As the first hotel under Aman’s new sibling brand, Janu has established itself as a beacon of social wellness in Tokyo’s soaring Azabudai Hills. But beyond its airy interiors and sprawling spa, the hotel is championing a deeper narrative: a reinvention of how global travelers connect with Japanese culture, each other and themselves.
This August, Janu Tokyo introduced its guest-exclusive Chaji Experience — a multi-chapter journey that takes the centuries-old concept of Chaji (a formal, intimate Japanese tea gathering centered on hospitality and shared presence) and reimagines it through a distinctly contemporary lens.
Part I: Gastronomic Prelude at Iikura
A traditional chaji is much more than just tea, progressing through a light, communal meal into the actual tea ceremony. Janu Tokyo begins its chaji experience at Iikura, the hotel’s refined sushi destination.
Here, guests gather over a seasonal gozen meal — a light, five-course meal featuring sakizuke (appetizer), muko-zuke (sashimi), grilled delicacies, precision-crafted nigiri and a soothing tome-wan soup. The meal delights the palate while gently untangling the restless mind, easing guests out of the city’s hyper-accelerated momentum and setting the stage for emotional and social connection.
Part II: Crossing into Ohashi Saryo
After dining, guests embark on a brief walk from Janu Tokyo into Ohashi Saryo, a Tangible Cultural Property constructed in 1947 by Master Carpenter Seibei Kimura, a celebrated figure in modern Sukiya-style architecture. A legendary tea house, Ohashi Saryo is rarely open to guests at all.
Passing through the wooden gate, guests make their way through a moss-dappled roji (garden path). Tea rooms border the central garden on all four sides, creating a sanctuary intentionally engineered to separate the sacred quiet within from the secular world outside. The space is elegant and muted, with a palpable stillness that has preserved the essence of chanoyu (the way of tea) across generations.
Part III: “Tea Smoke”
It is within the quiet walls of Ohashi Saryo that the experience unveils its most novel, sensory dimension: saen (the tea smoke session), curated in collaboration with Ochill, an art collective based out of Kyoto’s meditation room Ochiru, and directed by culture studio Mucha Kucha.
Rather than sipping tea in the conventional manner, guests will encounter chakou (tea incense) — a nicotine-free, ritualistic inhalation experience that uses a water pipe to heat pure Japanese green tea leaves over charcoal. Inhaled through bespoke bamboo apparatuses, the vapor wraps the room in a delicate cloud of natural aromas.
During the experience, the scent shifts fluidly like a piece of ambient music: beginning with the fresh, verdant notes of young spring shoots, deepening into the warm, comforting roastiness of hojicha and settling into a sweet, meditative linger in the room.
This sensory bath induces a gentle state known as cha-yoi — literally, “tea drunkenness” — a floating, calm feeling of tranquility.
The concept stems from Ochill’s philosophy of “well-down.” While western wellness often emphasizes “well-being,” Ochill proposes well-down: the art of stripping away social pressure, decelerating from an overstimulated world and becoming comfortable with one’s natural, unadorned self. It draws deeply on classical Zen concepts like Taru wo shiru — knowing content in what suffices.
A Modern Tea Gathering for the Soul
Following the chakou session, the ritual concludes with traditional matcha and seasonal wagashi, allowing guests to savor the afterglow with a quiet, shared tea ceremony.
Janu Tokyo’s Chaji Experience offers something memorable: an intentional pause that stimulates all the senses and transports guests across the hyper-metropolitan Azabudai Hills to the historic Ohashi Saryo. By honoring the structural soul of classic tea hospitality while boldly weaving in modern innovation and social wellness, it redefines what it means to truly experience Tokyo today.
What To Know Before You Go
- When: Available from August 1, 2026
- Price: ¥80,000 inclusive of tax and service (for 2 guests)
- Who can book: Staying guests only, via Janu Tokyo Concierge
- What’s included: Seasonal gozen meal with sake pairing at Iikura; chakou session and matcha ceremony at Ohashi Saryo
- Advance reservation: Recommend confirming directly with concierge on lead time
