The Imperial Palace gardens stretch out in front of you; the faint glow of Tokyo Tower behind. A pot of Uji matcha arrives, and it dawns on you: this is what arriving in a city should feel like.
Aman Tokyo is one of iFlyPlus's standing partner hotels, a property we know through deep, repeated experience. What follows is our most honest review.
At a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Kitanomaru Park 1-1, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (beside the Imperial Palace and the Budokan) |
| Entry room size | 55 m² — top tier among Tokyo luxury hotels |
| Reference rate | ¥12,000–180,000+ per night, by room type and season |
| iFlyPlus member privileges | Room upgrade · executive lounge · late check-out · member rates saving ¥8,000+ |
Arrival: The First Glance of the Sky Lobby
Getting there
Recommended: private charter into Haneda. From Beijing or Shanghai, a Gulfstream G650 flies nonstop to Tokyo Haneda (HND) in about 3–3.5 hours. Haneda is only 30 minutes from Aman Tokyo; iFlyPlus members can have a chauffeured car waiting at the FBO, bypassing the usual arrival formalities.
The experience: depart Beijing at 9:00 a.m., and by 11:30 you are seated in the Aman lobby over a Japanese lunch. No commercial itinerary delivers this kind of efficiency.
Lobby design philosophy
The first thing that greets you is not a front desk but a 12-metre-wide karesansui — a miniature dry landscape garden laid with 50 tonnes of Bizen ceramic gravel, anchored by a 300-year-old black pine bonsai. Designer Kengo Kuma compresses the garden aesthetics of the Edo period into a space in the sky, through the Eastern philosophy of seeing the large in the small.
Sensory details:
- Sight: pale chestnut wood, washi paper screens, Bizen pottery — a warm palette
- Sound: an original score blending shakuhachi (traditional bamboo flute) with modern electronica
- Scent: white sandalwood — the signature Aman scent, lighter in the Tokyo expression
- Taste: a welcome drink of Uji matcha or Kyoto cherry juice with handmade wagashi
By contrast, Park Hyatt Tokyo (of Lost in Translation fame) pursues an American register of luxury — bolder, more extroverted. Aman Tokyo chooses restraint: it quietens you first, then lets the details reveal themselves.
Room Review: 55 m² of Measured Calm
Standard room (55 m²)
The moment the door opens, three things register:
1. There is no television. Not an omission — a choice. Aman replaces the TV wall with a Hideyoshi concealed-cabinet system: open, it reveals a minibar and safe; closed, the wall returns to plain wood.
2. The bathroom is carved from a single block of stone. Grey Kawachi marble, cut in one plane, with an integrally formed basin. The bathtub sits by the window facing the greenery of the Imperial Palace. Amenities are Aman's White Tea line, with a Tokyo-only haircare addition infused with Rishiri kombu from a Kyoto heritage house.
3. A tokonoma by the window. The symbolic alcove of a Japanese room, hung with seasonal calligraphy. On arrival you find a welcome note written by hand — real brush and ink, not print.
Quantified stay scores
| Dimension | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Space | 9.5/10 | From 55 m² — top tier in Tokyo |
| Bedding | 9/10 | Aman custom mattress + down duvet, six-pillow menu |
| Bathroom | 9.5/10 | Solid-stone tub + double basins + separate shower |
| Soundproofing | 9/10 | Triple glazing; the palace side is nearly silent |
| View | 8.5/10 | Garden side: green; street side: skyline |
| Technology | 8/10 | No TV by design; an iPad controls the whole room |
| Service | 10/10 | 1-to-1 butler, response time under 5 minutes |
Suite recommendation
Penthouse Suite (185 m²)
- Private Japanese garden terrace (about 30 m²)
- Dedicated elevator lobby, exceptionally private
- Suited to milestone occasions and executive hosting
- iFlyPlus member value: public rate around ¥180,000/night; member-exclusive pricing saves ¥20,000+, with priority on calendar allocation
Dining: Three Restaurants, Three Registers
1. Moriya — Japanese omakase
A six-seat itamae counter unique to Aman Tokyo.
- Chef Morita Yoshiyuki trained 15 years at Ginza's Matsukawa
- Daily ingredients shipped direct from Toyosu Market; seasonal menus
- Omakase around ¥6,000 per person (beverages extra)
- iFlyPlus members: priority reservation of counter seats with the chef + sake pairing recommendations
Honest verdict: not the most theatrical omakase in Tokyo, but the temperature of the vinegared rice and the aging days of each fish are precise to the point of obsession. Eat quietly, talk slowly.
2. Yuan — contemporary Beijing cuisine
- A chef from Beijing blending Beijing and Cantonese technique
- Signatures: fruitwood roast duck (Beijing-sourced duck), matsutake lion's-head meatballs
- Setting: dark red lacquer and brass pendants — an unusually warm room in the Aman sequence
- Around ¥3,500 per person
Member feedback: many Chinese members call it "the closest thing to Beijing duck in Tokyo," refined a notch further.
3. Garden Lounge — afternoon ritual
- French patisserie and Japanese teatime bites, 14:00–17:00
- Uji matcha afternoon tea at ¥1,200 per person
- iFlyPlus members: executive lounge privileges include free-flow beverages during afternoon tea hours
Aman Spa: A Sensory Reversal Underground
Design concept: a journey from top to bottom — sky to earth, light to shadow, wakefulness to meditation.
