1. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Superb Location
We are not exaggerating when we state that it is located in the heart of the Japanese Capital. From Haneda Airport, you just have to take a 50 minutes train ride to Shinjuku Station and Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo is just a short 10 minutes walk away. The hotel is connected by a convenient linkway right from the train station, the tough part is finding the linkway as Shinjuku station is literally a maze (not the fault of the hotel). Worst case scenario, just head out of the station and follow your trusty Google map! 
2. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Great Base To Explore The City
Shinjuku makes a great base to explore the city. Harajuku, Omote-Sando and Meiji Jingu is just 5 minutes away by Yamanote Line, add 2 minutes more and you will be checking out the traffic at the famous Shibuya crossing. Even Sensoji (Asakusa Station) is less than 30 minutes away. We recommend that you visit Akiba Fukurou Owl Cafe while you are in the city too! 
3. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Hello Kitty Themed Rooms
If you are crazy about Hello Kitty, you are in for a treat 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. Four rooms have been remodelled in two themes of “KITTY TOWN” and “PRINCESS KITTY” which makes up a total of eight Hello Kitty Rooms. To wow you further, the creative folks at Keio Plaza has newly created “Hello Kitty Room Original Breakfast”! The menu is based on their American breakfast menu 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”, Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo offers complimentary shuttle bus service directly to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea! You can opt for either the 6.30am, 9am or 12.30pm bus but if you want to make the most out of your day at Disney Parks, we recommend getting on the 6.30am bus to stay ahead of the pack! In the evening, you will be the envy of other tourists when you board the same bus to depart from the parks after a long day. 
5. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo – Japanese Kimono Experience
Folks who are staying at the hotel will also get to don Japanese kimono worn by brides and grooms in traditional Japanese weddings and have their fill of OOTD photos for Facebook & Instagram! 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. Keio Plaza 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 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)
If Japanese wedding kimono is a little too grand for you, the hotel also provides rental Japanese yukata (casual kimono) and will help you take photographs within the hotel. You can also wear your yukata to visit various destinations outside of the hotel too! Two plans will be offered, including the 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 provides tea ceremony experience at their “Sho-fu-an” Tea Ceremony Room since April 2016. Guided by an experienced Tea Master, Keio Plaza Hotel Japanese Tea Ceremony is delivered in the English language with in-depth explanations of the various utensils used and traditional practices. The 30 minutes experience will offer 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 allows for the large Ikebana (flower arrangement) to be beautifully displayed. Hiroki Maeno uses his skills as both an Ikebana artist and space designer to create an arrangement to beautifully accentuate the hotel’s lobby space. If you love flower arrangement, you can 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 offers a special sightseeing limousine tour of two sake breweries and a museum with optional English-speaking chauffeurs. This chauffeured tour will take you to two of three Japanese sake breweries located in western Tokyo, including 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. Also, you will be taken to “Kushi Kanzashi (Traditional ornate hair combs) Museum.” 
Tours can take up to six guests in chauffeur-driven minivans and plan details may also be customized to meet your specific desires. 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
Other than its facilities, services and workshops, the hotel also regularly hosts special exhibitions of traditional Japanese arts within their premises. 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 has been extremely well received by guests, and 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 to give visitors a taste of Japan’s traditional arts representative of the “Hinamatsuri Doll Festival”. In addition, ten of the hotel’s 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 specially designed to highlight the panoramic views of the Tokyo City skyline from the 160-meter high 45th floor of the Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo. Savour the wide range of delicious drinks and food items 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.
Other than the day view, remember to come back in the evening to take in the gorgeous night view of the Japanese metropolis too. Keio Plaza Hotel is famous for having skillful bartenders. Led by their legendary bartender Kazuya Watanabe, the first winner of Medal with Yellow Ribbon from Japanese emperor, their bartenders will put their skills to work in creating delicious drinks and providing the high levels of hospitality for you.
As you can see from the various Japanese cultural experiences made available at Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo, the hotel is more than just a comfortable and convenient accommodation option in the Japanese Capital. To fully appreciate your stay, we recommend that you make reservations for some of their workshops. For more information about Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo rooms, facilities and services, please visit their website, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram.
