Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2012

In the tradition of grand station hotel restorations pioneered by the stunning St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel in the UK, the Tokyo Station Hotel is set to open, after a six-year restoration, on October 3. If you fancy getting in within the millennium, best make a reservation as soon as they start taking ’em, on May 8. The hotel takes up floors 2-4 of the Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building, and features 150 rooms designed by UK company Richmond International to blend European classicism and modernism, which basically means high ceilings, big windows and an inexplicable urge to drink gin and tonic. www.tokyostationhotel.jp