A trainspotter's fantasy! Inside the breathtaking hotel that overlooks Tokyo's main bullet

Release time：2024-05-21 17:28:02 Source：Planet Pages news portal

They’re bullet trains, but not quite in bullet mode.

Rather than shooting along at speeds of up to 200mph (320kph), these glossy marvels of engineering are trundling in and out of Tokyo Station.

I’m watching this scene from my room at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo At Marunouchi, both a boutique sanctuary and a trainspotter’s fantasy fulfilled.

My room, a Deluxe King, overlooks the eastern side of the station, which sees more than 4,000 arrivals and departures each day. As well as a commuter hub, it's Tokyo's main Shinkansen (bullet train) terminal, serviced by the majority of the eight major high-speed lines, including the ever-popular Tokaido line, on which bullet trains rocket past Mount Fuji towards Osaka and Kyoto at up to 177mph/285kph.

A Four Seasons representative can greet you from your train, ushering you from the platform to the hotel in under five minutes via an underground passageway.

Ailbhe MacMahon checks into Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo At Marunouchi where she watches bullet trains slowly pulling in and out of Tokyo Station. Pictured: The view from a Deluxe Premier Twin room at the hotel

Ailbhe stays in a Deluxe King room, like the one pictured here, overlooking the eastern side of Tokyo Station, which sees more than 4,000 trains arrive and depart each day

The intimate 57-room hotel, which has been welcoming guests for two decades, occupies the lower seven floors of the glass-walled Pacific Century Place tower in the Marunouchi district in dazzling downtown Tokyo.

While east-facing hotel rooms offer ample opportunity for train-track-gazing, the prize for the best view goes to Maison Marunouchi, the Michelin-recommended restaurant on the seventh floor, where a corner table looks directly onto the Shinkansen platforms.

During dinner, I watch as Shinkansen passengers swarm into carriages, marshalled by white-gloved conductors.

The prize for the best view goes to Maison Marunouchi, the Michelin-recommended restaurant on the seventh floor, where a corner table (pictured) looks directly onto the Shinkansen platforms, writes Ailbhe

LEFT: Monkfish from Japan’s Hokkaido region in a spiced lentil and curry velouté sauce at Maison Marunouchi. RIGHT: Japanese ‘kegani’ crab in a brioche bun with a fish broth at the restaurant

British chef Daniel Calvert oversees the menu at Maison Marunouchi, which Ailbhe describes as 'a Parisian-style bistro with teal leather booths and Art Deco room dividers'

The hotel gives children the chance to dress up as a conductor and play with a Takara Tomy Plarail toy train set as they watch the trains go by at the hotel, says Ailbhe 

JAPAN’S SHINKANSEN BULLET TRAIN LINES 

Tokaido line. Maximum speed - 177mph/285kph: This connects Tokyo with Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka.

Sanyo line. Maximum speed - 186mph/300kph: This takes travellers from Osaka to the city of Fukuoka, stopping along the way in Kobe, Himeji, Okayama and Hiroshima.

Tohoku line. Maximum speed - 199mph/320kph: Japan’s longest Shinkansen line, this links Tokyo with Aomori in the north.

Joetsu line. Maximum speed - 161mph/260kph: This winds from Tokyo to the coastal city of Niigata further north.

Kyushu line. Maximum speed - 161mph/260kph: This links the cities of Fukuoka and Kagoshima on Kyushu Island in southerly Japan.

Hokkaido line. Maximum speed - 199mph/320kph: This travels from the city of Aomori on the island of Honshu to the city of Hakodate on Hokkaido Island, moving through the Seikan Tunnel.

Hokuriku line. Maximum speed - 161mph/260kph: This links Tokyo with the city of Kanazawa, stopping along the way in Nagano and Toyama. It’s also known as the Nagano Shinkansen.

Nishi Kyushu line. Maximum speed - 162mph (260kph): The newest line to open, this runs between the hot spring town of Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki.

Source: JR Pass/Hitachi

The trains themselves line up like bullets in a belt of ammunition, ready to set off right on time - Shinkansen are rarely delayed.

My waiter tells us the view is especially popular with children, with staff occasionally having to clean mini fingerprints off the windows.

Taking note of their fascination, the hotel created a package that gives children the chance to dress up as a conductor and play with a Takara Tomy Plarail toy train set as they watch the trains go by.

But this trackside vantage point isn’t the only ace in the hotel's hand.

It has cut through the high-stakes culinary competition in Tokyo and become a big player in the city’s gastronomy scene with its two-Michelin-starred restaurant Sézanne, where British chef Daniel Calvert masterminds classically-derived French fare.

Calvert also oversees the menu in the more casual Maison Marunouchi, a Parisian-style bistro with teal leather booths and Art Deco room dividers.

There I have Japanese ‘kegani’ crab meat in a brioche bun, steeped in a moreish fish broth (3,800JPYyen/£20/$25), followed by buttery monkfish from Japan’s Hokkaido region (6,300JPY/£33/$42) and a delicate strawberry mille-feuille (3,000JPY/£16/$20).

I sample another slice of Calvert’s wares at breakfast the following morning with a serving of avocado on Sézanne’s light yet crunchy sourdough bread (3,000JPY/£16/$20).

The Surrey-born chef’s deft touch is also seen in the savoury section of the afternoon tea menu (7,600JPY/£40/$51), while jewel-like desserts such as a ruby-red strawberry tart are crafted by Executive Pastry Chef Patrick Thibaud.

