It’s rare to find an inner-city hotel set within any kind of parkland much less a 700-year-old Japanese garden complete with a shrine, a tea room and rows of cherry blossom trees, but you’ll find all of that and more at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo. Located about 15 minutes from Tokyo’s central business district in the Bunkyo neighbourhood, the hotel is set away from the city’s bright lights and buzzy energy. The spacious rooms have luxurious Japanese touches such as fine Aritayaki porcelain lamps, rich Japanese textiles and ukiyo-e woodblock prints on the walls. Spick-and-span bathrooms are equipped with marble accessories. Kinsui is Hotel Chinzanso’s traditional Japanese restaurant specialising in Kaiseki, the Japanese equivalent of a fine-dining, multi-course meal. Mucha is a charming soba noodle eatery set in the little forest on the hotel’s grounds. The recently refurbished restaurant offers an incredibly authentic experience. Expect a calm environment that is as elegant inside as its riverside gardens outside. Chinzanso is a contemporary international hotel to be sure, but it also has quite a few touches of authentic Japanese flair. A spacious fitness center with well-maintained exercise equipment is available to spa and hotel guests.