One of my favourite movies is Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, a story of lonely newly-wed Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) and faded movie star Bob (Bill Murray) who strike up a quirky friendship in Tokyo. Of course, for me, the biggest appeal of the movie is the backdrop of the bright lights of Japan’s capital city, and I knew that when I eventually returned to Japan I wanted to have my own ‘Lost in Translation’ moment.

That is, to visit the hotel where the film was set, not sing karaoke with Bill Murray… although that would be pretty cool! The characters in the movie stay at the Park Hyatt hotel – a 5 star luxury hotel rated number 1 in Shinjuku on TripAdvisor, and sadly WAY out of my budget.

So I couldn’t afford to stay at the hotel, but all was not lost (excuse the pun), we would just go for a drink at the bar instead. The New York Bar features quite prominently in the movie and has a spectacular view over Shinjuku. As the hotel applies a cover charge of 2,200Y (about £12) after 7 or 8pm, we headed to Shinjuku fairly early in order to have one drink and then leave before having to pay said cover charge. We must have arrived sometime between 5 and 6pm, so we had plenty of time to sip a drink and savour the view. We were also early enough to be seated at one of the small tables, closer to the window, rather than at the long bar at the back.

I already knew what drink I wanted, you can’t be a Lost in Translation fan and not try the L.I.T cocktail – named after the film. The L.I.T consists of sake, sakura liqueur, peachtree and cranberry juice – all very Japanesey and delicious! My husband (not much of a fan of the film) just ordered a beer and the waiter brought us over a little bowl of spicy nuts (which may or may not have been complimentary, I’m not sure).

We didn’t get a seat right next to the window, however we did get up to take a few pictures, sadly the camera doesn’t quite do justice to what the naked eye can see.

As we enjoyed our drinks and soaked up the atmosphere, we noticed that the bar began to fill up quite quickly, perhaps people were arriving for the jazz performance due to start at 8pm. We could have easily stayed a little longer but as it was quite expensive (my cocktail was 1,900Y / £10GBP), we decided to just stay for the one drink.

All in all I enjoyed my Lost in Translation moment and you never know, if I make it back to Tokyo for a third time, perhaps I’ll be wealthy enough to stay at the Park Hyatt.

Top tips for the L.I.T fans

  • Look presentable. This is a stylish place, so wear the smartest clothing in your suitcase. For me, that was a pair of black trousers, some black ballet pumps and a pretty top.
  • Allow yourself plenty of time because once you get inside the Park Hyatt it isn’t as straight forward as heading to the bar, there are steps and elevators and plush corridors to navigate first.
  • Aim to arrive before 8pm (or 7pm on a Sunday) to avoid paying a cover charge.
  • Don’t forget your camera!

You might also like...

4 Comments

  1. Stephanie Freeman

    This is such an awesome view I bet! Thanks for the information I am going to have to take my husband there soon as we currently are living just outside of Tokyo 🙂

    1. I’m glad it helped. Yes the view is amazing, my photos don’t do it justice!

  2. […] encourage anyone with an interest in Japan to watch it and it may even inspire you to have your own ‘Lost in Translation’ moment like I […]

  3. […] perhaps if I’m rich enough I’ll go stay at the Park Hyatt and have my own ‘Lost in Translation‘ […]

Leave a Reply