Sunrise from the gym
After last night’s spectacular sunset from the pool of Japan’s newest luxury hotel, Aman Tokyo, how to start another day, wonders the gal? No alternative of course, but to head for the outstanding Technogym, which gave a sunrise background (initially annoying, both BBC World and CNN seem to have Japanese voiceovers, which means you cannot hear the English or US original, but it seems that if you just use the left-hand ear plug on the headset you get English-language only). Then it was time to head back to lovely room 402, on the 38th floor of the hotel.
Bathroom view
This is a double the size of the standard 720 sq ft room, and it is lined completely in pale pine or washi paper apart from the screen wall, shoji, separating the bedroom from the bathroom, which is all basalt, including the two basins, the low-set rectangular bathtub and the walk-in shower. The end of both rooms, bedroom and salon, is window, for spectacular daytime views. The bed is in the centre of the bedroom, facing out, and its bedhead backs on to a long desk. It is all very calming, very Japanese (and very Aman).
The restaurant, at breakfast
I went to breakfast – such stunning views from the 33rd-floor restaurant. As at dinner last night, you can see right into the kitchen. This was intended to be an ultra casual eating venue but the local diners dress up so elegantly that they have added crisp white table linens at dinner (try the marvellous caprese, with a variety of different colours of so-tasty tomatoes). At breakfast, however, the beauty of the wood tables is left uncovered, except for place mats. The hotel has its own cow (not here!), Aman-anda, and I could eat her butter just by itself, without any bread.
A taste of the library
I headed around the public areas on this, the main, 33rd floor, lobby. Leading off it are not only the restaurant and bar, with a big sitting area in between, but also a cigars-only smoking room (with charcoal sculptures to absorb the fumes, and glass-fronted lockers for private bottles of premium spirits), and a library with figurines and an outstanding collection of art books. Some of the books, indeed, have coloured covers.
