Four Seasons Chinzan-so: Japanese tradition, Western lavishness

Four Seasons Chinzan-so has the ornate interior and luxury facilities standard in any high-end hotel, but the real draw are the spas and gardens.

The hotel's somewhat obscure location in Mejiro makes tourist destinations a serious schlep, but leisure travelers will love Chinzanso's 130-year-old historical temple setting and expansive grounds of traditional landscaping (we sure did). 

The faux-European interior, with buttery design accents and Rococo style, is rather incongruous with the surroundings, considering the location is North Tokyo and not Paris. But with the best spa in the city, featuring a pool with a retractable roof, onsen baths and a spiffy spa where you can loll around all day having wasabi scrubs and the like, Four Seasons Chinzan-so offers all the ingredients at your fingertips for a true urban escape.