Above Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Tokyo from the Shangri-La.
Below A store selling cat toys, and the sunglasses at Zoff.
Shopping: excitement at your feet
Even in tough times, Japanese love their labels, and at all
price points. Though you may have branches of Chanel, Dior, Prada,
Zara, Banana Republic and Armani in your town, chances are you will
encounter serious fashion eye-candy in the Ginza and Shibuya neighbourhood
outposts made only for the Asian market (and, often, sniff, for
petite frames). However, you will also probably luck in upon accessories
(such as gorgeous hair clips and barrettes, stand-out scarves and
whimsical socks) that will give even your most conservative nine-to-five
outfit a colourful jolt of wasabi. Though the three Lumine malls
surrounding Shinjuku station (especially Lumine Est) are loaded
with lacy, girly and ruffle-y concoctions by local designers, they
are balanced with a wonderful assortment of one-size-fits-all delights.
Lumine Est also has a pocket-sized branch of the well publicized
Three Coins (¥315=US$4) stores, bursting
with all kinds of quirky-cute home accessories and closet organizers
they never knew they needed.
Though Tokyo lives up to its reputation as one of the
most expensive shopping city on Earth, the Three Coins and ¥100
stores and popular chains like Muji and Uniqlo reflect that there
are bargains. However, what about something reasonably priced that
is also high-quality and highly practical. Look no further than
the Harajuku branch of Japanese eyewear chain Zoff
which does for prescription eyewear what Swatch did for Swiss watches
back in the 1980s. While the colours and designs of the frames are
on-trend and eye-popping to be sure, the frame quality is excellent
and the rapidity and courtesy of service has to be experienced to
be believed. If you have your prescription available, you can have
a brand new, high-fashion pair of glasses with your prescription
and custom fit to your face in less than an hour and for under US$100.
If not, just add another 20 minutes, and you are on your way to
a proper eyewear wardrobe. The Harajuku staff is earnest and adorable.
A few extra notes on destination shopping neighbourhoods.
Harajuku–Shibuya, which Gwen Stefani helped put on the pop culture
map, seems to be shifting toward a vibe that is very upscale NYC–Soho
with its mix of stores and fashionable, professional haunts. If
you want to catch a glimpse of the youthquake she channels in her
videos and LAMB clothing line, you
may be more likely to find it on the streets of Shinjuku. Ginza
may still live up to its reputation as a centre of designer nirvana,
the ultra-fashionable Marunouchi neighbourhood picks up in world-class
fashion, culture (including the delightful Mitsubishi
Ichigokan Museum) and dining where Ginza literally leaves off.
It is here you will find a small but lovely location of FrancFranc,
which specializes in up-to-the-minute and reasonably priced home
décor.
Above The Presidential suite at the Shangri-La, and a still
sumptuous Shangri-La suite.
The Shangri-La Hotel: rising to the top
Even with all that has happened, Tokyo has much to be proud of as
a gateway to Asia, with the beauty, hospitality and technical flair
identified with Japan fully intact. Though it has a roster of extraordinary
luxury hotels in keeping with their time-honoured hospitality traditions,
the Shangri-La
Tokyo (and the sister property of the Shangri-La
Bangkok, which we also love) literally stands above the crowd.
Perched on top of the Marunouchi Trust Tower Main, the property
has you at konnichiwa with its panoramic vistas of Tokyo’s
key landmarks (Imperial Gardens to the east and Tokyo Bay to the
west), a painstakingly curated display of 2,000 pieces of original
artwork and 50 distinct hand-made Czech Lasvit chandeliers.
It also doesn’t hurt that the Shangri-La is adjacent
to Tokyo Station and Marunouchi. The hotel’s Horizon Club, serving
the executive floors, is a perfect microcosm of Tokyo’s next great
neighbourhood with its minimal-but-lavish décor, exquisitely
prepared food and drink offerings, business concierge and flawless
service. Its Lobby Lounge and world-class restaurants, Piacere and
Nadaman, have such a commanding presence and emphasis on service
and presentation that a substantial part of their clientèle
is a home-town crowd.