Afternoon tea is served in the seventh-floor Bar and Champagne Lounge, a space filled with elegantly dressed Tokyoites, asymmetrical sofas and a colourful stacked-ball sculpture by British artist Annie Morris.

Along with Maison Marunouchi and Sézanne, it’s been dreamt up by Hong Kong interior designer André Fu, who says he wished to cultivate ‘a sense of escape from the city’ for diners.

Toronto-based firm Yabu Pushelberg designed the rest of the hotel, with lustrous black-walled hallways leading to spacious guest rooms.

Simple in design, my room has mint carpet underfoot and a sweeping headboard, with slate grey pyjamas left thoughtfully during the turndown service.

The hotel has cut through the high-stakes culinary competition in Tokyo and become a big player in the city’s gastronomy scene with its two-Michelin-starred restaurant Sézanne. Pictured: The restaurant interior by day

Chef Calvert masterminds 'classically-derived French fare' at Sézanne, pictured by night 

LEFT: Afternoon tea at the Bar and Champagne Lounge, with desserts by Chef Patrick Thibaud. RIGHT: Ailbhe samples the 'delicate' seasonal strawberry mille-feuille at Maison Marunouchi

Panoramic windows are the star attraction, with triple-glazed glass reducing the lull of train traffic to a faint rumble.

The understated luxury continues in the bathroom, with a deep limestone-edged bathtub and Epsom salts to sprinkle in it, along with Diptyque toiletries and thick bathrobes.

The hotel sets out to be a peaceful haven away from Tokyo's high-energy streets, and you feel this sense of calm the most in the spa, a bijou space with an 'onsen' hot spring bath and steam room.

Ailbhe says the hotel is 'just the spot for a luxurious night’s stay before you catch a bullet train to your next destination'. Pictured: The bathroom in the Chairman’s Suite

The hotel sets out to be a peaceful haven away from Tokyo’s high-energy streets, Ailbhe says, adding: 'You feel this sense of calm the most in the spa, a bijou space with an "onsen" hot spring bath (pictured) and steam room'

Those who are too relaxed to leave the hotel can sightsee from the comfort of bed, watching as one of Japan’s most iconic sights - the Shinkansen bullet train - parades below the window, says Ailbhe. Pictured: An early morning bullet train passes by her bedroom window

TRAVEL FACTS

Ailbhe MacMahon was hosted by Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo At Marunouchi, where rooms begin at 158,000JPY (£838/$1,057) per night. For more information visit www.fourseasons.com/tokyo/.

PROS: A one-of-a-kind view of the ‘Shinkansen’ bullet trains, Michelin-starred and Michelin-recommended dining, calm-inducing spa facilities, walking distance from the Ginza neighbourhood and attentive and warm staff.

CONS: Bedrooms may be too simple in design for certain tastes. Rooms are quite expensive. 

Rating out of five:

There I try a 'Dermadrop' facial (23,908JPY/£127/$160), during which a wand gently sprays 'supercharged ingredients' onto the skin.

After the treatment, my skin rosy with the promise of boosted moisture levels and elasticity, I’m invited to relax with a steaming cup of ginger and lemon tea and crepe-wrapped 'wasanbon' sugar sweets, a Japanese delicacy.

My whole stay is underpinned by service that’s ultra attentive but never overbearing, which Four Seasons says is based on Japanese 'omotenashi' - a centuries-old culture of wholeheartedly looking after guests. 

One staff member shares advice for sightseeing in the nearby Ginza neighbourhood, kindly pointing me in the direction of the Kengo Kuma-designed Kabukiza Theatre and the stellar seafood and crockery stalls of the Tsukiji Outer Market.

Meanwhile, those who are too relaxed to leave the hotel can sightsee from the comfort of bed, watching as one of Japan’s most iconic sights - the Shinkansen bullet trains - parade below the window.

If you’re using Tokyo as a jumping-off point for exploring the rest of Japan by rail, this is just the spot for a luxurious night’s stay before you catch a bullet train to your next destination - with superior gastronomy, spa facilities and service making the ride all the more memorable.

BULLET TRAINS - FAST FACTS 

The first bullet train, built by Hitachi, began operating on October 1, 1964, between Tokyo and Osaka.

If bullet trains are more than one minute behind schedule they are considered officially ‘late’.

If bullet trains are more than five minutes behind schedule, the company operating them must explain themselves to the government.

The average bullet train delay is around 30 seconds.

The bullet train network passenger fatality record - in 55 years of operation – is zero.

Hitachi, which has been building bullet trains since the 1960s, brought bullet train technology to the UK. In 2009 it introduced the country’s fastest domestic train – the Javelin – which runs at 140mph between London St Pancras International and Kent.

Bullet trains aren’t just quiet for passengers on the inside – they’re quiet when they speed past for people on the outside too. They never exceed 75 decibels while running. For comparison, a passenger car travelling at 65mph, 25 feet away makes 77 dB of noise.

East Japan Railway is currently testing the newest Shinkansen, the Alfa-X, which it hopes to operate on the new line at speeds of up to 224mph/360kph, which would be the fastest train in service in Japan.

Shinkansen carriages are 0.3metres wider than high-speed trains in Europe.

The latest bullet trains use about half the electricity that a Eurostar uses.

The network is wired up to earthquake sensors. If a tremor is detected, the bullet trains stop automatically.

The summit of Mt Fuji has been considered sacred since ancient times and bullet train staff have been known to bow to it as the train passes.

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