In 1915, the year following the opening of Tokyo Station, Tokyo Station Hotel opened as a European-style hotel with 56 guestrooms and a banquet hall. The Hotel was located within Tokyo Station, a landmark structure designed by Kingo Tatsuno, the famed modern architect of the Meiji Era. Guests from Japan and overseas were invited to stay in order to enjoy the splendid architecture and state-of-the-art accommodations, including a rare elevator installed in the front hall. The managing company was Seiyoken in Tsukiji, a restaurant operator celebrated by a saying of the day: “Imperial Hotel for best accommodation, Seiyoken for best cuisine.” When the Great Kanto Earthquake struck in 1923, the Hotel accepted many evacuees from other hotels that had collapsed and burnt. In 1933, Tokyo Station Hotel was renamed TOKYO RAILWAY HOTEL and placed under the direct control of the Ministry of Railways. The Hotel was a refuge of peace for many guests amid the rising threat of war.

The Hotel lost its roof in a wartime air raid in 1945. The structure was redesigned and rebuilt as a two-story structure, one story lower than before, within the Marunouchi station building. From then it gained renown as a favorite haunt and literary subject for legendary novelists. The novels Kaijin Niju Menso by Edogawa Rampo and Tokyo Nikki by Hyakken Uchida took place in the guestrooms of the Station Hotel. During a month-long stay, Yasunari Kawabata penned Onna de Arukoto, immortalizing the room on the dome-side of the Hotel. Seicho Matsumoto is said to have conceived the tricky plot twist in his famous mystery Ten to Sen while staying at the Hotel. The novels Hotel Story by Yoko Mori and Tokyo Eki de Kieta by Shizuko Natsuki are also set there.

The Hotel added one of Japan’s first coffee when it reopened in 1951 after World War II. Visitors swarmed in to try the newfangled sandwiches and hamburg steaks. Another popular draw was a bar, an expansive bar that soon would be known for its legendary bartender. Over the many decades since, the Hotel has captured the hearts of executives working in Marunouchi and fans from all over the country.

The Hotel has repeatedly reinvented itself since the eighties by reading the latest trends and customer preferences. Guestrooms, banquet halls, and restaurants are renovated decade by decade and a stand-alone garden chapel and Metropolitan Floor with premier-class guestrooms have been added. From its inception, the Hotel has worked steadily to attract cosmopolitan guests from overseas (inbound). Nowadays, half of the guests who stay there arrive from foreign countries. Hotel Metropolitan will continue to grow as an international hotel with the support of its many Japanese and overseas guests.

On June 30, 1985, HOTEL METROPOLITAN EDMONT TOKYO (formerly Hotel Edmont) opened on the site of the former switchyard in Iida-machi, a less than ideal location with few offices and commercial facilities. To establish branding through dining, the Hotel called on Katsuhiro Nakamura (currently Honorary Grand Chef of NIPPON HOTEL Co., Ltd.), the first Michelin star winner in Japan. The dishes served in the restaurants and hotel banquets became a sensation, largely thanks to the culinary direction of the Hotel’s talented chefs. The Hotel remains a favorite for celebrities to this day: “Edmont for the best food.”

To win the affections of groups and families as well, the Hotel became a participant of The Tokyo Disney Resort’s Good Neighbor Hotel Program in 2002. The EAST WING (220 rooms) was added the following year. With the development of neighboring areas such as the nearby I-Garden Air complex, the Hotel has captured the hearts of the local community, as well as business and tourist guests. The neighborhood and hotel are growing together.