Tokyo rises to the top

Few cities in the world can inspire like Tokyo does at night. From the 24-hour bar district of Roppongi to the neon-lit beauty around Shinjuku Station and the fashions of Shibuya, there is more entertainment per square metre here than anywhere else on earth. Tokyo's 12 million inhabitants are known for many good things — but probably the most respected trait is the honesty and politeness that visitors experience from the moment they step off the plane to the moment they leave. Each personal transaction is an act of deference and kindness that will remain in the memories of meetings and incentive delegates long after the fantastic shopping and brilliant food have faded into the distance. "Japan is well known for these reasons and it is this level of safety and kindness that are some of our strongest selling points," says Yasutake Tsukamoto, executive director of the Japan Convention Bureau. Recent international groups to visit Tokyo include PSA Pharmacy (300 people from Australia), Sony Ericsson's Asia Pacific meeting (200 people) and Life Assurance from Indonesia (1000 people). "Currently our major market is the US and Europe, but we're really trying to attract more incentive business from Asia Pacific," says Tsukamoto. "Incentive tours from Asian countries expect to experience new technology in Japan and we can arrange special programmes to incorporate visits to special stores and factories to see demonstrations of this." Room quality Some 200,000 of the 600,000 hotel rooms in Japan are in officially designated 'International Tourism Hotels'. Each of these conforms to strict government specifications for accommodating foreign visitors. This means services and amenities are of an international standard. Tokyo is currently awash with high-quality hotels and international brands. The future is also looking bright with the Peninsula and the Ritz-Carlton both in the process of building new properties in the city. However, while the international brands are on their way, their room volumes are dwarfed by the local Japanese hotels (see box above). The Mandarin Oriental is the newest big name in town, only opening last December in Nihonbashi, which is Tokyo's financial district. This 179-room hotel will take a lot of beating in a town where being the best and most stylish is paramount. The ground-floor express elevator delivers guests to the 38th-floor reception, the top floor of the building, which is where the main bars and restaurants are located. The hotel's rooms exist in the six floors below reception, which are only accessible via separate elevator. "The luxury rooms and suites are the largest in Tokyo right now and feature floor-to-ceiling windows to enjoy full views of the city," says Chie Hayakawa, the Mandarin Oriental's director of communications. The Mandarin Oriental also features a 540 sqm grand ballroom, four banquet rooms and six meeting rooms. The 389-room Grand Hyatt Roppongi Hills is also well placed for the CEI market. Its unbeatable location places delegates on the doorstep of Tokyo's best nightlife and shops. It offers the standard quality expected of a Grand Hyatt. Its 1,000 sqm ballroom can be divided into two separate soundproof sections and also feature two 160" multivision screens. The three-year-old Grand Hyatt has followed on well from the Park Hyatt near Shinjuku, forging its own identity and becoming one of the most talked about properties in the country. The Conrad is another recently opened high-standard property, with 290 guestrooms and a grand ballroom that can fit 500 delegates. Meeting options For more business-oriented groups, Le Meridien Pacific and Le Meridien Grand Pacific have 1,838 rooms between them and meeting spaces capable of accommodating up to 4,400 delegates. They are separated by a 20-minute complimentary coach ride. The Tokyo International Forum is Tokyo's premier convention facility. "Hall A is the largest of the Tokyo International Forum halls and comfortably seats 5,012 within its double- level, theatre-type structure," says Kazuko Toda, director of the convention promotion department of the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It also has 33 conference rooms of various shapes and sizes that are fitted out with state-ofthe art audiovisual equipment so that they can be used either as separate breakout rooms or as remote centres for large presentations."