Winter in Tokyo is chilly, dry and harsh. Rather than lament the blustery weather, head for one of the city’s sleek spas, where you can treat your skin to some well-deserved pampering — no matter what the forecast says.
These are some of the capital’s top spots for achieving a healthy glow and dewy skin, and escaping the winter blues.
An exclusive spa with an avant-garde, alpine-inspired design, this sleek facility within Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Palace Hotel Tokyo is Japan’s first Evian-branded retreat. Be sure to arrive early to make use of a luxurious white marble sauna, pool and hot tub before your treatments. You’ll enjoy a tranquil view of the Imperial Palace Gardens as you soak or a swim.
Services here focus on mineral enrichment using Parisian skincare brands Omnisens and Anne Semonin — the latter’s custom-blended concoctions are especially suited to colder seasons with rich moisturizing qualities. For the ultimate winter indulgence, opt for the Evian Spa Tokyo Ritual 2. This 210-minute treatment features your choice of blissful body service, facial and scrub followed by a spirulina (algae) body wrap that will leave you glowing from head to toe.
It’s easy to forget you’re in the middle of a freezing Tokyo winter at this gorgeous Four-Star facility.
Tucked within Four-Star Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo’s ancient Japanese garden, the spa’s all-season pool is enclosed by a greenhouse-like structure with a retractable roof, allowing for plenty of natural light and views of gorgeous greenery. An onsen (Japanese hot pool) filled with mineral-rich spring water sourced from Shizouka prefecture provides a warming detour done with a luxurious local touch.
When it comes to treatments, you’ll be spoiled for choice with a menu of more than two dozen services. Of course, you can stick with a classic like a hot stone massage or a rose-scented scrub and wrap, but the specialty here is the selection of facials featuring luxe L’Occitane products — Yu is said to be the only spa in Japan to offer the French brand’s therapies.
When you need a respite from the biting cold, seek out this Five-Star oasis within Five-Star The Peninsula Tokyo. You could easily while away a chilly afternoon in the spa’s Thermal Suite, rotating among aromatherapy showers, a crystal steam room and sauna— a wonderful way to rehydrate the whole body in Tokyo’s dry season.
The menu has an Asian influence, as does the décor with its rich golden hues and Japanese washi paper interior. The Peninsula Spa’s nine rooms are stylish and sumptuous, equipped with private showers and adjustable heated treatment beds.
Reward yourself with the Zen Balancing or Chi Healing ritual. Both seek to restore balance through natural healing. The former does so with highly targeted massages using jade stones. The latter uses a blend of therapeutic herbs. For more targeted results, go for an oxygen-infused facial that promises to leave your skin looking younger and firmer after a single treatment.
