Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2010

Courtesy of The Capitol Hotel Tokyo

When the Capitol Tokyu Hotel was pulled down at the end of 2006, it took a whole lotta history with it. Formerly known as the Tokyo Hilton, it was the city’s first foreign-managed hotel, and The Beatles, Jacko and Pavarotti all stayed there at some point. The framed photos on the wall of The Capitol Bar show other guests from times past, including Whitney Houston back when she still dressed like a gym teacher. Hey, it was a good look in 1991.

The Capitol’s phoenix-like reincarnation debuted in October, boasting design by internationally feted architect Kengo Kuma. The façade and interior both incorporate stunning lattice-work, a very Kuma-esque nod to traditional Japanese aesthetics. Wooden slats line the walls and ceiling of the third-floor Origami lounge, and if you head upstairs to The Capitol Bar, you can peer right into the thick of them—well, providing they don’t have the blinds drawn.

Don’t make the mistake we did, and assume that the soberly decorated corridor is all this bar has to offer. Carry on past the counter and there’s a much larger room beyond, with sofa-style seats and ceiling-to-floor windows looking out over a traditional Japanese garden. It’s really rather nice, but we only notice it as we’re about to leave.

Back at the bar, the service is slick, if a little taciturn. My drinking companion complains afterwards that his Bamboo (¥1,386) was watery, but I don’t have any such problems with my solidly executed Alaska—or the subsequent White Lady and Negroni (all ¥1,386). Elegantly sozzled, I’ve still got to admit that the architecture is a bigger draw than the drinks here. But with a location as good-looking as this, who’s complaining?