September 6, 2007

Asia | Japan | Tokyo

The Right Stuff

By Nicole Cotroneo

So your cell phone doesn't work overseas? Don't worry — the Peninsula has you covered.

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On the heels of the recently opened Ritz-Carlton, the Peninsula hit the Tokyo hotel scene Saturday with a new-kid-on-the-block attitude — if you want to make friends fast, you best show up to the playground with some pretty cool toys. Of course they brought their signature green Phantoms and ESPA-brand spa, but this 24-story skyscraper (Japan’s first Peninsula) is loaded with high-tech treats, too. Like the cordless phone you’re encouraged to swipe from your room and use as a mobile while you’re out, say, shopping in the nearby, ultra chi-chi Ginza shopping district. And the automatic nail dryer in your dressing room, because who has time to wait, flap and blow? The latter could make you late for your theatrical entrance to Peter, the top-floor restaurant designed by Yabu Pushelberg, the duo behind New York’s W Hotel. As you emerge from an illuminated tunnel, your arrival triggers the interactive video screen wall, where images (think swirling snow or falling leaves) respond to your movements. But if it’s center stage you really crave, then there’s only one table for you: the one that’s raised above all the rest, smack dab in the middle of the dining room.