A journey through destinations where kimono feels at home. For this edition, we spent two days at Palace Hotel Tokyo in Marunouchi, a setting where the greenery and waterways of the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens meet the contemporary skyline of Tokyo. From the view to the changing light and the dining experience, the hotel offers a different way to consider what to wear at each moment. Here, we explore three kimono styles for enjoying Palace Hotel Tokyo through the rhythm of a stay.
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Palace Hotel Tokyo: Connected to the Landscape of the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens
Although it is only moments from Tokyo Station, Palace Hotel Tokyo feels closely connected to the greenery and waterways of the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens. Beyond its windows, mature trees unfold toward the composed skyline of Marunouchi. Amid Tokyo’s towers, the presence of water, foliage, and open sky creates a rare sense of breathing space. It is this balance between nature and city that gives the hotel its distinctive calm.
Arriving in kimono subtly changes the way the space is perceived. The texture of an obi, light falling across a sleeve, the silhouette by the window, and the movement of the hem with each step—each detail becomes part of the landscape. Rather than standing apart from the setting, the kimono seems to belong to it, inviting a more attentive way of experiencing the day.
Afternoon Tea at Lounge Bar Privé in an Omeshi Kimono
On the sixth floor, Lounge Bar Privé looks out through expansive windows onto the greenery and waterways of the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens, with Marunouchi’s refined cityscape beyond. For an afternoon framed by this view, an omeshi kimono—with its poised, polished character—feels especially fitting.
Omeshi is said to have taken its name from the eleventh shogun, Tokugawa Ienari, who was known to favor the textile during the Edo period. Wearing it while looking out over the greenery of the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens—an area shaped by the memory of Edo Castle—is not about recreating the past. Instead, it offers a quiet way to encounter an aesthetic lineage that continues into contemporary Tokyo. With its supple hand and subtle structure, omeshi reveals finely nuanced woven textures that shift with the light. Its changing surface feels naturally at home among the hotel’s stone, glass, and open blue sky.
At Lounge Bar Privé, seasonal sweets and savouries are arranged with a sense of occasion, bringing colour and refinement to the afternoon. Yet the experience is not only about what is served. There is also the gesture of pouring tea, the light settling beside the window, and the moment when the texture of an obi seems to echo the colour of the sky. Afternoon tea in kimono invites a gentler pace—one in which even familiar gestures feel a little more considered.
An Evening in a Royal Blue Kimono on a Terrace Suite
After afternoon tea, the experience shifts to a guest room with a terrace overlooking the city. Changing out of the daytime omeshi, the choice for evening is a kimono by Maeda Ninsen, featuring a phoenix motif. Set against a deep royal blue ground, the design resonates beautifully with the changing colours of the sky at dusk and the first lights beginning to appear across Marunouchi. Stepping onto the terrace, the view opens onto the greenery and waterways of Wadakura Fountain Park, with Marunouchi’s elegant cityscape beyond. As the light fades, the sky moves from pale blue to soft amber, then into a deep indigo. Little by little, the city begins to glow, revealing a different side of Tokyo from the one seen during the day. By nightfall, the water and greenery of the park recede into shadow, while the city lights slowly extend toward Toranomon, creating a calm and expansive night view unique to this setting.
A terrace room also offers the option of enjoying room service dinner alongside the view. Unlike dining in a restaurant, the evening feels entirely your own—shaped by the pace of the light, the quiet of the room, and the city beyond. With a glass in hand, watching the distant buildings begin to glow above the deepening shadows of the water, it is easy to forget that you are in the centre of Tokyo. The experience carries the feeling of having travelled somewhere farther away.
The phoenix has long been cherished in Japan as a symbol of auspiciousness and renewal. Worn against the backdrop of the city at night, a royal blue kimono carries a striking presence—elegant and expressive, yet still perfectly attuned to the quiet mood of the evening.
Flowers and Art After Dark at Palace Hotel Tokyo
After dinner on the terrace, continue through the hotel in the phoenix-pattern kimono. At night, Palace Hotel Tokyo takes on a quieter character than it does during the day. In the lobby, seasonal floral arrangements stand with quiet presence, while artworks softly illuminated by the evening light emerge across the walls and public spaces.
