Purple Magazine
— Purple #43 S/S 2025
The Tokyo Diary Issue
the original hotel okura
by VALERIE SADOUN
The Hotel Okura opened in 1962 in the Toranomon district, near the Okura Museum of Art and behind the American Embassy, just two years before the Tokyo Olympics. Designed by architect Yoshiro Taniguchi, this modernist masterpiece embodied Japanese aesthetics, elegance, and hospitality, symbolizing Japan’s postwar resurgence alongside the 1964 Olympic Games. Its interior design was partly inspired by ginkgo tree leaves. The Okura quickly became the hotel for international artists and celebrities, like John and Yoko, Patti Smith, Björk, and Barack Obama.
In 2015, the hotel was entirely demolished and rebuilt by 2019, featuring two wings: one on the site of the original hotel and the other in a new skyscraper. The new design preserves the spirit of the original, with a grand hall echoing its iconic aesthetics.
HOTEL OKURA, DESIGNED BY TANIGUCHI AND ASSOCIATES / TAISEI DESIGN PLANNERS ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS, OPENED IN 1962, AND RENOVATED BY ARCHITECT YOSHIO TANIGUCHI IN 2019, PHOTOS VALERIE SADOUN
