In Tokyo,
It all starts at reception.
A stone counter which appears, through a clever optical illusion, to levitate.
It awaits you at the end of a long corridor, stretched like a bridge between two banks, under a vault of braided ropes in the
Shimenawa
style which demarcates, in Shinto temples, the profane from the sacred.
Check in, please!
In Japan, luxury hotels fall into two categories.
The big foreign names who reproduce the excellence practiced elsewhere, with efficiency and pragmatism.
And the big local names, who offer you a perfect version of Japanese hospitality: impeccable service, classic decor and endless signs of attention to which the customer succumbs like at the end of
lingchi
, the Chinese torture of 1000 cuts.
Janu (“soul”, in Sanskrit), a new brand launched in Tokyo on March 13, 2024 by one of the most exclusive hotel groups in the world, Aman Resorts, is
sui generis
;
a being of a new kind, first in an international line (the press announces eleven in four years) who hopes to become a reference like his glorious elder.
Janu is often presented as Aman's sister brand, with a complementary personality: if the second is thought of as a retreat from the world, the first would, on the contrary, allow you to reconnect with it.
The price and number of rooms, much more reasonable than in an Aman, testify to this chic altruism.
“
When we announced the creation of Janu in 2020
, it was because we had identified a new generation of travelers and we felt a gap in the market for a luxury proposition that catered to this group
,” explains Lauryn Cooke, spokesperson for the Aman group.
Janu in any case risks being the “favorite child” of Vladislas Doronin, the Russian real estate magnate, adoptive father of Aman, whom he bought in 2014. “
It’s his baby
,” sums up those around him.
Janu Tokyo, a crossroads
Eight restaurants, from pastry and grill to sushi and a cocktail bar named and designed after Tokyo neighborhoods.
Janu Tokyo
A baby ?
If the Orient Express trains had their own station, it would be something like Janu Tokyo: a crossroads, a mixture of sophistication and excitement, energy and serenity, exchange and exclusivity.
The word “amplitude” perhaps defines it best: a place where you go, in a few meters, from crowds to intimacy.
It's the excitement behind these sober walls in sandstone and cream tones, enhanced by the magnificent light that pierces the windows.
Ingredients of the formula: eight restaurants, from pastry to grill including sushi and a cocktail bar named and designed after districts of Tokyo (in this set, we regret the absence of a unique proposition - of oriental cuisine for example).
A swimming pool whose shore adorned with luxurious sofas could be used in a
remake
of
The Great Gatsby
.
A gym whose equipment is like no other (a boxing ring, a virtual golf driving range, the cutting-edge Outrace and Skill X training machines, etc.).
Two spas including a banya and a hammam.
Massage rooms of course.
The 122 rooms (including 41 suites) spread over nine floors all have a bird's eye view of Tokyo.
Janu Tokyo
To reside in this ideal principality: 122 rooms (including 41 suites) spread over nine floors.
If the suite seemed perfectly arranged to us, the bedroom seemed strangely designed, with a very large bathroom (“
Although all the rooms are very large, they are not all similar
,” assures Aman).
All have a bird's eye view of the largest city in the world: the iconic Tokyo Tower, the astonishing Reiyukai Shakaden temple, the garden of the Iikura residence... Their contemplation consoles that, immediately, of the Azabudai Hills real estate complex at its feet, whose ugliness makes JANU shine a little more, like a pearl in the middle of an oyster.
The best of Tokyo hospitality
A swimming pool whose shore adorned with luxurious sofas could be used in a
remake
of
The Great Gatsby
.
Janu Tokyo
Is it the intoxication of the beginnings?
The Janu team combines joy and seriousness, impeccable messengers who distribute, with a smile, a gesture, an eagerness, invisible little notes of euphoria, reconnecting with the best of local hospitality, but defended by a staff cosmopolitan.
Tokyoites like to leave their daily lives for a few hours or a few nights in a large hotel.
This mix of local and foreign customers should make Janu Tokyo particularly original.
Everything comes together for “
a fun, energetic atmosphere, where relationships develop naturally
,” as Lauryn Cooke describes it.
One of the rare things you can't find in Tokyo is a good concierge: we hope the hotel has found the rare bird.
Hoping to get to know him, we imagine the screenwriter who, in the solitude of his bed, the center of a city visually at his feet, will write for Janu Tokyo a television series on life in a palace today, making his happiest customers of the extras.
From 840 euros (excluding tax) per night.
Janu Tokyo, 1 Chome-2-2 Azabudai, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0041. Such. : +81 3 6731 2333.
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