hotel claska, tokyo

the concierge recommends...

"The Concierge Recommends" is a series of features including personal recommendations of expert local advisors from the great hotels of the world. This feature is Hotel Claska in Tokyo, which was designed and produced by a collaboration of Japanese designer Shuwa Tei of Intentionallies, architect Iku Hirose of Urban Design System, Hikaru Okada and Sadahiro Nakamura of Transit, T.C.K.W. and UK design firm Tomato.

The Claska does not operate with a concierge - so hotel representative Kris Imai has offered his suggestions of what best to see and do in Tokyo.

q: Could you give me a brief outline of its origins and how The Claska Hotel came to be? 

a: CLASKA is a large scale hotel renovation project that was completed in September of 2003. It was initially a business hotel, first opened in 1967 called "Hotel New Meguro", an old cultural icon indicative of Japan's bursting bubble economy completed during the height of expansion and closed sometime in the early 90's. It was meant to be a luxurious departure for businessmen. 

The project was picked up by Iku Hirose of Urban Design System who fell in love with the space for its residual 60’s impression and a previously unexploited space.

q: The Claska itself has a strong connection to the arts, which is a wonderful, though rare concept.  Could you explain how this came about and give some examples of the relationship between the hotel and Tokyo's arts community.

a: By arranging the hotel within a community rather than service location, we can not only assemble a wide-ranging group of talented professionals, but also culminate and foster a unified sense of creative energy. Claska holds a gallery and event space on the second floor (Gallery CLASKA) which is constantly rotated. We have held fashion shows, music performances, graphic design/sculpture/film/video/art/photography exhibitions, parties, etc. The third floor (Platform) holds studio and office space for six companies and organizations, representing fashion, graphic design, architecture, etc.  

q: Your hotel has a very unique concept.  It is a refreshing change from the typical hotels available in many cities.  How did this concept come about - and what elements of the plan are working best for you? 

a: Initially it was as simple as seeing the glaring holes within Tokyo, questioning why a city that has almost everything else NOT have a design hotel, one that captures the uniqueness of Japanese contemporary minimal design in a hip and luxurious setting. More than that, however, we wanted to question the way we look at "living space", challenging the notions of how one should interact with an office, a kitchen, a bedroom, bathroom, etc.

The name "Claska" comes from the Japanese word "kurashi" meaning "living". Using the phrase "dou kurasuka?" (literally, "how do you live?") as a platform for the hotel, we decided to focus on the collaboration between artists and designers, creating a cooperative space where creators can have a studio and contribute to the overall design.

q: Can you tell us about your brief to the architects/interior designers and how the resulting design was decided upon? 

a: The interior spaces of Claska were designed by Mr. Shuwa Tei of Intentionallies (www.intentionallies.co.jp) known primarily for furniture and product design but is steadily gaining recognition as an architect and interior designer. The head architect and producer was Mr. Iku Hirose of Urban Design System. Management operations were led by Mr. Hikaru Okada and Sadahiro Nakamura of Transit. In addition, furniture direction was supplemented by T.C.K.W. and a light installation was created by tomato. In other words, this was less of a single vision and much more of a collaboration that continues today.  

q: What is the one thing that most people miss when visiting Tokyo, which they absolutely should not?

a: Shinbashi Nomiya

To truly explore and understand the culture of the Japanese salaryman, one has to venture beneath the station at Shinbashi on a Thursday night and have a few rounds with a crowd of overworked office men and their inflated egos. Every western perception of drunken Japanese with ties wrapped around their foreheads belting out karaoke top hits from time to time comes to fruition here. Beyond anthropological intents, though, this place is a blast, a veritable maze of stalls, eateries, and bars, many outside. You should not avoid the ubiquitous oden (a selection of squid, egg, fish cake, daikon, etc. boiled in broth with a side of spicy mustard) or the variety of kushi-yaki and yaki-tori while imbibing heavily to forget about the week. 

Two restaurant recommendations (not affiliated with your hotel) with short descriptions:

Perhaps not coincidentally, my two favorite restaurants happen to reside in my favorite area of Tokyo, Naka-Meguro. 

1. Higashi-yama Tokyo

The design is exquisite, with seductive dark atmospheres evoking Japanese tradition with modern touches. A daunting sake and sho-chu selection. Very pricey, but well worth the trip as it perfects simplicity in cuisine: as a final dish to a long evening, I ordered the shio-musubi, literally a mound of rice wrapped in seaweed and flavored only with salt. It was beyond perfection in taste, texture and presentation. Also recommended is the “shirako tempura”, although this might prove daunting for the weak stomached after a disclosing of the main ingredient (without prior knowledge, however, it is possibly the most divine food I have ever eaten). 

2. Torigoya

Tiny, dirty, situated below a noisy train station, yet packed until 3 am and virtually impossible to make a reservation. Call it the punk rock of Japanese cuisine, the restaurant is cluttered with a collage of posters, photos, clippings and graffiti, the proprietor himself is an enka singer in the making, proudly displaying his posters and CD’s, and the food is hearty, simple, cheap and delicious. Their mainstay is a spicy stew made from pork belly (MOTSU NABE), perhaps intimidating for the average westerner, but complements a cold winter night perfectly. 

 One Cafe:

THESE:

More of a lounge than a café, this is an absolute must see. Also dubbed the “Library Lounge”, it boasts an enormous selection of rare books from the design and art world in a dark, velvet atmosphere. I like to come here and curl up with an enormous book while sipping on red wine and possibly indulging in their fantastic curry. Having the opportunity to eat messy food while poring over a $600 book is reason alone to make a visit. 
 

Museums:

Frankly there are too many excellent museum destinations to limit, but my favorite is probably Hara Museum followed closely by ICC. 

Hara was an architect’s residence renovated with most of the original rooms left intact. The exhibitions are to be honest hit or miss, but within its walls lie a series of strangely intersecting passageways and secret corridors that make the experience memorable and oddly chilling. 

ICC could not be any different. This museum is owned by the NTT Corporation and rarely diverges from the hi-tech and contemporary arts. A huge space with highly hands-on exhibitions; picture enormous LED screens, interactive projections, experiments with aural and visual atmospheres, completely immersive settings, etc. and you get an idea of what to expect. Not merely “a cool exhibit”, but always infusing the latest modern theories, this is a must see.