View source for Hotel Okura Tokyo

{{Infobox hotel
| hotel_name         = The Okura Tokyo
| logo               =
| logo_width         =
| image              = Hotel Okura Tokyo 190912a1.jpg
| image_width        =
| caption            = The Okura Tokyo, September 2019
| location           = [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]
| address            = 2-10-4 Toranomon, Minato-ku
| chain              =
| coordinates        = {{coord|35|40|01|N|139|44|39|E|region:JP-13_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| opening_date       = May 20, 1962<ref name="history">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hotelokura.co.jp/tokyo/en/special/50th_anniversary/history.html|title = The Okura Tokyo}}</ref>
| developer          =
| architect          =
| operator           = [[Okura Hotels]]
| cost               =
| owner              =
| number_of_rooms    = 508
| number_of_suites   =
| number_of_restaurants=
| floor_area         =
| floors             =
| height             =
| parking            =
| website            = {{Official website|https://theokuratokyo.jp/en/}}
| footnotes          =
}}

{{nihongo|'''Hotel Okura Tokyo'''|ホテルオークラ東京|Hoteru Ōkura Tōkyō}} is a luxury hotel opened in 1962 in [[Minato, Tokyo|Minato]], [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]. It is operated by [[Okura Hotels]] and is a member of [[The Leading Hotels of the World]]. The historic main wing was demolished in 2015, with a modern replacement on the site opened in 2019, rebranded as '''The Okura Tokyo'''.<ref name="article100586">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article100586.html|title = Hotel Okura Tokyo Rebrands as the Okura Tokyo}}</ref>

The Okura Tokyo, the [[Imperial Hotel, Tokyo]], and the [[Hotel New Otani Tokyo]] are often referred to as one of the {{nihongo|Three Great Hotels|御三家|[[gosanke]]}} of Tokyo, in a reference to the three [[Edo period|Edo-era]] branch houses of the [[Tokugawa clan]]. 

The hotel grounds also host the [[Okura Museum of Art]], which houses a collection of Japanese and East Asian art amassed by industrialist [[Okura Kihachiro|Ōkura Kihachirō]].

== History ==
=== First building (1962–2015) ===
Designed by [[Yoshiro Taniguchi]], the historic 408-room Main Wing opened on May 20, 1962,<ref name="history"/> The hotel is located near [[Embassy of the United States, Tokyo|the United States Embassy]] in the [[Akasaka, Tokyo|Akasaka]] area, and hosted every [[President of the United States]] since [[Richard Nixon]], as well as numerous other foreign heads of state.<ref>{{in lang|ja}} [http://www.hotelokura.co.jp/tokyo/special/50th_anniversary/history/history4.html ホテルオークラ東京50年のあゆみ 世界のVIPとホテルオークラ東京｜ホテルオークラ東京<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The South Wing can be cut off from the rest of the building to serve as lodging for reporters and logistics aides, while using the penthouse "Imperial Suite" as high-security VIP lodging.<ref>{{in lang|ja}} [http://www.enpitu.ne.jp/usr6/bin/day?id=60769&pg=20120829 活字中毒R。<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The hotel became a member of Pan Am's [[InterContinental|Intercontinental Hotels]] division on June 1, 1964,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.library.miami.edu/digital/collection/asm0341/id/120661/rec/166 | title=Page 31 }}</ref> and would remain part of the chain until 1972, though it was never branded as an Intercontinental. The hotel has appeared in novels such as ''[[1Q84]]'' by [[Haruki Murakami]], ''[[The Ninja (novel)|The Ninja]]'' by [[Eric Van Lustbader]] and ''[[Zero Sum]]'' by [[Barry Eisler]]. In [[Ian Fleming]]'s novel ''[[You Only Live Twice (novel)|You Only Live Twice]]'', James Bond stays at the Okura while in Tokyo. In the movie ''[[Walk, Don't Run (film)|Walk, Don't Run]]'', [[Cary Grant]] tries to check-in at the fully-booked Okura two days before the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

The hotel has also been the site of several major international summits and has also provided catering to international summits held off-site.<ref>{{in lang|ja}} [http://www.hotelokura.co.jp/tokyo/special/50th_anniversary/history/history3.html ホテルオークラ東京50年のあゆみ 世界をもてなすホテルオークラ東京｜ホテルオークラ東京<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1976 [[JVC]] chose the Okura Hotel for the launch of the [[JVC HR-3300|world's first VHS videocassette recorder]].

