Editorial scores for the three factors that decide an anniversary here, from an overall 9.7 of 10 across our six criteria (Romance, Service, Setting, Design, Food and Value). Setting is scored for a central Nihonbashi tower with sky views rather than a street scene. Method at our methodology page. Affiliate disclosure: booking links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you, and never change our verdict.
Why is Mandarin Oriental Tokyo ranked so highly for an anniversary?
Mandarin Oriental Tokyo has been a benchmark since it opened in 2005, and its case for a milestone rests on two things it does better than almost anyone in the city, the view and the table. The hotel occupies the upper floors of a tower in Nihonbashi, the old merchant heart of Tokyo, so the rooms look out over an endless skyline that is at its best after dark. That outlook, from the bed, the bath and the restaurants, is the romance here, and it is why the hotel sits near the very top of our anniversary list.
The dining is the other half of the argument. The hotel has long carried one of the strongest restaurant collections of any hotel in Tokyo, led by Signature for French fine dining and Sense for Cantonese, with Sushi Shin by Miyakawa, the Tapas Molecular Bar and the counter Pizza Bar on the 38th among a deep roster, and a spa on the top floor that is one of the largest in the city. Add the exact, warm Mandarin Oriental service and you have a hotel built for a celebration that revolves around a great dinner and a great view.
What are the rooms and dining like?
Book a high room on the city side and let the skyline do the work, because the view is the point and the rooms, while large and beautifully finished in warm woods and washi accents, are at their best framing it. For a milestone the suites give you a corner outlook and a deep tub at the glass. Dining barely needs leaving the building. Beyond Signature and Sense, the Mandarin Bar is a destination in its own right, and afternoon tea in the Oriental Lounge, high above Nihonbashi, is a quiet highlight. The top-floor spa completes the case for staying in.
Ask for a high, city facing room and book the anniversary dinner at Signature or Sense for a window table at sunset. Start with a drink in the Mandarin Bar as the lights come up, and reserve a couples treatment in the top-floor spa for the following morning.
What are the honest cons?
The trade-offs are the setting and the format. Nihonbashi is central and historic but a business and financial district, quiet at night at street level, so this is a hotel you rise into for the view rather than a neighbourhood you wander. And the romance is vertical and modern, a skyline and a fine dinner, rather than the intimacy of a small house or a garden. For couples who want exactly that, height, service and one of Tokyo\'s great dining collections, it is close to the top of the city.
What is the neighbourhood like?
Nihonbashi is the historic merchant district of Tokyo, the point from which distances in Japan were once measured, and today a mix of old shops, department stores and modern towers between the Imperial Palace and the river. It is central and dignified, well connected to Tokyo Station and a short hop from Ginza, but like much of central Tokyo it is a business quarter that quietens in the evening at street level. That matters less here than at most hotels, because the life of the Mandarin Oriental happens on its upper floors, in the restaurants, the bar and the spa, all with the city spread out below. For sightseeing the position is excellent, close to the station, the palace gardens and Ginza, so days are easy to plan and evenings are best spent enjoying the height.
Who should book it, and who should not?
Mandarin Oriental Tokyo is for the couple who want a celebration built on a great view and a great dinner, with a top floor spa to follow, in a hotel that has held its standards for two decades. It rewards those who love a skyline, value one of the deepest hotel dining collections in the city, and want polished, exact service. It is less suited to travellers who want a low rise, intimate property or a hotel in a lively nightlife district, since the experience is vertical and the neighbourhood is calm after dark. For a modern, metropolitan anniversary of views and fine food, it sits near the very top of Tokyo.
The design and the art
The Mandarin Oriental takes its cue from its position in the sky and from the woodland of the surrounding region, a theme that runs through the interiors in the form of natural textures, art and a sense of light. The public spaces sit high in the tower to make the most of the outlook, and the rooms are warm and contemporary, with generous bathrooms and windows framing the city. It is a hotel that has aged well because its bones, the views, the dining floors and the top level spa, were strong from the start, and successive refreshes have kept the rooms current. The result is a modern grand hotel that still feels like an occasion the moment the lift doors open on the sky lobby.
When is the best time to visit?
As with the rest of Tokyo, the finest windows are the cherry blossom of early April and the crisp colour of late autumn, both of which look wonderful from a high room. Summer is hot and humid and June can be wet, though neither troubles a hotel whose pleasures are indoors and aloft. Winter is cold, clear and often the best for sharp, long distance views, with Mount Fuji sometimes visible on the horizon from the upper floors on a bright morning. For a celebration, the counsel is simple, take a high room, and save an evening for the view and the bar.
Good to know before you book
Arrival is simple, a short drive from Tokyo Station and easily reached from both Haneda and Narita, with the concierge able to arrange a car. The single most important choice is the room, so ask for a high, city facing category, as the view is the reason to stay and the difference between floors and aspects is real. Book the marquee restaurants, particularly Signature and Sushi Shin, well ahead of a milestone, and leave time for the top floor spa. Nihonbashi is quiet in the evening at street level, so plan dinners either in the hotel or a short taxi away in Ginza, which the team can organise. A high room and a sunset dinner are the heart of a stay here. If you are travelling on to Kyoto, Tokyo Station and its shinkansen platforms are only a few minutes away, which makes a two city anniversary simple to build, and the concierge can arrange the seats and the onward hotel so the two halves of the trip join without friction. For the celebration itself, a corner suite with a deep tub at the glass turns the skyline into the backdrop of the evening.
Signature amenities
Above Nihonbashi
What is nearby
- Nihonbashi bridge
Historic landmark5 min walk - Ginza
Shopping and dining10 min by car - Tokyo Station
Shinkansen10 min walk - Imperial Palace gardens
Palace and moat15 min by car
The views, the rooms, the tables
View
Room
DetailFrequently asked questions
Where is Mandarin Oriental Tokyo?
On the upper floors of a tower in the historic Nihonbashi district in central Tokyo, a short walk from the Nihonbashi bridge and Tokyo Station.
When did it open?
It opened in 2005 and has been one of Tokyo\'s leading hotels for dining and views ever since.
What are the restaurants?
A deep collection led by Signature for French fine dining and Sense for Cantonese, with Sushi Shin by Miyakawa, the Tapas Molecular Bar, the Pizza Bar on the 38th and the Mandarin Bar among them.
What is the spa like?
The spa sits on the top floor and is one of the largest in Tokyo, with treatment suites and views over the city.
Which room should we book for an anniversary?
A high, city facing room or a corner suite, so the skyline is the view from the bed and the bath. The outlook is the reason to stay here.
