Quiet and intimate, Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo offers relaxation in the city

Located in the heart of the Japanese capital, Tokyo Station looks in good shape for a building that will celebrate its 100th birthday next year. Especially so, considering it was heavily bombed during the second world war, and has 380 million pairs of feet trample through it every year. The station benefited from a five-year renovation, which ended last year and returned it to its former glory.

Of the 400,000 businessmen, workers and tourists who pass through the station each day, a few navigate the many exits and check into the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo, just outside the station in the thriving business and shopping district of Marunouchi.

Many of Tokyo's five-star hotels are giants consuming the higher floors of the city's skyscrapers. Four Seasons is smaller, and feels more like an arty boutique hotel than anonymous city property. Helpful staff, all of whom speak flawless English, know my name within minutes of arriving.

The hotel has also had a recent facelift, though it's less extensive than the station's. The furniture in the guest rooms has been refurbished, and a few walls have been knocked through to make more connecting rooms.

The hotel interior is modern. Corridors are painted cream with a bold, sleek black gloss on rooms' outer walls and doors. Colourful abstract paintings hang on the walls.

I head straight for the hotel's version of a traditional Japanese onsen (hot springs), a dark, quiet room with a big black slate hot tub, the water perfectly heated to ease any aches or stresses, while a clock of light shining on the wall above counts down the minutes to a massage.

An artificial tree climbs the wall inside the spa's treatment room, a reference to the hotel's Tree of Life treatment, a relaxing massage with baobab oil with a bit of stretching and bending thrown in. Any jetlag is soon forgotten.

My corner suite is spacious and with two wall-length windows looking out onto the street, it feels like I'm in the thick of the city action. Samuel Johnson's comment that "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life," could just as easily apply to Tokyo.

There's enough here to keep you occupied for weeks, and the Four Seasons Marunouchi is well-positioned. It's within walking distance of the Imperial Palace, and also the high-end shopping district of Ginza, while the train and Metro stations beneath the hotel makes it easy to get to the rest of the sprawling city.

As night falls and the city lights come on, I look out onto office blocks, skyscrapers and roads busy with traffic. But despite the cars and the nearby trains, there's barely a sound inside the peaceful room. The bed feels comfortable, and I open a drawer and find traditional Japanese robes (yukata) and cotton pyjamas.

I head to the restaurant, through the lobby lounge, which has a display of flames behind glass that feels like a cosy fireplace. The Ekki Bar & Grill, the hotel's only restaurant, serves international cuisine. It's not as exciting as what's on offer elsewhere in this famously culinary capital, but it's hearty comfort food, with steaks, lamb and plenty of fish.

A new head chef has been announced since my stay, so maybe a few more surprises are on the way, including more Japanese-influenced dishes. For now, a salad of rare-grilled tuna from the renowned Tsukiji fish market tastes great, as does perfectly cooked halibut, washed down with a fruity malbec regularly topped up by attentive waiters.

Breakfast the next day is just-warmed bread, an excellent omelette, fresh orange juice and a pot of tea. I watch the trains come and go from the station, carrying workers to their jobs.

Happily, today I'm not one of them. I don't need to be anywhere fast. I think I might stay a while and read the paper over a slow breakfast - not a bad way to start the day.

48hours@scmp.com

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi
Pacific Century Place Marunouchi, 1-11-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, fourseasons.com

Getting there
Air China (airchina.co.uk) has return flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo from HK$2,589. 

Staying there
Rooms cost from 45,000 yen (HK$3,500) to 500,000 yen. Note five per cent tax, 15 per cent service charge and Tokyo accommodation tax (200 yen per person) are added to the price.