The original Main Wing closed in August 2015 for demolition, leaving only the smaller South Tower operating. The demolition plans were met with dismay by travel journalists, like [[Tyler Brûlé]], who called the original "a masterpiece" and "one of the most loved modernist hotels in the world".<ref name="TB">{{cite web|url= http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/27daaa30-f868-11e3-815f-00144feabdc0.html|title=The Fast Lane: Let's save a masterpiece|publisher=Financial Times| date= 11 July 2014 |first= Brûlé|last=Tyler|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref> Others lamented the irony of the iconic building and its "Orchid Bar", a favorite meeting place for the foreign diplomats from the many embassies nearby, being demolished at a time when shows like ''[[Mad Men]]'' have made the modernistic style of the 1960s highly fashionable again.<ref name=FAS>{{cite news | last = Maak| first = Niklas| title = Rettet die Zukunft! Oder fahrt noch mal hin| newspaper = Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung | pages = 69 | language = de | date = 14 June 2015 }}</ref> The outcry helped raise awareness of the significance of the original design, and many interior elements of the lobby were painstakingly transferred to or recreated within the new exterior by Yoshio Taniguchi, the son of the original designer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://designanthologymag.com/story/hotel-okura|title=The Iconic Hotel Okura Reopens in Tokyo|access-date=2019-12-01|website=Design Anthology|last=Demetriou|first=Danielle}}</ref>

=== Second building (2019–present) ===
Following a 110&nbsp;billion yen ($1&nbsp;billion) construction project, the hotel opened two new towers, with a total of 508 rooms, on September 12, 2019,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-12/okura-tokyo-hotel-reopens-after-1-billion-makeover-photos | title=Tokyo's Mid-Century Modern Icon is Back | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | date=12 September 2019 }}</ref> in anticipation of the [[2020 Tokyo Olympics]]. The Okura Prestige Tower is a 188-meter, 41-story mixed-use tower with 368 modern international hotel rooms and 18 stories of office space.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article78125.html|title = Hotel Okura Tokyo US$980 Million Reconstruction Begins in 2015}}</ref> The Okura Heritage Tower is an adjacent 75-meter, 17-story tower offering 140 traditional Japanese guest rooms.<ref name="article100586" /> The complex was designed and built by [[Taisei Corporation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Okura Prestige Tower |url=https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/the-okura-prestige-tower/21232 |website=[[Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat]]}}</ref>

About half of the site is open to the public as a green area and plaza.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abdel |first=Hana |title=The Okura Tokyo / Taniguchi and Associates + TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers |url=https://www.archdaily.com/986584/the-okura-hotel-tokyo-taisei-design-planners-architects-and-engineers |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=ArchDaily}}</ref>

=== South Wing ===
The Hotel Okura's South Wing opened on November 26, 1973, built in a style similar to the 1962 main building.<ref name="history"/> The 13-storey building was demolished between 2021-2022. <ref name="JPC">{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Zoe |date=2021-11-15 |title=Demolition of Hotel Okura South Wing to Start Today |url=https://japanpropertycentral.com/2021/11/demolition-of-hotel-okura-south-wing-to-start-today/ |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=Japan Property Central}}</ref> The 388-room South Wing was built in 1973 as an annex to the main hotel across the street. Two buildings, a 180-meter tall 43-story apartment tower and a 115-meter tall 21-story office tower, is currently planned for the site.<ref name="JPC"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Hotel Okura Tokyo.JPG|Exterior of the 1962 Main Wing, 2010 <br>
Image:Hotel Okura Tokyo2.JPG|Lobby of the 1962 Main Wing, 2010 <br>
Image:HotelOkuraTokyo2015.jpg|Exterior of the 1973 South Wing, 2015
Image:Hotel Okura Tokyo 190912a12.jpg|Lobby of the rebuilt 2019 hotel, 2019 <br>

</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.hotelokura.co.jp/tokyo/en/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150407053547/http://savetheokura.com/ "Save the Okura" on the ''Monocle'' website]

{{The Leading Hotels of the World|Asia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hotels in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Minato, Tokyo]]
[[Category:Hotels established in 1962]]
[[Category:1962 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1973]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 2019]]