Core experiences:
- Yukomi: a Japanese bathing circuit with five pools of different temperatures, an open-air bath and an ice room — allow at least 45 minutes
- Aman signature massage: 90 minutes, ¥4,800, blending Swedish technique with Japanese shiatsu
- Kyoto collaboration: a facial developed with a century-old Kyoto house, drawing on the city's arimatsu shibori dyeing craft
Suggested pairing: the post-charter jet-lag recovery set is the one to book — 60 minutes of deep massage, the Yukomi circuit, and 30 minutes of meditation, around ¥8,000.
iFlyPlus Member Privileges in Depth
As an iFlyPlus partner hotel, Aman Tokyo extends differentiated privileges by tier:
V1 Golden Diamond (¥28,888/year)
- One-category room upgrade (e.g. standard to superior)
- Late check-out to 16:00 (standard is 12:00)
- Welcome amenity (fruit + handmade wagashi)
- Priority booking for iFit fitness classes
V2 Rose Diamond (top-up ¥288,888)
- All V1 privileges, plus:
- All-day executive lounge access (breakfast, afternoon tea, evening hors d'oeuvres)
- Member-exclusive rates saving ¥8,000–12,000 per night
- 10% off spa spending (member privilege)
- Priority on restaurant private rooms
V3 Purple Diamond (top-up ¥1,888,888)
- All V2 privileges, plus:
- Priority suite allocation (reserve 30 days ahead)
- Private elevator access for suite guests
- A dedicated advisor following your needs throughout the stay
- Charter + hotel packages saving ¥150,000–250,000 in aggregate
A real case: a V3 member, Mrs. Zhang, took her family of four on a five-day Tokyo trip — round-trip Shanghai–Tokyo charter on a Gulfstream G650 plus four nights in the Penthouse Suite. Booked as an iFlyPlus package at member-exclusive pricing, total savings reached ¥280,000, including the room upgrade and full dining privileges.
Peer Comparison
| Hotel | Entry size | View | Dining | Aman DNA | Member value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aman Tokyo | 55 m² | Palace / city | 3 venues | ★★★★★ | ¥8,000+/night |
| Park Hyatt Tokyo | 47 m² | Shinjuku skyline | 4 venues | — | — |
| Mandarin Oriental | 50 m² | Palace / Sumida River | 3 venues | — | — |
| Four Seasons Marunouchi | 42 m² | Palace / Tokyo Station | 2 venues | — | — |
On space (from 55 m²), service (1:1 butlers), and iFlyPlus member privileges combined, Aman Tokyo is currently the strongest all-round answer among Tokyo's luxury hotels.
Around Aman Tokyo
Within a 10-minute walk: the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace (a superb morning run), the National Museum of Modern Art, Kitanomaru Park — one of central Tokyo's largest green spaces — and the Nippon Budokan for concerts and martial arts.
Within a 15-minute drive: Ginza (with a teamLab exhibition atop Ginza Six), Senso-ji in Asakusa (Tokyo's oldest temple — go at 7 a.m.), the Mori Tower observatory at Roppongi Hills (52nd floor), and Shibuya Sky.
iFlyPlus service: your dedicated advisor can arrange VIP access and private guiding at every sight.
Verdict
Who it suits
- Travellers who prefer quiet luxury over declarative luxury
- Cultural travellers with a deep interest in Japan
- Entrepreneurs who need efficiency and privacy on business trips
- Couples marking honeymoons and anniversaries
Who it does not
- Those who want nightlife at the doorstep (beside the Imperial Palace, this is Tokyo's quietest quarter)
- Those who expect televisions and smart speakers (subtraction here is deliberate)
iFlyPlus composite score
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Design & atmosphere | 9.5/10 |
| Room comfort | 9.5/10 |
| Dining | 9/10 |
| Service responsiveness | 10/10 |
| Member value | 9/10 |
| Overall | 9.4/10 — our first choice in Tokyo |
iFlyPlus Membership
| Tier | Entry | Core privileges |
|---|---|---|
| V1 Golden Diamond | ¥28,888/year | Private travel curation team · 24-hour response · 3 tailored proposals · hotel upgrades + chauffeured transfers |
| V2 Rose Diamond | Top up ¥288,888 | Full credit redeemable against spend · member-exclusive rates · V1 fee waived · 1.2x permanent points |
| V3 Purple Diamond | Top up ¥1,888,888 | Credit covers all spending · 3 proposals presented immediately · priority on global resources · 1.5x permanent points · direct line to the founder |
Core principle: member pricing is never discounted · top-ups are fully redeemable · members are rewarded with added privileges
What Members Say
"Aman Tokyo is my home away from home in Tokyo. On every business trip I am from the Haneda FBO to the hotel lobby in 30 minutes, without a wasted minute on the road. The brush-written welcome note in the room always carries my name." — Mr. Chen, director of a multinational investment group, 40 days a year in Tokyo, V3 Purple Diamond member
"I proposed at Aman Tokyo. The advisor arranged the entire Penthouse — 200 Ecuadorian roses sent over from Ginza, a custom dessert from the chef. She told me, 'You only need to say yes.'" — Ms. Wang, brand founder, V2 Rose Diamond member
Plan Your Aman Tokyo Stay
Contact:
- Web: www.iflyplus.com/membership
- WeChat: iFlyPlusUS
- Mini program: search "iFlyPlus booking"
Membership application: applications are reviewed within 24 hours, with a dedicated advisor following up one-to-one.
Explore private jet charter options
Book luxury hotels through the iFlyPlus member channel for room upgrades and VIP treatment.