Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi’s restaurant TENQOO, located on the 27th floor, is now offering a weekday-only lunch set with a scrumptious strawberry parfait until March 31, 2022.
Tochitome Strawberry Parfait
Appetizer & Salad Buffet
Dining & Bar TENQOO
The strawberry parfait, made with strawberries from Tochigi Prefecture, was designed to be a light and refreshing dessert. Guests can also enjoy the buffet-style appetizer and salad buffet along with a lineup of pasta.
Strawberries from Tochigi Prefecture were selected for their juiciness and balance of sweetness and acidity. With high sugar content, they pair wonderfully with jellies and cream. Complete with jasmine jelly and blancmange, this will be a lunch to remember.
Information
TENQOO Lunch Set with Strawberry Parfait
Available: Weekdays from January 25 – March 31, 2022
Reservations Now Open
Serving Times: 11:30-14:00 (Closes at 15:30)
Location: Dining & Bar TENQOO (Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi 27F)
Hoshinoya Tokyo, a traditional ryokan in Otemachi, has announced the New Year’s Kabuki Plan, a two-day, one-night stay from January 5 until January 7, 2023. During the Edo Period, citizens enjoyed watching Kabuki plays during the New Year’s holidays, often sipping tea at connected teahouses. This event will invite visitors to experience what this was like, complete with traditional food and decorations.Watching Kabuki was a chic way for those in Edo to ring in the new year. Theater teahouses were also a popular gathering place–along with arranging tickets, the teahouses offered plot notes, tea, sweets, boxed lunches, snacks, and other drinks.**Hiroshi Fujita, Yoshihide Tomizawa (2012) / The Updated Kabuki Dictionary, Kashiwa Shobo
Relax Before Enjoying Tea and a Play
Guests are invited to relax in the Ochanoma (Living Room) Lounge, decorated to look like a traditional teahouse with fans, ukiyo-e prints, and formal curtains. Hanabiramochi, or rice cakes with flower petals, will be served with green tea. These rice cakes are said to date back to the New Year’s tradition of eating hard foods like daikon and rice cakes in the hopes of prolonging one’s life. Characterized by its curious burdock root aroma, the cakes are sweetened with white miso bean paste.
Enjoy a Post-Viewing Mont Blanc Shaped like Soba with Sweet Dessert Wine
At theater teahouses in the Edo period, sake, snacks, and desserts were served one after another. During this special event, a menu inspired by this practice and prepared by Hoshinoya Tokyo Executive Chef Noriyuki Hamada will be served! Soba noodles were often served after a play in the past. Inspired by this tradition, Mont Blanc made with chestnut paste and sponge cake will be served up to look like this popular dish. Paired with a dessert wine aged in oak barrels, the sweet will be served in a traditional lacquerware basket. In addition, the dish will be paired with Wasabi Pralines, Shichimi Meringue, and Ginger Pate de Fruits.
Take a Rickshaw to the Kabuki-za Theater
Guests will be taken on an Edo-style tour on their way to the Kabuki-za Theater. Passing through the Nihonbashi area, the first stop will be the Fukutoku Shrine. It’s said that Hidetada Tokugawa paid a visit to and praised the shrine on New Year’s Day in 1614. The next shrine on the docket, Hodo Inari Jinja, was enshrined in Edo Castle during the Edo period to protect the heir to the Tokugawa family. It’s said that the shrine provides blessings for child rearing, matchmaking, and business prosperity. This tour will provide a more elegant way to explore Tokyo as guests enjoy exposition from their chauffeur. To make the rickshaw ride even more enjoyable, guests can rent kimonos for an extra charge.
Would you like to take a step back in time this New Year?
Information
New Year’s Kabuki Plan
Running: January 5 – January 7, 2023
Capacity: 1 couple per day (1-2 people)
Price: ¥110,000 per person, ¥180,000 for 2 people (Including Tax & Service charge, excluding accommodation charge)
Hoshinoya Tokyo, a Japanese-style inn in Otemachi, Tokyo, will offer a strawberry-filled afternoon tea set from January 7 until May 31, 2023.Fragrant Strawberry Afternoon TeaThe Fragrant Strawberry Afternoon Tea is a modern-day expression of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. A major part of Edo culture, guests can enjoy small dishes, sweets, and more. All 10 dishes are made with seasonal strawberries and fermented foods. Visitors can enjoy a plethora of unique textures and flavors, from a French cake with four layers of strawberry sauce to a strawberry confiture in dough kneaded with amazake.
