The
buzz
ParkHotelTokyo’s“Artist
inHotel”rooms in theheart
ofJapan’scapital tickall the
rightboxes
Sleeping in
art’sembrace
COOLDIGS
ParkHotelTokyo, ShiodomeMediaTower, 1-7-1HigashiShimbashi,Minato-ku
1057227Tokyo, +81362521111;
en.parkhoteltokyo.com
36
Smile
/May2016
TheParkHotelTokyo, in theShiodome
MediaTower, is thefirstTokyoproperty to
becomepartofDesignHotels, aworldwide
collectionofdesign-ledaccommodation.
Twoandahalfyearsago, thehotel started
acreativeprojectcalledArtist inHotel,
where topJapaneseartistswouldstay
in theParkHotelTokyoasguestsand
be inspired to turnrooms intooriginal
artworksbasedon the themeof “Japanese
aesthetics”.
TheArtist inHotelprojecthasresulted
in twoArtistSinglerooms, 11ArtistQueen
roomsand fourArtistKingrooms, allwith
theirown individual artisticcharacter.
Theselectionof topJapanesecreative
talent that left theirartistic imprinton the
ParkHotelTokyo includescalligrapher
SeihakuAkiba,woodcutprintartist
NaokiTakenouchi andpainterRyosuke
Yasumoto.
ArtistRoomZenbySeihakuAkibawas
oneof theearliest roomscompleted— the
bold, powerfulJapanesecharacterson
thepurewhitewalls, paulowniawood
boxesrepresenting theseasonsand tatami
matsall contribute towardscreating the
feelingofZenandaroomwhereguests
canpractice
zazen
—ormeditating in the
lotusposition.
ForhisArtistRoom thatwascompleted
soonafter,NaokiTakenouchiused
washi
,
or traditionalJapanesepaper, ashismain
medium.Heconstructed lampshadesout
ofwoodcutprintedwashi, andcreated
renditionsof thegodofwind,Fujin, and
thegodof thunder,Raijin, on thewall
using108smallprintsofgods.While
aiming foranamusingroom,Takenouchi
alsodesignedaroom thathighlighted
Japan’s traditions.
RyosukeYasumotoalsocreateda two-
tonedArtistRoom, basing iton the folk
taleofhow the12signsof thezodiaccame
intobeing.Guestsnot familiarwith the
legendwillbesurprised tofind that they
aresharing theroomwith14animals—
Yasumoto’sdesign included thecatand
weasel,whichweremissedout in the
zodiac.Guestswill getadditional surprises
while lying inbed, as they’llbeable tohave
adifferentperspectiveofacoupleof the
zodiacanimals.
Therearealsocolorful rooms thatwill
giveguestsamorewhimsical feel, suchas
the latestArtistRoombypainterAkiKondo
—knownasOtafukuFace.Thesmiling
floor-to-ceiling face, coupledwith the
vigorousplum treeenveloping thebed, both
encapsulate the themeofJapanesebeauty
whichattractsguestswhen theyvisitand
lingerswith them foryearsafter.
