Greenery, community, artistry: Trunk Hotel Yoyogi Park makes you see Tokyo in a different light

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The seven- floor Yoyogi Park resort’s concrete wall, with plants drooping over the balconies, blended so well with its surroundings that I nearly missed the entrance, not least because it was a bland side door that slid softly opened when you press the doorbell or tap with a crucial card. Certainly, host private was zealously guarded here: Outsiders have no access to the top share team where there is a club, heated pool and Jacuzzi. The only business you’ll own is your” tribe”, the kind that values recover and rest as much as the excitement of the area.

But the Interior Shibuya beauty still wafts through. Surrounding the hotel is a plethora of lovely cafes, great bars, exclusive restaurants, bookshops, art galleries and yet people baths — all summarised into a nifty pocket- sized map for guests to bring about. The hotel’s only restaurant, the ground floor Pizzeria e Trattoria L’Ombelico is family- friendly, pet- friendly, and mostly filled with locals. The menu is an Italian roll call of classics done right, namely wood- fired, Neapolitan- style pizzas whose cheeses bubble and tomatoes tease your tongue with their sweet tang, and perfectly al dente pastas with clingy sauces. The lunch sets were the best deals, winning even at the appetisers, which were tiny but mighty on flavours. Breezy Italian wines and beers, including a Yoyogi Amber Ale from a microbrewery down the road, add to the convivial air.

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Janu Tokyo: Everything you need to know about Aman’s newest hotel brand

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Janu Tokyo has more guestrooms than any of the urban Aman properties and has 122 rooms and suites spread across eight floors ( between sixth and thirteenth levels ). If there’s an element that Janu shares with Aman, but, it’s the benevolence of place with the entry- stage rooms starting at 55 sq m and most featuring personal balconies. Additionally, Janu has a lot of connecting areas, which are ideal for both friends and families.

Aman designed the playbook with a quiet, luxurious aesthetic, which reigns at Janu thanks to a beautiful color canvas of greys and creams, an open layout ingeniously defined by screens, and a common, streamlined design. Intentionally woven in are Japanese elements such as a” sakan” ( traditional plasterwork ) artwork hanging above the bed, partitions referencing shoji screens, and washi paper details throughout.

The Tokyo Tower Suite, a dual-aspect space with postcard-perfect sights of the castle from every window, is a special standout. The most desired area is the 284- square- m Janu Suite, which has two sprawling balconies, a restaurant and pub, a dining table good for six, a distinct study- cum- library and more. When connected to the three adjacent areas, it measures a total of more 500 square meters, making it one of the most roomy in the whole area.

THE HIGHLIGHT: AN Unprecedented WELLNESS ESCAPE

Wellness has been a major part of the photo since Janu was first introduced, and the 4, 000-square-meter spa shows just how critical they are about it. The wellness center has everything you could want for a hotel guest and Janu Tokyo Wellness Collective people. The 340- square- m treadmill has Outrace equipment, which allows for 1, 000 ways of training with one platform, the higher- end Skill X fitness cardio equipment, a standalone boxing ring, a distinct rolling studio, a dedicated yoga and meditation space, and perhaps a simulation golf room.

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On top of the world: Hotel penthouse suites in Asia offering the ultimate luxury stay

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It is no surprise that Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, wanted to host her baby shower in the penthouse of The Mark Hotel in New York. Aside from the panoramic views, exquisite decor by renowned French interior designer Jacques Grange, a living room with 26-foot-high ceilings, a conservatory and six bathrooms, hotel concierge services, valet parking and catering are already at hand in the 12,000-sq-ft home-away-from-home.

The penthouse suite is now the most exclusive accommodation one can book in some hotels, taking over the usual presidential suite. Ranim Ben Romdhane, general manager at The Singapore Edition agreed: “The penthouse category is the most premier tier of rooms, offering guests an elevated, new and unique experience. It was created for guests seeking a private sanctuary while having access to the full catalogue of signature Edition services and amenities, as well as the compelling dining experiences found in every Edition hotel. Most penthouses also come with 24-hour concierge services.”

Not surprising then, hotel penthouses come with hefty price tags – costs start at USD$75,000 (S$100,824) per night for The Mark Hotel’s penthouse – so they cater to a very select crowd. Aside from dignitaries, target guests are “C-suites and executives looking to entertain while in Singapore for business, celebrities, artistes and multigenerational families who want the privacy of a large space,” Romdhane highlighted. They are also gaining popularity as venues for luxury brands to host intimate events for top-tier clients.

Here, we highlight six hotel penthouses in the region with less modest footprints and prices than what Markle paid for but are no less exquisite.

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This luxury getaway in Bali lets you choose your own path to wellness

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Others, like the quantum healing visualisation session, as well as the women circle healing and unveiling masculine healing are perhaps more suited for those who may be more ready to face their emotional and mental “blockages” head on.

