THE HOTEL OKURA Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵【4K Hotel Tour & Honest Review 】Where A Love Affair Began

[@kentokyo]

Your video on Okura is truly something special. You’ve brilliantly captured the essence of Okura, partly because of your incredible insight and personal experience staying at the old one. Your considerate manners, something the Japanese truly value, shine through in your content. Growing up in Tokyo, I’ve had countless dinners at Okura with my family. I’ve explored all the restaurants, known a few staff members by name, and even witnessed the doorman recalling guests by their car’s license plate-memorizing over 2000 license plates and guests’ names. I vividly recall having lunch with my parents at the restaurant a few days after the renovation news broke. Most of the staff seemed unaware that an entire building was going to be rebuilt. Like many other generations of fans, my family was saddened to hear about the demolition of the old Okura, and there’s still a lingering bitterness about the new one. One thing I miss is the casual “terrace cafe” type of all-day dining spot with a view of the garden. It would be great if I could see you cover other hotels in Japan. Nevertheless, Okura is fortunate to have a guest like you. By the way, I’d love for you to make a video on Tawaraya in Kyoto.

[@tfft]

Appreciate that!

[@Mertzgaard]

Just wanted to drop you a note to say a huge thank you for the review of the Okura Tokyo. I just got back and it was hands down the best hotel experience I've ever had. This review is spot on! Thanks again for making my trip unforgettable.

[@tfft]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@dereksbooks]

We stayed at the Heritage wing last year with bath view in the junior suite. This year, we're going to try a corner room in the Prestige tower. For those visiting for the first time, I suggest booking a Heritage room first. I personally prefer the design, and the bath is a jacuzzi! Also the minibar is inclusive.

[@wellsw3]

You've brought your reviews to another new level. This is a master piece. Thank you!

[@tfft]

Thanks very much for the support ❤️ Love it when someone fully appreciates the effort that goes into some of the videos.

[@IMInnocent07]

Brilliant video. I am hopelessly addicted to this channel. I wish all of your videos were of this length or even longer. Keep up the good work.

[@tfft]

I wish KZbin wished that as well 😅 Thanks for watching 🩴

[@bobbyc404]

Nice video and it helped confirm my initial thoughts about this hotel. I will be there for 2 nights (Heritage room) next month (Feb 2024). Will get to experience for myself.

[@tfft]

Enjoy your trip 🗺️

[@lamluu4964]

I’m an early subscriber (from when your videos didn’t have voice narration), and recognized immediately that your videography and content as well as your integrity with your audience were excellent. So, whatever direction you decide to take your channel, I’m sure everyone will continue to rely on you for thoughtful, informative, entertaining and unbiased content. Please keep up the good work.

[@tfft]

Very much appreciate that 🙏🏻

[@ianmounstephen3403]

A wonderful review, Kevin; beautifully written and narrated. Surely the channel will grow and thrive!

[@tfft]

Appreciate that! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@DeniseSommerRoque]

Thanks

[@DeniseSommerRoque]

VPN to the rescue 🎉

[@tfft]

You’ll learn you can’t live without it in these parts 😅

[@glenny5740]

Wonderful review. I always enjoy watching your videos, not only are they beautiful to watch, but I learn so much about the properties you review, the history, concept etc. Thanks for taking us along.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@yamuiemata]

Quite simply this is amazing...the attention to detail is exquisite , precisely what you would expect from Japan

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@mikey_g2024]

Lovely review of the new Okura. I was fortunate enough to have stayed there before the old one closed. I think it’s a great reinvention of the original.

[@tfft]

Agree! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@flightofancy1]

Thanks for this amazing review Kevin.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@killerqueen9298]

Hi Kevin. I could tell from your voice and the choice of vocabulary that you really liked this hotel. It looks awesome. I hate noisy hotels so would probably feel right at home here. Yet another fabulous review, thank you.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@paulkeay5032]

What a wonderful looking hotel - so understated

[@tfft]

Agree! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@jenniferrahman6960]

Beautiful hotel, so Japanese. I can sense how peacefully quiet it is in that spacious lobby area. Another very enjoyable review!

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@treckerdude]

Great review on the Okura ! As usual, the review was very thorough and informative. I also want to add that the new intro is "clean and smooth" and I definitely prefer this version over the previous. Thanks for the excellent work....keep 'em coming !