Artworks are placed throughout the hotel, from its public spaces to the guest rooms. Taking time to walk through the interiors between meals or during an overnight stay feels less like moving through a hotel and more like wandering through an intimate gallery. The flowers in the lobby, the works displayed along the corridors, and the light falling across the walls are each beautiful in their own right. Together, they create a series of changing scenes that reveal themselves with every step.
The phoenix motif, set against a deep royal blue ground, takes on a different character under the hotel’s soft evening light. As you move through the space, comparing the kimono’s contemporary dyed expression with the seasonal flowers and the hotel’s art, the garment becomes more than something to wear—it becomes a way of seeing the space itself.
Why Visit Palace Hotel Tokyo in Kimono
One reason to visit Palace Hotel Tokyo in kimono is its rare ability to hold the memory of Edo within the heart of modern Tokyo. The trees, water, and open sky of the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens unfold before the composed architecture of Marunouchi.
Here, history and the present do not compete for attention. They exist side by side, creating a landscape that feels quietly layered rather than overtly historic.
Kimono, too, is not simply a way of preserving the past. Through its weaving, dyeing, motifs, and materials, it carries inherited time into the present—worn as part of one’s own life today.
At Lounge Bar Privé, with the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens in view, an omeshi kimono carries a quiet connection to Edo-period dress. On the terrace at night, a bolder, more contemporary dyed kimono—such as one with a phoenix motif—can echo the energy of the city lights. For Japanese cuisine at Wadakura, a kimono with seasonal floral motifs brings a gentle sense of harmony to the meal. Choosing what to wear in response to the view, the hour, and the dining experience gives time at the hotel a richer dimension. It is not simply about wearing kimono to a hotel, but about dressing to notice the quietness that still remains within Tokyo. Palace Hotel Tokyo offers a setting where that kind of day can unfold naturally.
Kaiseki at Wadakura, Paired with a Kimono of Blooming Flowers
For lunch the following day, head to Wadakura, Palace Hotel Tokyo’s Japanese restaurant. Its calm, considered interiors offer a different kind of stillness within the hotel. Choosing a private dining room allows space to enjoy the conversation, the cuisine, and the open view beyond the windows at an unhurried pace.
For lunch at Wadakura, a dyed kimono in a design of flowers in full bloom feels especially fitting.
The dishes arranged on each vessel, the seasonal ingredients, and the flowers placed within the room—Japanese cuisine is an experience not only of taste, but of seeing the season unfold before you.
Wearing a kimono adorned with floral motifs becomes part of that experience: another way to receive the season through colour, pattern, and atmosphere.
When the kimono’s motifs quietly echo the cuisine, the vessels, and the colours of the room, the outfit becomes more than clothing. It becomes part of the atmosphere of the day. Even a bold floral design can feel at home in Wadakura’s composed setting when paired with an obi and accessories in restrained tones. Whether for a celebration, a family gathering, or simply a leisurely meal in kimono, Wadakura is a place to savour Japanese cuisine at an unhurried pace.
When the View Becomes Part of What You Wear
The omeshi kimono catching the afternoon light, the phoenix motif gaining depth against the night view, and the floral dyed kimono accompanying a seasonal meal—at Palace Hotel Tokyo, the character of the landscape shifts with the passing hours, and each kimono takes on a new role within it. Kimono is not chosen only for special occasions. It can quietly accompany the view before you, the food on the table, the people you wish to spend time with, and the kind of day you hope to create. A two-day stay framed by the greenery of the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens, light reflected on the water, and the night skyline of Marunouchi becomes a calm and lasting memory—one shaped, in part, by what you wear.
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Palace Hotel Tokyo
1-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo
TEL:03-3211-5211
■ Lounge Bar Privé
11:30～23:30 L.O.
Sundays and public holidays: 11:30 am–9:30 pm (last order)
Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays
■ Japanese Restaurant Wadakura
Lunch 11：30～14：30 L.O.
Dinner 17：30～21：00 L.O.
Open daily
▶︎ Visit the Official Hotel Website
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