Enjoy Unique Pairings
Dim sum, sweets, and dried goods will each be served with a proper pairing. The oshizushi is paired with a sparkling sake that perfectly matches the seasonal ingredients, and accompanying the main sweets is original coffee brewed in a French press. This coffee was developed exclusively for the afternoon tea set by the specialty coffee shop Sarutahiko Coffee.
Original Box
Since ancient times, the fuchidaka has been used as a sweets dish to accompany stronger tea. This afternoon tea will be served in an eye-catching original decorated stacked box decorated with jewel beetles. Come enjoy this elegant treat with a loved one to celebrate the new year!
Information
Fragrant Strawberry Afternoon Tea
Available: January 7 – May 31, 2023 Available after 14:00 Capacity: 1 couple (2 people) per day Price: ¥12,000 per person (Includes tax and service charge) *Doesn’t include hotel charges Venue: Hoshinuya Tokyo 2F Tatami Room Reservations: Required at least 3 days in advance (https://hoshinoya.com/tokyo/)
Limited Time Shinbashi-iro Parfait Available at Shiseido Parlour
The special Shinbashi-iro Parfait will be available from October 1 until October 31 at Shiseido Parlour Nihonbashi, Yokohama Takashimaya, Yokohama Sogo, Shiseido Parlour Nagoya, and Salon de Cafe Lazona Kawasaki Plaza.Shibashi-iro is a bright greenish-blue color that is known to be traditionally Japanese. It was named after the color of kimono worn by Shinbashi geisha, who were known to be at the forefront of fashion during the late Meiji period. In 1902, at the soda fountain–later renamed Shiseido Parlour–many Shinbashi geisha would take a break to enjoy some tasty soda water. This parfait was designed to conjure images of these chic and glamorous ladies.
The Chic and Stylish Shinbashi-iro
Shibashi-iro is a greenish-blue color that is traditionally Japanese. The name was derived from the color of kimono worn by Shinbashi geisha between 1868 and 1912. The parfait is made with traditional vanilla ice cream, green apple filling, and blue jelly with decorative flourishes. Why not come enjoy this unique treat?
Information
Shiseido Parlour’s Limited Time Shinbashi-iro Parfait
Available: October 1 – October 31, 2022
Where to Buy: Shiseido Parlour Nihonbashi, Yokohama Takashimaya, Yokohama Sogo, Nagoya, Salon de Cafe Lazona Kawasaki Plaza
Uji, Kyoto is known for its tasty matcha. Founded in 1832, Itohkyuemon offers up some of the most delicious green tea sweets in Japan. Starting on September 1, several locations are serving up an Uji Green Tea Mont Blanc Parfait and a tasty Chestnut Sweets Plate!
Uji Green Tea Mont Blanc Parfait and Chestnut Sweets Plate
The Uji Green Tea Mont Blanc Parfait is decorated with a beautiful chestnut skin on top and served with yellow candied chestnuts and baked meringue with a dazzling white color. The inside includes cookie dough, homemade Uji green tea jelly, crunchy agar, two kinds of ice cream, and Uji green tea honey. This autumn-only parfait allows guests to enjoy the taste of Uji green tea while also sampling the delicate flavor of Japanese chestnuts. The Chestnut Sweets Plate offers eight kinds of sweets in one go, including the autumn-only Chestnut Green Tea Roll Cake and Chestnut Green Tea Daifuku, Uji Hojicha Cheesecake, Uji Green Tea & Hojicha Raw Chocolate, Uji Green Tea Mini Parfait, and Uji Green Tea & Chestnut Ice Cream.
Uji Green Tea Mont Blanc Parfait
Chestnut Sweets Plate
Information
Uji Green Tea Mont Blanc Parfait and Chestnut Sweets Plate
■Uji Green Tea Mont Blanc Parfait
Available: September 1 – Early October
Where to Buy: Uji Main Store, JR Uji Station Store, Shijo-dori Store
■Chestnut Sweets Plate
Available: September 1 – Late November
Where to Buy: Uji Main Store, JR Uji Station Store, Shijo-dori Store
Art subscription service Casie is collaborating with HOTEL SHE, KYOTO! A special art exhibition titled GALLERY HOTEL SHE, will be held from September 17 until October 16, inviting guests to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience of staying in a gallery overnight!During the event period, guests of HOTEL SHE, KYOTO will be able to select their favorite piece of artwork from an on-site gallery. The piece will then be hung in their guestroom, and visitors can spend the night appreciating it at their own pace. This is a great way to learn more about art appreciation, and guests can enjoy discussing the art world with their friends and family. “Although we may view art in museums and other venues, it is rare to have the opportunity to select and display a work of art of our own choice,” the project description reads. “Through this unique experience, we aim to provide guests the chance to actively engage with art and inspire them to make art a part of their daily life going forward.”