[@tfft]

Appreciate that! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@fredricgrethel1717]

Kevin, just love your reviews. You are particularly great at hotel reviews. They seem a bit more free flowing compared to the air reviews imho. Keep up the amazing work.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much. Hotel reviews lend themselves to be much more flexible. I could show you the experience in just about any order and it could still flow well. Flights on the other hand, it would be weird if I showed you the meal and then checked in and then toured the bathroom haha. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@fredricgrethel1717]

@@tfft Kevin, I totally understand and agree. However, I do think that the flight reviews could use a little more “color commentary” specifically on the crews and the culture of the airline would help. You touch on these, but the check list of items that you correctly cover sometimes leaves less room for these comments. In the hotels it is totally different. In any case, I truly value your work and I appreciate your professionalism and passion for these reviews. Thank you!

[@sqdca]

Wonderful video. I stayed here in June this year and agree with everything you said. It’s definitely the authentic and holistic Japanese experience that sets the Okura apart from the other players. The Okura is a great example of the Japanese concept “Ma” (sense of space), which can be felt in the service and the spatial design.

[@tfft]

Thanks for sharing ✈️

[@dereksbooks]

I agree that Okura is uniquely Japanese. Most of the other five star hotels in Tokyo are mostly foreign entities that just happen to be operating in Tokyo, and frankly when compared with Okura, their lower cost rooms are nowhere nearly as nice. For "better" than Okura, you'd have to pay significantly more at somewhere like Four Seasons, and I personally don't find their rooms even that appealing for the money,

[@SeaBass-G]

I just came back to this review to thank you for it! It's one of the best hotel reviews I've ever seen. We stayed at the Okura recently, in part thanks to your review which got us over the line to spend some more and splurge for our 3 nights in Tokyo. Wow was it worth it! We stayed at the same time as European royalty who were in town for a State Visit. It's an amazing property, service is impeccable as are the finishes everywhere. So thank you again!

[@SeaBass-G]

Ha and I just realised we had the room right next to yours, 3224! How's that for coincidence.

[@tfft]

Glad you enjoyed so much! This one of the few hotels out there that I truly look back on, waiting to return.

[@pkurt101]

To your point about filming, I would have loved to see what a Japanese room looked like and how it is different from the western room. Thanks for your videos!

[@tfft]

In a hotel like this, would have loved to show it! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@dereksbooks]

The Heritage rooms are pretty similar, with the same general layouts. The western tower is a bit cheaper, and you get higher views (the Heritage tower isn't as high), but the Japanese style room baths are jacuzzis, and I believe that the minibar is inclusive with all of the rooms (at least it was for our suite). That blueberry and the mango juice that you see in that minibar are amazing --the best bottled juice that I've ever had.

[@MegOkuraJazz]

Classic and modern luxury.

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@konadora]

This is not your latest video, but I was binge watching your channel and I ended up watching this many times. The videography, your knowledge of not just the hotel but the history and culture of the surroundings and sociopolitics, and understanding the Japanese ethos is something I truly connected with and appreciated as someone who absolutely loves Japan. I decided to book this hotel because of you, and I am highly looking forward to the visit. Thanks Kevin, and I hope you have more Japan travel related content!

[@tfft]

A full Japan travel series is beginning with today's video actually. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@konadora]

@@tfft Looking forward! Thanks for always creating incredible quality content that are honest and transparent!

[@speedbirdrun]

Wonderful video providing with truth the sense of details of this hotel.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@shakesnbake]

Stunning! I was convinced it was from the same group as the Hotel New Otani - where I stayed on my first and only trip to Tokyo - but they are not. Will be adding this to the shortlist for my trip later this year. Thanks Kevin. Great review as always!

[@tfft]

Not the same group but they are both considered to be 2 of the three “Great Hotels” in Japan- the other being the Imperial. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@howardbaldwin1226]

Oh boy! What a fabulous review of a stunning hotel experience. Thanks so much for sharing Kevin. Cheers.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@marti_in_tx]

Another great review. It was beautiful. I did laugh a few times: “fancy people” and “ have to take a mortgage to eat”.

[@tfft]

😉

[@kawaiipanda1974]

Great video! Just booked a room at this hotel and can't wait to see it. Your video was very honest and clear. Keep up the good work!