The first session of the day was vibrational sound therapy, where metal Tibetan singing bowls are used to create healing sounds at specific frequencies. When done well, proponents of this practice swear by its therapeutic benefits. Unfortunately, I found it impossible to get anywhere close to nirvana because the well-meaning instructor had placed the metal bowls right next to our ears, so each chime felt like an alarm clock jolting me right back to my senses.

Thankfully, the next chakra balancing activity, which featured a gentle series of stretching and strengthening exercises as well as another shorter sound therapy session, worked wonders at resetting my jangled nerves.

(Tip: Those who would like to maximise their wellness activities should check out the timetable of sessions before making reservations to ensure their stay overlaps with the classes and workshops they are interested in attending.)

After all that activity, it was time to visit the crowning glory of Mandapa’s wellness line-up – its spa. Besides a range of facilities like steam rooms, saunas and a rooftop vitality pool which is open to the resort’s guests, there is also an extensive treatment menu of facials, scrubs, massages, and all manner of beauty treatments. As its name implies, the Blissful Marma Massage, which features firm, flowing strokes, worked like a charm in soothing muscular tension.

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A leopard sighting of epic proportions on safari and more in Sri Lanka

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Yala is the second largest national park in Sri Lanka, and its semi-arid landscape consists of vast expanses of open terrain carpeted with grasslands, shrubs, lagoons and sand dunes. The best time to visit is between February and July when the water levels are quite low, as this apparently brings the animals into the open.

Five minutes in, we caught sight of a plethora of peacock (they proliferate in abundance here, with no natural predators), storks wading in a lagoon, a crocodile basking at the water’s edge, an elephant in the far distance, and a water buffalo semi-submerged on this lazy afternoon.

Well, I guess we’re continuing on this safari until we accomplish our mission. Or till the park closes at 6pm, at least.

We encountered herds of spotted deer grazing as well as gray langur monkeys perched in trees who, as if on cue, turned their backs to our phones, signalling their distaste for the unwelcome intrusion of technology.

This is so diametrically opposed to the behaviour of their primate cousins in popular holiday destinations like Thailand, for instance, where the monkeys have notoriously skilled themselves in the non-verbal art of negotiating for, or outright thieving of, food as an egregious consequence of overtourism.

Now the presence of deers and monkeys, however, is not a good harbinger that a leopard sighting is imminent. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, said Sam. He explained how, in this delicate yet well-established ecosystem, such preys have (almost) perfectly honed instincts to detect if their would-be killers are in the vicinity.

Watching a David Attenborough documentary is one thing, but to see Darwin’s theory potentially play out in the flesh is something else altogether. It gives you a much deeper understanding of nature, and a greater appreciation and respect for the natural world. To this end, I was privately hoping we might be so lucky as to witness panthera pardus kotiya savagely secure its dinner this fateful day.

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Why Pangkor Laut Resort in Malaysia launched an opera festival

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But somewhat incongruously, there are just about 200 of us gathered at Pangkor Laut Resort, a private island in Perak, Malaysia for this performance ‒ the inaugural annual Opera in Paradise weekend festival held in honour of the legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

While modest in size, the line-up, which was curated by Griminelli who also serves as musical director for the event, was compelling enough for some guests to fly in specially from Singapore just for the concert (the resort is either a three-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur or a 90-minute drive from Ipoh, followed by a 15-minute ferry ride).

Also among the opera fans in attendance were VIPs including Dato Mark Yeoh, executive director of YTL Corporation’s hotels and resorts division, which owns the resort; Rebekah Yeoh, corporate finance director at YTL Corporation; as well as their business associates.

It begs the question: Why would a private island resort go to such lengths to launch an opera festival?

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What’s it like to go diving with the haenyeo in Jeju Island, South Korea

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Today, Jeju’s close-knit haenyeo community numbers some 3,200 women scattered along the island’s gorgeous coastline. In Seogwipo, the district where JW Marriott is located, there are around 50 active members, though a generation ago, they numbered 150. 

At the local Beophwan Haenyeo Experience Center, a few minutes drive from the hotel, we were collected by Mija Ko, a petite, sprightly, bright-eyed woman who, at 19, began working as a haenyeo to help raise her family. That was 50 years ago. “I was born and raised in the ocean,” she said as she checked my wetsuit. I couldn’t help but marvel at her smooth snowy-white skin. She had no pores. It was like looking at a dolphin. “My mother-in-law was a haenyeo, but we’re the only ones in our family.”

Every day at 8am, Ko scrambles across a narrow strip of basalt rocks out to the bay and ocean. From January to May, the sea yields a harvest of shellfish, abalone and sea cucumber. From the end of June to July, it’s all about uni, though this year, the season lasted just five to six days on account of the high waves. On a good day, she collects a kilo of seafood which she sells at a fixed rate of 150,000 KRW (S$153), of which 2000 KRW (S$2) is donated to the haenyo community as a kind of tithe.

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