Palace Hotel Tokyo

The hotel, built more than 50 years ago, attracted mostly a business clientele until 2009, when it was transformed into a bona fide luxury property with a renovation. There is nothing particularly Japanese about the rooms, aside from the spotlessness, but most rooms have balconies (a Tokyo rarity) overlooking the green expanse of the Imperial Palace’s East Gardens. Each floor has different atmospheric music. Of the ten restaurants and bars on offer, of particular interest is the moody, old-school, 25-seat Royal Bar. The first chief bartender, starting in 1961, was Kiyoshi Imai, better known as Mr. Martini. He designed some of the glassware and the bar itself. His Gordon’s gin martini is still what to order. Many consider it to be the top martini in the city. The garnish makes it: an olive stuffed with pimiento. (Rooms, from $700)