[@tfft]

Enjoy your trip 🗺️

[@fonziegee]

Love this. What a wonderful place and great narration. Reminds me of the Aman Tokyo I saw in another vid, im sure they maybe borrowed ideas from the Okura and not the other way around. Fascinating place, there must be strange vibe as usually 6AM isn’t a busy time at any hotel pool i’ve been to lol. The only thing i don’t get about this design is the grey brick wall they use like in the bathroom, to me that doesn’t seem pleasant but idk maybe needs to be seen in person. Japan seems to have a cultural aspect of really caring about what they do for the purpose of doing it not for the economic return, marketing etc like all of. us in the west. I hope i get to see this magnificent place in person someday.

[@tfft]

Medium to dark grays are pretty common in higher end Japanese hotels. I actually really like it and I think it’s meant to evoke an outdoor onsen where you’d find lots of slate and river rock- all in the same color palate.

[@rdzilla]

I stayed here in 2012 and 2013. The old hotel had a certain romance that hooked me from the minute I stepped foot in it. I would love to see the new version of the hotel. Thank you for sharing the new hotel.

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@markshen3280]

Tokyo OKURA HOTEL has a more updated and rebuilt structure that is so different than what it was in the late 60s when I was there. It looks so much more elegant 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🏨🗾

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@losofia3748]

It is incredibly refreshing to find someone writing reviews who really *gets* Japan and Japanese aesthetics. This video (the parts about silence, dining alone, and “wa” etc.) and your ANA flight review are sooooo… relaxing to watch. It was like taking an onsen bath. My husband and I got goosebumps when watching them. You’ve captured the best and most subtle aspects of what makes Japanese hospitality/restaurants great. 99% of YTbers miss that. Thank you again. Subscribed. (And would love to hear your take on the Amans and Ritz-Carlton’s all over Japan.)

[@tfft]

Thanks very much for that! Please share this video with 120000 of your closest friends so that I have a reason to make more beautiful Japanese content like this (besides the mega Japanese transit series I just filmed!)

[@giosalinas]

this channel is such a gem, keep up the good work!

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@sbor90]

Outstanding production quality, as usual

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@oscarwinston1159]

I have stayed here twice. Loved it!

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@DeniseSommerRoque]

Absolutely LOVE this review Kevin, you really did the hotel justice! It simply is such a pleasure to watch (which I am doing now for the third time 😊). All the background information is so interesting and your videoing, editing and narration bring it to the next level. I already consider this review a masterpiece on your channel ❤

[@tfft]

Really appreciate that. I’m *trying* to nudge the content in a slightly more cinematic direction- but doing so without just producing beautiful, but boring, content is a challenge 😂

[@DeniseSommerRoque]

@@tfft I have yet to discover a boring video on your channel!!!

[@konadora]

Coming back to this video because I stated that I booked this hotel specifically because of this video. And boy, did Okura not disappoint. The hotel was definitely very fancy and "buttoned up", which made feel out of place at first with my t-shirt and jeans, but the staff quickly talked about a hobby of mine, which made me feel a bit more welcome. The room layout was unique, but everything just worked and I loved being able to control most things with a button very easily. The view was absolutely stunning at night, and I had 3 soaks during my 2D1N stay. The lobby was wide open, gorgeous, and very chic. I had Yamazato's sushi omakase that was absolutely fantastic from start to finish, and the sake pairing was great as well. The Starlight bar also had some really delicious cocktails paired with a beautiful night time Tokyo skyline. I wouldn't have visited Okura Tokyo without this video, and it has been one of my favourite hotel stays ever. So thanks once again, Kevin!

[@brilliantbutblue]

The facade of the building looks like any other 1970's high rise office block. The lobby area gave me a similar vibe. However, looking beyond that, l see the understated sophistication and get what they intended to achieve 👍

[@tfft]

Funny how (while I agree it’s a boring exterior) it does look quite modern to me on the outside.

[@well-blazeredman6187]

Get enough sea-food there, Kevin? Good review.

[@tfft]

Honestly didn’t realize the entire meal was seafood until I was editing haha.

[@Hiro-eb4zx]

Fantastic review!

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@jiawoo2422]

Thanks very helpful in our trip planning ❤

[@tfft]

Enjoy your trip 🗺️

[@jlw2915]

I spent many nights at the Okura between 2007 and 2014. Many. The Orchid Bar is simply world class. The room music on the TV with the Mt Fuji pics is something I would love to see again again if it is out there....

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching

[@iandenning534]

Brilliant and Kevin. Keep up this high standard of reviews.

[@tfft]

Appreciate that! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@jaideotandon2925]

Love the calm environment of this hotel, brilliantly captured. Im a budding content creator and I want to know what do you use to shoot these videos?

