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One of Japan’s most famous and historical hotels continues to capture the hearts of guests with its hospitality. Apparently, even Keeanu Reeves is a fan! 

Along with the Hotel Okura Tokyo and the Hotel New Otani, the Imeprial Hotel Tokyo is considered one of the very best Japan-based hotels currently in operation in the country. As such, the Imperial hotel has a stellar reputation for its hospitality, and we thought we’d share with you just a few of the reasons the hotel has been loved by guests for over 120 years.

▼ The hotel is very centrally located, right next to Hibiya Park and close to the Marunouchi business district as well as the Ginza shopping district.

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The very first member of the hotel staff you’re likely to see upon arrival is the door/bell person who might help you out of your car or take your luggage for you. Now, it’s quite standard for such door staff to be wearing pristine white gloves, but it turns out that there’s a very good reason why the staff’s gloves are so pristine, at least at the Imperial Hotel.

Amazingly, the door staff at the Imperial Hotel change their gloves to a clean pair every 30 minutes! Okay, so maybe every 30 minutes is overkill — how dirty can your gloves get in half an hour, right? But still, it shows how devoted the staff at the hotel are to making sure they handle the guests’ luggage only with the cleanest of gloves.

Oh, and if you arrive by taxi and happen not to have any bills smaller than a 10,000 yen? Not to worry! The door staff are in the habit of carrying 1,000 yen and 5,000 yen bills so they can exchange the bills for you. Now, that must come in handy for many visitors.

▼ Once you arrive, you’ll be greeted by the sight of this lovely lobby.

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Something else the Imperial Hotel is known for is the high quality of its laundry service. It so happens that the Imperial Hotel was the first hotel in Japan to start a laundry service in 1911. And if any of the buttons on your shirt are loose, they’ll discreetly sew it back on for you. (Yup, we particularly like the fact that it’s done quietly, making it seem like it’s no big deal at all.) In fact, Hollywood actor Keeanu Reeves is one of the many guests who have stayed at the hotel and become a fan of the laundry service there — so much so that in the 1995 movie Johnny Mnemonic, he added an ad lib mention of the hotel in one of his lines, saying,  “I want my shirts laundered like they do at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.”

▼ Some guests apparently even stay at the Imperial Hotel just to have their clothes laundered. They must be doing something right in the hotel’s laundry department!

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So, that’s just some of the confirmed stories we’ve heard about the Imperial Hotel that make it a special place to stay, and we’re sure there are plenty more out there on the internet. At this level, hospitality is truly an art, made possible with many years of tradition, experience and skills. Of course, if accommodation at the Imperial Hotel is more luxurious than what you need, and you still want to get a taste of the service there, high tea or a nice meal at the hotel is always an option!

▼ The hotel looks lovely lit up in the evening too.

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▼And here’s a video in English introducing the hotel. Enjoy a brief, virtual tour of one of the best hotels in Tokyo!

Reference：Imperial Hotel website, Ikkyu website, Facebook/ Imperial Hotel
Images: Imperial Hotel website photo gallery, Imperial Hotel Japanese website  © Imperial Hotel, Ltd.
Original article by: Yayoi Saginomiya © Pouch
[ Read in Japanese ]