According to General Manager Wolfgang Krüger, the
perfect way to make guests feel at home is to equip every room,
from its beyond-standard and deluxe guest suites to the internationally
acclaimed Presidential and Shangri-La Suites designed by interior
design Wunderkind André Fu, with so many extras all one needs
to pack are a few changes of clothes. Besides l’Occitane toiletries
(the luxury hotel amenities of choice these days), the bathrooms
stock an impressive selection of grooming essentials and the largest
rain showerheads in Japan.
In addition to complimentary wifi, the desk area has
virtually enough supplies, chargers and gadgets to enable the guest
to recreate his or her home office if needed. Better still, the
room safes are designed to charge laptops and other devices when
you’re not taking care of business. Forgot to pack your pyjamas
or sneakers? No worries! Every room supplies guests with pyjamas
while the health club adjacent to the luxuriantly pan-Asian Chi
Spa, will loan you the gear needed to burn off your decadent Italian
feast at Piacere from the night before.
Though many hotels and businesses in Tokyo have pitched
in to support ongoing relief efforts in the north, what makes the
Shangri-La’s Wish for Japan
programme different and most inspirational is that it was borne
out of a genuine sense of shared community responsibility rather
than corporate responsibility.
‘We [at the executive level] helped out by organizing
some of the volunteer clean-up efforts, set up the website, and
put our wish bands out for sale to finance our monthly
trips to the north, but we want to make it clear this was started
at the initiative of the employees who wanted to make a difference,’
said Krüger, who at interview time was preparing to make his
sixth trek up to the affected area near Sendai.
‘While there is plenty of money from our charity outreach
efforts available to us, what is key is keeping track of how the
money is spent,’ he continues. ‘It’s not just enough to send money.
You also need to find ways to get volunteers up there to help, as
well as purchase and transport food and supplies. We want to keep
track to ensure every penny benefits somebody directly. What’s great
about the way this programme is being handled is that we can see
quantifiable results of the volunteer efforts, from clearing the
rubble, to feeding the locals to helping many of those individuals
get back on their feet.’
While there are plans to keep the Wish for Japan programme
running at least until the first anniversary of the quake and tsunami,
Krüger points out that building his Tokyo staff has been one
of the most inspirational aspects of reinventing the hotel as a
top-tier luxury property. He extends the sentiment to express his
belief his executive team, Chi Spa practitioners, concierge pros
and the rest of the staff, likewise, have a unique ability to transform
a Tokyo stay from a luxury destination to something greater than
the sum of its sights, sounds, food and business doings.
‘While Japan is not always the easiest place for a foreigner
[to adjust to], I found myself inspired by their pride, work ethic,
warmth and positive attitude they show in the various tasks they
perform for their job,’ the German-born 20-year hotel industry veteran
affirms. ‘This is my second longest posting at a property after
Hong Kong, and I will take away the positive values they instilled
in me, and I believe our guests will, too.’
Tokyo remains a feast for the senses, and the hearty
but refined locals would not have it any other way.
Below Chi, the spa, at the Shangri-La; chef
Oliver Weber and his staff; bell staff at the Shangri-La Hotel in
Tokyo.
|
|
Related articles |
|
Thailand special
Elyse Glickman takes in two very sides of Thailand
Part 1, Bangkok has you now:
the Thai capital surprises with luxury shopping, bargain hunting,
spicy food and cultural offerings
Part 2, Thais that bind:
roads less travelled lead to unexpected discoveries, including
the wellness-driven resort Chiva Som
|
|
A perfect haven
away from home
Janejit Sooksombatisatian rates the Twinpalms Phuket
resort as one of the worlds finest, an unforgettable
experience with a dose of professionalism at every turn photographed
by Tanya Sooksombatisatian and courtesy Twinpalms |
|
Fantasy island
Known as Asias beautiful island, Taiwan
offers travellers green vistas, astonishing architecture,
progressive-thinking luxury hotels and multi-faceted perspective
on Chinese culture. Elyse Glickman visits
photographed by the author
|
|