[@tfft]

I use all iPhones. Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@_DML_]

One heeeeeeeell of a view on that room.

[@tfft]

Agree! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@plasmaturkey48]

Beautifully reflective review Kevin ❤❤❤

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@taewonhwang5416]

Kudos to extensive research

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@Unazaki]

That is a most impressive hotel! Definitely something I will have to consider when I head there for a holiday in the future. Perhaps I might choose to split my stays between The Okura Tokyo and Mandarin Oriental Tokyo (my original first choice)! The rooms and food really do look really good! Regarding your consideration about getting some special priviledged access, a few friends of mine who work in the industry have told me that, apart from special influencers, sometimes their hotels do grant special priviledges to high paying and/or long time guests. As I understand from them, these benefits can range from the relatively mundane such as extra dining / spa credits or a free complimentary night, to the really extravagent such as being allowed to have a full blown feather pillow fight in the room itself for a photo /video shoot. I'm not sure if its something that is applicable to you however, since you'd have to be someone who either pays a lot of money by staying for a long time or in a very expensive suite, or be someone who is such a regular guest that the concierge can literally recognise you by sight alone.

[@tfft]

Yeah, I am neither a long time guest or a big spender by any means in any single hotel haha. Sound like the Vegas treatment. I'm not worried about how to get access, frankly it's very easy to do and even if a hotel denied me, I'd still be able to do my video the old fashioned way and wouldn't hold it against them.

[@joeychan6300]

Better try Four Seasons Tokyo Otemachi and Aman Tokyo next time. Both are fabulous luxury hotels that reflect the ritzy urban Tokyo.

[@tfft]

And both with ritzy baseline prices to match haha. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@paulsouthgate7373]

Beautiful hotel. Like you said the Starlight bar has lost in translation vibes. Hence would love to visit for a drink. Thanks

[@ninascherini4410]

Just wonderful Kevin.

[@tfft]

Appreciate that!

[@flightofancy1]

Gorgeous hotel and room. Always thought okura in Tokyo was going to be old school and dated but this is the exact opposite. They should pay you for the amazing video. Far cry from the really sad okura in bkk. Thanks for this.

[@tfft]

Agree about BKK. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@spoonkiller2m]

You have to try out the Okura Manila, particularly the Hinoki Tub room!

[@tfft]

Thanks for sharing ✈️

[@jrthetourist]

Great video. Ironically enough, the shooting constraints you faced lent the video a sense of what I imagine the hushed atmosphere of the Okura must be like. That being said, having the ability to shoot more freely would definitely be a good thing from my perspective as a viewer. I certainly understand that you're not doing the stereotypical influencer thing of trading free nights for fluff coverage of a property. So, I'd trust you to keep it honest in your reviews, especially at those special properties where there's really no need to embellish.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much for that 🙏🏻

[@cnlin62]

I stayed in the old Okura Tokyo once, the Sishi Restaurant was outstanding. Not sure if it’s still around in the new Okura.

[@tfft]

The Japanese restaurant is in the video 😉 Thanks for watching 🩴

[@kentokyo]

@cnlin62 You must be talking about the legendary Sushi restaurant Kyubei (Okura branch). Yes, Kyubei is still there, but it's likely to leave due to the unfavorable location assigned in the new Okura, right across from the shoe polishing spot. Kyubei sued Okura over this matter. The issue extends beyond the location; Okura has even brought Kyubei’s rival sushi restaurant into the sushi section in its Japanese restaurant, Yamazato, creating a well-known scandal in Japan. Although Okura doesn’t show Kyubei sushi restaurant on their homepage, which is distasteful, Kyubei is situated on the 4th floor of the Plestage Tower. Kyubei’s main store in Ginza remains outstanding and traditional.

[@vjayleo2142]

Great hotel, but very expensive. I also really like the info at the beginning of your video.

[@tfft]

The price varies wildly, more than most hotels I've ever tracked. $350/night up to $1100/night in the same month at times. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@26markp]

Kevin $900 a night ! The bed does look great. What a great dinner - beautiful menu wow but at a price. Another great video!

[@tfft]

That’s certainly not what I paid or what it goes for most of the year. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@ReinHart006]

Great video! Is it convenient to travel from from the train station to the hotel with couple luggages for my wife and I? I remember you mentioned it’s around 10 min walk? Are there convenient stores close by?

