Traveling back in time

“It’s a magical experience,” says Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo’s Kyoko Shimamura, “that you will never forget.” She’s talking about the hotel’s garden, in truth a lushly forested, 17-acre sprawling park, dotted with ancient temples, wooden shrines, and a traditional teahouse. Rich with cherry blossoms in the spring, lit by fireflies on summer evenings, and shrouded with mist throughout the day, this garden is such a calming, soothing counterpoint to the sprawling, non-stop megalopolis of Tokyo, it feels almost surreal. 

The mist happens, like so many things in Japan, by perfectly intentional design, rather than coincidence. It’s created as a simulacrum of one of Japan’s most bewitching natural phenomena: If you venture far enough into Japan’s mountains, and if you’re lucky enough to pick a moment where seasons, time, temperature and weather are in perfect alignment, you may see the country’s unique and vanishingly rare “sea of clouds,” where a thick, all-enveloping mist appears to be pouring out of the ground to shroud the forests. But if you don’t have the time for that, the Chinzanso offers a pretty beguiling backup, right in the center of Tokyo. 

Best of all, you don’t need luck in order to catch it. Every half hour throughout the day, 2,000 Japanese-tech jets pump out fine water droplets, filtered enough to meet drinking-water standards, and drawn from an ancient well in the garden said to have been used to relieve the thirst of the local community after the Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923. This now-sacred water still serves in these gardens today, its mist providing a cooling counterpoint to Tokyo’s intense humidity and heat. 

Strolling through, you’ll find historic touches, impeccably sourced. A temple here; a stone lantern there; a waterfall rich with moss. Some of these have been transported, brick by brick, from other parts of Japan: a 700-year-old pagoda was painstakingly moved from Hiroshima; a well brought from Kyoto; the water for the hotel’s onsen is transported from Shizuoka prefecture.    

The garden is also a central feature in the hotel’s 266 rooms, which overlook it; luxe Japanese touches like fine Arita-yaki porcelain, rich textiles and a neutral color palette frame the view beautifully, while ensuring its thick carpet of green remains the central pull. 

Even better, whenever you go, Japan’s “seven seasons” guarantee you’ll see something unique. In January and February it’s camellia season, when these flowers are in their wonderfully colorful bloom; from February through April you’ll see the rightly fabled cherry blossom; May, fresh greenery; June is when the fireflies do their magical nighttime thing; in summer, the sound of wind chimes; autumn’s fall foliage brings splendid reds and burgundies, while the winter months bring the “Forest Aurora,” a magical light show inspired by the northern lights, and perhaps even a dusting of snow. 

Add in one of Tokyo’s largest spas, a choice of nine restaurants (including one that specializes in many ways to perfectly serve eel), impeccable service and a charming champagne terrace, and you can see why this hotel regularly makes Tokyo “best of” lists. In a city where everything veers between tiny and compact or fast and furious, Chinzanso’s tranquil, spacious, historic gardens feel straight from a bygone (and beautiful) age. 

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What guests say

Fabulous views from the well-appointed rooms. Massive, comfortable bed. Staff absolutely charming. Loved, loved, loved this hotel. Expensive but so worth it.
Deborah, US


Top-notch service, on-site onsen, and beautiful gardens. We keep coming back again and again. The team at the concierge desk are the best group of people we have ever worked with at any hotel, and we have been to dozens around the world. Also, nice rugs!
Casey, US


Staff were exceptionally helpful and polite, could not do enough to help us. Gardens were immaculate with an atmospheric mist and light show in the evenings. Will definitely stay again next time we are in Tokyo.
Adam, US