Spotlight on Old Imperial Bar, Tokyo, Japan
“That lamp is Frank Lloyd Wrong.”
-Briana Stanley, best friend and Design Director for the Soho and Tribeca Grand Hotels, 2011
Now, let’s shed some light on a place that went very, very Wright: The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Imperial Hotel in the Ginza district of Tokyo. Modeled in the Maya Revival Style of architecture, the pyramid-like space also loosely copies Maya motifs in decor.
The hotel’s Old Imperial Bar on the second floor has iconic status too, and this is where my boyfriend and I stopped by for a drink before dining at the 3-Michelin-starred Sushi Mizutani.
Here is the view as overlooking the lobby:
Upon arrival to the bar, you will be greeted by this poster:
Hexagons in no short supply:
Frequenters of this institution resemble institutions themselves:
A cavernous cutout to display the riches:
Now, you might be wondering why these photos are so dimly-lit. Well, the answer is not for the dim-witted! As my boyfriend put it best, “The customers are not the show here. The cocktails are.” ‘Tis true, each seat put you front row to your own private stage, where the cocktails truly are the stars.
I ordered the Imperial 70. Sort of like a distant cousin to the French 75 or Sidecar, it contains dry gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, angostura bitters with a sugar rim.
My boyfriend ordered the Mount Fuji, the bar’s own 1924 creation: Dry gin, lemon juice, pineapple juice, egg white, and maraschino cherry.
All in all, Briana would surely say that the lamps here get everything right, right, right.
