Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
When I hear Four Seasons, I automatically imagine the best luxury experience. Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, which opened in September, is a contemporary urban oasis that makes you feel good just being there. But when you try their spa, you rediscover the reason for the hotel’s overall five star quality.
The concept of the hotel is “East meets West”. The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi is the skillful masterpiece of this concept embracing Japanese nature while “balancing the mind and body.”
I arrived an hour and a half before the scheduled spa treatment, excited to enjoy their “Ofuro” or hot spring bath, jet shower, and steam sauna. The spa is located on the 39th floor, through the hotel lobby. I was asked to fill in a personal conditions check form in the reception area designed by Jean-Mitchel Gathy, the man behind many monumental luxury hotels worldwide. Just being in the area creates a soothing feeling to begin my journey with, surrounded by a monotone contrast and flowing 3D paper wall art. The atmosphere gets you hyped up for the Zen-inspired treatment.
There is a lifestyle select shop in collaboration with ADELAIDE in a corner as well as the entrance corridor.
At the reception, I was served a welcoming drink which was a mild green tea that had no bitterness as some green teas may have. The set of kyusu (Japanese teapot) and tea cups shows a beauty of Japanese aesthetics.
I was then guided to the women’s locker room and enjoyed my peaceful down time in the bath area. The curtain was down due to a window cleaning service during my visit, but I was able to sneak a peek at the marvelous skyscrapers of the Marunouchi district in and around Tokyo Station. The panoramic view of buildings housing Japan’s leading international companies beneath you, imbues a dominating feeling.
To my surprise, this bath is like none other, as it is a hot spring above the bustling city. It’s very hard to imagine how they draw the spring water hundreds of meters up from underground. The sodium chloride natural radium water is said to posses a bactericidal effect, improve skin condition and leave you with a lasting thermal effect. I spent a good amount of time in the bath, at just the right temperature, while listening to soothing music looping in the locker room and bath area.
The tub capacity is currently limited to two people due to safety measures. Apart from the perfectly assembled towels, you can avail yourself of complimentary water bottles, oshibori, as well as individually packed dried fruits and nuts if you’re planning a longer stay.
A staff member came for me in the locker room just before treatment time and guided me to a waiting area with a couple of sofas under dim orange lights. Soon after, my therapist guided me into the treatment room.
Among the five private treatment rooms, I was led to the Couples Treatment Room filled with sunlight as the door opened with a breathtaking view of Tokyo Skytree in the distance. The minimalistic-decor room has two beds and a shower booth, perfect for couples, friends or a mother-daughter getaway. As I sat on the sofa overlooking the financial district, I was served hot ginger tea.
Asked to close my eyes, hearing the ring of orin, or blessing bell to clean the negativity in the air, and after taking three deep breaths, the Four Seasons Signature Wellbeing Ritual Yakusugi Forest Renewal (120 minutes, ¥42,000) commences with a foot peeling ceremony. My therapist uses a Four Seasons Otemachi original salt scrub made of yakusugi (Japanese cedars brought exclusively from Yakushima island in southern Japan known for its tree life for thousands of years) and oil from komenuka (rice bran). It was after the treatment that I realized how soft the back of my feet was.
Next, I lay front down, placing my face in the head rest that juts over a mini karesansui (Japanese landscape garden). There again, you see a collaboration of the hotel’s concept of east and west. My whole body is then scrubbed and exfoliated, this time with moisturizing clay added to yakusugi salt. The aroma is full of nature, neither fruity nor floral, but refined and sophisticated. I was wrapped in a timeless shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing” on the 39th floor of a building in the heart of Tokyo.
The therapist turned on the shower so as to warm up the shower room, and then I was asked to rinse my body. Upon my return to the bed, I was warmed up with hot and cold stones on my back. She used hot stones for most pressure points on my back, but for one spot with stubborn stiffness, she placed cold stones, then sandwiched them with hot stones. It’s meant to cure that cold area by accelerating the body to heat up on its own.
Using oil extracted from yakusugi, my therapist then thoroughly oil massaged my entire body. I felt her using her elbows, knuckles, and thumb, all of which were perfect from the tip of my head to every single one of fingers and toes. She really worked on my shoulders and under my armpits quite aggressively. Lastly, an elaborate decorte and head massage ended my blissful time.
Sometimes I experience nausea or severe muscle pain the day after, from an excessive or painful massage, but this time I had none of that. I left without any dreariness, only completely content and healed, both mind and body.
Even after four days later, my skin was still very soft and moisturized. I kept on feeling my arms, amazed to have such moisturized skin at this time of the year. Its long term efficacy is astounding.
You can rest assured with the therapists as they are all experienced and all speak English. “Four Seasons is a hotel started in Canada, so all the therapists are required to speak bilingually to dedicate to foreign guests” said my therapist.
The mentor behind their training is Eriko Mutoh, who has formerly worked at Grand Hyatt Tokyo, The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo and various hotels in Guam, among others. Her 20 years of experience and certification of hospitality management forms the DNA of The Spa at Four Seasons.
The Facial is suspended under anti-COVID measures, but I am enthusiastic to try their Triple penetration - ion, pulse and heat - which are said to guarantee triple results in just one treatment. Apart from the exclusive methodology of natural and sustainable solutions, products used for facial are the Swiss brand Valmont.
I would suggest a staycation here so that you can also make use of the exclusive swimming pool. This popular facility is only open for hotel guests and Spa and Fitness Club members. Interior design is done by Denniston, color coordinated with gray and natural tone accented with orange. Designer chairs and Mood Lounge Bed by Belgian outdoor interior furniture company Tribu are lined in the spacious stretch. The square edgy blocks on the walls form a contrast with round-formed shapes of the furniture to make for a balanced atmosphere where you feel as if you could stay forever.
The 20-meter indoor pool capacity is presently limited to 20 people. Special features include a hydromassage vitality pool and mist chairs, and the ceiling to floor windows let you overlook the forest on the Imperial Palace grounds. Note that reservations must be made upon check-in and the minimum age requirement to enter the pool area is five, and children must be accompanied by an adult, while for the ofuro, only those 16 years and older may be admitted.
Hotel spas are very well taken care of and most of all, clean to the absolute maximum. Staff come in often to check on cleanliness, guest needs and quality of hot spring water. The hotel itself has an enhanced global health and safety program and each facility is managed with excellent care.
Treatment at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi would be an ideal gift for Christmas, the coming New Year and Valentine’s Day, for your loved ones or just for yourself. The pandemic is not making it easy for us to go overseas, and even bonenkai (year-end parties) and shinnenkai (New Year parties) are being canceled. So why not take this time to pamper yourself in a heavenly environment in a luxurious establishment.
Spa and Wellness at Four Seasons Otemachi
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 1-2-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda Ward
Phone: +81-3-6810-0660
- External Link
- https://www.fourseasons.com/otemachi/
No Comment
Login to comment