The Best Aman Resorts in Japan

Nowhere has Aman built a more compelling collection than in Japan, where its philosophy of space, silence and reverence for place feels almost native. Three resorts, soon to be four, form the finest luxury journey in the country, from the top of a Tokyo tower to a hidden Kyoto garden to the hot springs of Ise-Shima. Here is how they compare, and how to string them together.

Aman Tokyo occupies the top floors of the Otemachi Tower above the Imperial Palace gardens, the highest onsen hotel in the city, with a 30-metre pool, a vast Aman Suite, the Musashi omakase sushi counter, and shoji-screened rooms that achieve the impossible: complete stillness in the centre of the world's largest city. It is the ideal first and last stop on a Japan trip.

Aman Kyoto hides in a secret garden at the heart of a forest, a stone's throw from Kinkaku-ji and sixteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites. With private onsen, kaiseki dining at Taka-An, and morning walks through temple gardens found by few visitors, it is the most private and otherworldly address in Japan's most beautiful city.

Amanemu sits beside Ago Bay amid the forested hills of Ise-Shima, a ryokan-inspired onsen resort of suites with private hot-spring baths, guided experiences with local pearl fishers, and access to the sacred Ise Grand Shrine. It is the place to slow down completely.

Aman is also bringing its philosophy to the ski slopes of Hokkaido with Aman Niseko, which will complete the Japanese collection with a mountain retreat in the country's finest powder. We can register interest ahead of the opening.

For a direct head-to-head of the two city-and-culture anchors, see Aman Tokyo versus Aman Kyoto, and for the wider picture, our guide to booking Aman.