Today’s visit takes me to a hotel that is located in the central part of Tokyo, a couple minutes’ walk from Tsukiji Station, former home of the world-famous Tsukiji fish market. While the fish market has been moved to a new location, much of its charm remains. The area is also within walking distance from Ginza, an area known for its luxury shops, as well as a 10-minute ride by taxi from Tokyo Station.
I arrive in front of the hotel, its tall slim shape is accented by the sign in front which features reddish brown posts on a black backdrop, a modern interpretation of a traditional aesthetic. I make my way through the corridor to reach the lobby. The lobby is cozy, fairy lights lining the front desk, and the staff greet me with a warm smile. I look to my right and am surprised to find an adorable snow-white Bichon Frise.
A few moments later, a gentleman in his late 30s, tall and slim like the hotel, arrives in the lobby and introduces himself as Ban Toshihiro-san, the current managing director and owner of the hotel. We take a seat in the office, and I ask him to tell me how he got into the business of running a hotel.
Ban-san’s grandfather, who originally came to Japan from China, built the hotel 49 years ago. At first, his grandfather used to run a small minshuku, a type of Japanese inn, which played host to people who came over to the area by ship. At the time, Tsukiji didn’t really have any hotels and since the area was well known for its role as one of Japan’s major fish ports since the Edo period it was the perfect place for business, hosting those who came for business by ship.
Ban-san himself took over the hotel fifteen years ago. Among the various hotels and ryokan I’ve interviewed so far, he may be the youngest owner I’ve met so far, but even in the short amount I’ve spent in our conversation so far I can see that he has a sharp sense for running a hotel. With experience working in realty, Ban-san has put a lot of thought into re-developing the hotel to maximize its appeal to modern needs.
Since he’s taken over, he’s implemented various ideas that are very refreshing. Taking advantage of the hotel’s location, he has reinforced the connection between the hotel and the fish market—the food served in the hotel on the first floor sources its ingredients from the market as much as possible, providing fresh, high quality fish and vegetables.
Another important aspect of this hotel is that it allows guests to stay with their pets. A total of five of the total 36 rooms are designated pet-friendly. This includes not only dogs and cats—all types of pets are welcome. Allowing pets to stay overnight comes with its own risks and difficulties, but to Ban-san it also comes with the reward of seeing the smiles on the guests’ faces from the joy that comes with being able to bring their precious furry (or scaly, feathery) family members with them on their trip. As such, the hotel takes cleaning and sanitation very seriously in order to ensure a pleasant stay for all.
Even with the various perks that the hotel offers, like many of the other hotels and lodgings I’ve interviewed, Ban Hotel didn’t get through the COVID emergency lockdowns unscathed. Approximately a third of guests before the pandemic began were foreign visitors and business guests, and the hotel took a hard hit with the sudden drop in reservations both international and domestic. Ban-san explains that the first steps he took to fortify the hotel was to decrease expenses by switching to an electronic security system, thereby lowering labor costs.
The hotel also offered a special rate for long-term stay guests which during peak COVID times was set at an unbelievably low rate. Even now, monthly long-term stays are available for 140,000yen—an incredible deal considering the location and the fact that dinner is included daily in the plan. The minimum booking duration for this long-stay plan starts from one month, but any time over that can be calculated at a day-rate.
Guests who book a breakfast-included room have the option of eating at the hotel or enjoying a kaisen-don (sea-food over rice) outside the hotel at a restaurant that now has an affiliate relationship with the hotel, as part of to Ban-san’s efforts in broadening the hotel’s possibilities.
Another important recent change in the hotel is the construction of a sauna on the first floor and a rooftop bar. These spaces are available to guests and non-guests alike. As timing would have it, the two areas have just completed construction, giving me the opportunity for a first look.
The sauna on the first floor was constructed by renovating a couple guestrooms that used to occupy the space. I’m not much of a sauna-goer, but the mild level of heat in this sauna when I step in combined with the pleasant aroma makes me feel like I could definitely spend an afternoon here.
There is also a cold-water jet-stream bathtub (which can be warmed-up up to 45 degrees Celsius if you reserve the sauna area for private use), and a small rest-space patio for taking a break. To reflect the demographics of its usage, the sauna is currently only available for men from Thursday to Tuesday. Wednesdays are reserved for women only. However, the sauna can be privately reserved as well, in which case co-ed use is possible.
Sauna amenities include high-end Dyson and ReFa hair dryers as well as moisturizers and toners, and even face masks. No attention to detail has been spared—even the water dispenser has a container of ion powder to replenish electrolytes lost in the heat of the sauna.
Next on our tour is the rooftop bar.
Ban-san leads me into the elevator, and immediately I notice a pleasant citrus smell. When I comment on the fragrance, he tells me that he has put a conscious effort to integrate areas to allow guests to take advantage of all five senses. The LED fairy lights in front of the lobby desk, the music that plays in the background, the fragrance in the elevator are all intentional additions to amplify the Ban Hotel experience. We arrive on the top floor, and walk up a staircase, the walls and stairs having been painted black act as almost as a portal leading to the bar area. We arrive, and the view is breathtaking. Ban-san continues to tell me that this area will act as a self-serve bar that has various alcoholic drinks, and can be enjoyed by guests and non-guests alike. It can also be reserved for events and gatherings. Of course, pets are welcome as well here, and the artificial grass makes any cleanup necessary an easy task.
In the summer, Ban-san also plans on offering a BBQ plan for use of the space. There will be options for rental of the rooftop space, bar and BBQ equipment, as well as an option to include ingredients such as meat or seafood freshly sourced from the market. Of course, you also will have the option to bring your own ingredients—the choice is up to you.
I am ecstatic to hear the future plans for the space, as I have been wanting to hold a BBQ gathering in the summer myself but the hassle of gathering ingredients and preparing equipment, as well as the limited options within the 23-ward Tokyo area have been big obstacles.
I walk over to the side of the rooftop area where I can Tsukiji Honganji, Tsukiji’s famous stone temple, against the blue skies accented by white fluffy clouds—a view that only this special place could hope to provide. Enjoying some barbeque against this background would be a feast for the taste-buds as well as the eyes.