[@tfft]

There’s a 7-Eleven and Lawson very close by. Depends on which airport your coming from but if from Narita I’d say take NEx to Tokyo station and take Uber from there. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@bonbonS1969]

This is an amazing hotel and it's for a very specific crowd. I am shocked by how much footage you have and I can tell how hard it must be to get them. The dinner was a bit too basic tho for an Omakase style menu. They can at least throw in a slice of fatty blue fin tuna sashimi.

[@tfft]

There were plenty more expensive dinner options haha. Thanks for watching 🩴

[@markshen3280]

The word ‘OKURA’ means “Large Warehouse” ; the name is found mostly in western Japan, and is listed in the SHINSEN SHOJIROKU. There are many unrelated bearers, some with samurai connections, who took the name from places of residence.

[@tfft]

Thanks for sharing ✈️

[@manis1852]

Stayed here when my booking at the ANA hotel nearby was cancelled, in 1996.

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@Dinkleburggg]

Just took a look at the restaurants for my upcoming reservation. You aren’t joking about needing a mortgage to fund a meal here lol.

[@tfft]

😅

[@robichonphilippe6442]

Love this hotel best period

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@michael57603]

For me, nothing matches Japanese design and service. Always thoughtful, always elegant.

[@tfft]

Agreed! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@ulitkabob7567]

Отель превосходен. Минимализм как он есть! Роскошно! Надеюсь вам понравился ужин из морепролуктов? Подача обалденная!

[@tfft]

Ужин был вкусным. Спасибо за просмотр видео 🙏🏻

[@charliebrown5]

Thank You ✈️

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@Scotts-CruiseTravel]

Goose Bumps. Thank you.

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@molnarmihaly951]

Have you ever thought about sometimes giving a sneak peak at the end to guess for a flight?

[@tfft]

I did, but the flights would make it much easier to guess unless I used abbreviations. For example: “Singapore Airlines Business Class Sydney to Singapore” … even with just a couple letters filled in, many would be likely to guess it straight away. I could do “SQ SYD-SIN” but then I’m excluding a large portion of viewers who don’t know IATA codes and such.

[@molnarmihaly951]

Yes you’re right. But 9/10 times I don’t know the hotel brand, not to mention the beach/hotel foreign nickname. I think some others are like me too, better at flights, while some are opposite.

[@tfft]

Ok, I’ll give it a try (will probably be a month before it makes it to an actual video though).

[@sillypiffer]

Recommend The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon Hotel👍It’s just walking distance from Okura Tokyo

[@tfft]

On my list! Thanks for watching 🩴

[@MusicAvi8Tr]

Can you finish your comment “prefer to travel alone & better yet dine alone”. Curious why? & how come?

[@tfft]

Didn’t say I prefer to dine alone, just that I don’t have a problem doing it like many people have. As for traveling, time is finite. It may be the only time I ever come to (fill in the blank) and I’m going to see and do what I want to see and do, the way I want to do it. If it’s a place I’ve been to already then I’m much more open with sharing the experience.

[@MusicAvi8Tr]

@@tfft thanks for clarifying, and I tend to agree. My 2nd and final time traveling with a group of 45 to Europe was the straw that broke doing that again vs. solo travel or travel with my small family or a couple friends.

[@petek5523]

Beautiful hotel, but not my cuppa tea but beautiful nonetheless. And the neighborhood seems a bit straight laced for me. Great video though, thanks 😊

[@tfft]

Thanks very much 🙏🏻

[@brandrange2288]

It’s Bento, not Benito. Otherwise, amazing video. Bravo.🎉

[@tfft]

I said "Benito" or it was in the subtitles?

[@markprovan4332]

Japanese perfection.

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@williamwang5575]

Nice looking mezzanine

[@williamwang5575]

I like 🇯🇵

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching 🩴

[@brilliantbutblue]

"Influencers" but not the Tik Tok kind. I'm old enough to remember when an influencer was an important person, not the trash spruiking MLM products on the gram 👍

[@tfft]

I’m going to try to coin a new term to replace ‘Influencers’ and ‘Key Opinion Leaders’… my suggestion is BPFDSI (Bought and Paid for Doom Scrolling Inducers). ☺️

[@tiantangyu12]

What a boring ass room

[@tfft]

Were you expecting neon lights in a high end Japanese hotel...? lol

[@ottoblaauw2450]

….. you gone talk all the time ?? ; ByeBye

[@tfft]

…. you gone point out the obvious and be obnoxious ?? ; ByeBye

[@elfacisco]

winner of most boring monochrome hotel without imagination

[@tfft]

You’re fun