Tokyo’s latest development project opened on June 11 to a whole new world.
Completed this past January, the 36-story Toranomon Hills Business Tower is home to international-standard office space and a retail facility space directly connected to the new Toranomon Hills Station, which opened last week on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya subway line.
Mori Building, responsible for the development of various landmarks of modern Tokyo like Roppongi Hills, announced the opening of 59 retail shops and restaurants at Toranomon Hills Business Tower from June 11.
The international business center, that will come to include a conference forum, a hotel and a residential tower, now welcomes a luxury market and a cluster of upscale restaurants from the basement to the third floor of the Business Tower.
Toranomon Hills Business Tower
High-tech Social Distancing
Crowdedness is usually a symptom of city-center dining, especially in Tokyo, but Toranomon Hills Business Tower will control congestion at its restaurants via the Line app.
A high-class haven for both Tokyo foodies and the office denizens above, Toranomon Yokocho on the third floor houses 26 branches of famous Tokyo restaurants. Customers need not worry about waiting in line.
In addition to instituting social distancing in seating arrangements, restaurants distribute virtual admission tickets whenever they reach capacity. When a dining space falls below capacity, guests are notified via Line. You can also see the number of people waiting to eat at a given time.
If dining in is not an option, the app lets customers order and pay so that pick-up is prompt. Diners must follow a set of sanitary regulations: practice physical distancing, wear a mask and regularly disinfect and wash hands.
Andaz Tokyo – BeBu
Social Distancing in Luxury
Andaz Tokyo, the boutique hotel located at the top of the neighboring Toranomon Hills facility, began offering takeout menus from its dining venues BeBu and The Tavern Grill & Lounge, offering everything from homemade gourmet burgers to gourmet steaks to poki bowls.
Ginza Six, the largest commercial facility in the Ginza area, resumed operations from May 29 while thoroughly implementing measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infections.
Cafés located on the sixth and 13th floor are offering takeout menus, with an incredible lineup of delicacies available, including Kumamoto beef prepared using three cooking methods, an assortment of fresh nigiri sushi and The Grand Ginza’s cheeseburger made from wagyu beef.
GINZA SIX – Kumamoto Akaushi Shabu-Shabou Koubai
GINZA SIX
To help enhance the experience for shoppers at Ginza Six, floral artist Emi Shinozaki is collecting unsold flowers and creating installations throughout the building. In addition, rather than regular disinfectant spray, Ginza Six is offering a specially scented, soothing alcoholic antispectic solution outside all 13 restrooms on each floor.
Meanwhile, InterContinental Tokyo Bay is offering secure and safe meeting venues with tight avoidance measures to help businesses continue functioning in this new lifestyle. With consideration to preventing the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the hotel is offering small-scale, decentralized meeting spaces with layouts considerate to social distancing – such as offering individual tables for each participant and a square seating format that can accommodate 20 people.
Toranomon Hills Business Tower retail facility common space
Additional Safety Measures
Toranomon Hills Business Tower is dedicated to guaranteeing a safe environment for customers as they dine and shop. To this end, Toranomon Hills enforces elevator usage rules, takes the temperature of visitors at certain locations, provides disinfecting appliances at the entrances, cleans the building extensively and ensures ample ventilation. Additionally, the physical condition of all employees is examined before work and contact between staff and customers is minimized – you pay without making contact.
On the first floor of the business tower are nine boutique gift stores. Whether hunting for a gift for a business colleague or looking to bring home luxury dining, anything from wine to desserts to deli items. Le Café La Boutique de Joël Robuchon offers giftable sweets like macarons, as well as coffees and sandwiches you can enjoy on a shopping break.
For a touch of entertainment, customers can browse through Urban Famima on the second floor, a spinoff of the convenience store by clothing brand Urban Research. Perhaps you are looking for ingredients that match the quality of the fare: on the B1 floor is Fukushimaya, the first grocery store of its caliber in the area, in addition to casual restaurants.
Toranomon Yokocho – Tsukiji Kindaco
The restaurants at Toranomon Yokocho include the Shinjuku grilled-meat heavyweight Torishige, which will open its first branch in the Tower. Other culinary contenders are Elezo House, a referral-only restaurant boasting specialist chefs from Hokkaido, as well as Tsukiji Kindaco, a gourmet, cosmopolitan take on the classic street treat takoyaki, and Toranomon Sakaba Kiraku-tei, an affiliate of the Ginza restaurant where each ingredient is paired with a drink.
Italian cuisine, Korean izakaya delicacies, Chinese-style hotpot and an assortment of beers and wines for personal pairing also keep house in this impressive catalogue. Embodying this variety of cuisines and cooking methods, the popup restaurant space accommodates stylish eateries on a rotating basis.
