Here is the view from my hotel room at the KKR Hotel. Not exactly what I thought I would see. I imagined looking out at a sea of concrete and skyscrapers. The KKR Hotel, however, is located next to the Imperial Palace Gardens so the view was quite nice.
The rooms were also spacious- not what I had in mind for Tokyo having such high density. The toilet was somewhat elusive, however. Next to the toilet seat, there are symbols and buttons- but nothing that looked like a handle for flushing. I knew I didn't want the ones marked, "shower" or "bidet", I'm wasn't sure what the "stop" button would stop, and the button with Japanese writing was a complete guess... I would later find out that was the seat warmer button. I returned that evening to find I had apparently turned the seat heat to high- quite the unexpected experience. I did find the flusher- it was directly behind the toilet (hidden by the toilet lid when it is up). I've included a video that was shared with us about Japanese toilets on our first full day:
The rooms were also spacious- not what I had in mind for Tokyo having such high density. The toilet was somewhat elusive, however. Next to the toilet seat, there are symbols and buttons- but nothing that looked like a handle for flushing. I knew I didn't want the ones marked, "shower" or "bidet", I'm wasn't sure what the "stop" button would stop, and the button with Japanese writing was a complete guess... I would later find out that was the seat warmer button. I returned that evening to find I had apparently turned the seat heat to high- quite the unexpected experience. I did find the flusher- it was directly behind the toilet (hidden by the toilet lid when it is up). I've included a video that was shared with us about Japanese toilets on our first full day:
Our hotel seemed to have an emphasis on hosting weddings- as suggested by the "wedding fair" sign in the front of the building an the wedding packages advertised in the lobby. Interestingly, from my floor of the hotel, you could see into a chapel where ceremonies were held. The chapel appeared to be Christian, with a large cross above the pulpit. I found this interesting, as very few people are Christian in Japan. I later asked about this and learned that "western-style" weddings are very popular for couples. They pay the hotels to do everything, including a chapel wedding. Later during our stay we saw wedding parties getting prepared for a ceremony. Several of the older women wore very fancy kimonos to the ceremony, which was pretty neat to see.
We were visiting during the yearly celebration of Tanabata, the Star Festival (officially on July 7). For this holiday, people write wishes on ribbons and hang them from bamboo. I've added a photo of the wishes people had hung in the lobby of KKR Hotel. We saw many of these as we toured Japan- and even added our own wishes while we were in Kyoto later in the trip. It was my understanding that these are burned as offerings after the holiday passes.
We were visiting during the yearly celebration of Tanabata, the Star Festival (officially on July 7). For this holiday, people write wishes on ribbons and hang them from bamboo. I've added a photo of the wishes people had hung in the lobby of KKR Hotel. We saw many of these as we toured Japan- and even added our own wishes while we were in Kyoto later in the trip. It was my understanding that these are burned as offerings after the holiday passes.