Asia & The Pacific Archives - Four Seasons Magazine

Luxury Travel in Japan: A Journey Through Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka

Posted on October 12, 2026 by Phoebe Neuman

Japan is a land of contrasts: subtropical islands and snow-capped mountains, sprawling urban landscapes and ancient forests, a drive to embrace the future and a deep connection to tradition.

The best luxury Japan itineraries lean into the country’s points of duality, giving you the opportunity to experience its multitudes in ways that dive far deeper than your average sightseeing tour. And that’s exactly what the new Japan: The Art of Old & New trip from Four Seasons has in store for travellers.

The nine-day Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka itinerary has been handcrafted by local experts to dive deep into the distinct worlds of the country’s most iconic cities. Here, we share a taste of the kind of immersive experiences—and classic Four Seasons hospitality—you’ll encounter as you make your way across the Land of the Rising Sun.

A view of Tokyo from Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi

Witnessing Tradition & Innovation in Tokyo

There’s no place in the world where tradition and innovation come together quite like they do in Tokyo. As JK Lee, Chief Concierge at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi (where guests will be staying in the city), puts it, “While [Tokyo] is often celebrated for its energy and innovation, traditions remain deeply woven into everyday life.” He recommends balancing trips to Shibuya or Shinjuku with early morning visits to Toyosu Fish Market and the sumo stables as “an opportunity to slow down, connect with the local culture in a meaningful way, and [experience] the contrast that makes Tokyo so fascinating.”

Tuna for sale at Toyosu fish market — Cuts of the freshest tuna for auction at Toyosu Fish Market

Toyosu Fish Market Tour

While the Toyosu Fish Market itself opened in 2018, replacing the historic Tsukiji market, mornings here carry on a tradition that stretches 400 years back to the Edo period. Then, tuna was sold in the shadow of Edo Castle each morning. Today, the city’s top chefs descend on the floor of the market for the Toyosu tuna auction, jockeying for the day’s best cuts.

Guests of Four Seasons get a front-row seat to the fast-paced auction with a private tour of Toyosu Fish Market—one of the largest fish markets in the world—that is well worth the 4:00 a.m. wake-up call. The experience includes exclusive access to areas of the market few visitors ever see, including 1F: the sanctum within the market where sushi masters make their first and finest selections. While there, they’ll watch as the day’s best tuna is bought, and later, they’ll get to learn the art of sushi making alongside master sushi chefs.

Sumo practice — Morning practice at Tokyo’s sumo stables

Tokyo Sumo Morning Practice Tour

An invitation to morning practice at one of Tokyo’s premier sumo stables is another experience that connects Four Seasons guests to the city’s history. In the stable, each day unfolds as it has for centuries. The sport was first professionalized by Tokyo’s leaders during the Edo period, when proceeds of tournaments were used to raise funds to construct the shrines and build infrastructure. (Some of which guests will get a closer look at on a private tour of the city following the stable visit.)

The experience is a visceral one: guests take their seats just steps away from the wrestlers to watch as they stretch and warm up and then step into the sacred circular dohyo to practice sparring. Expect the floor to rumble and the walls to shake as wrestlers go head-to-head, practicing traditional throws, falls, and grips in an attempt to push each other from the ring or body slam their opponents to the ground.

VIRTÙ at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi

Tokyo Night Tour: Bar Hopping in Golden Gai and Beyond

While the quiet of the morning gives space for Tokyo’s traditions to become more visible, the neon glow of the city at night is when its innovative spirit manifests. Nowhere is that more visible than Shinjuku Golden Gai, the birthplace of Tokyo’s vibrant nightlife scene, where salarymen and counterculture rebels alike belly up to the bar.

Guests of Four Seasons get an inside track to the best of the city’s bars led by the bartenders at VIRTÙ, Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi’s award-winning cocktail bar. At each stop on the bar-hopping tour of Golden Gai and beyond (the destinations on each tour can be tailored to guests’ preferences), they’ll do more than just sip outstanding pours of whiskey and shochu—they’ll get to meet the visionaries shaping the city’s cocktail scene, adapting traditional techniques for the modern palate.

Finding Stillness in Kyoto

Originally called Heian-kyō, which translates to “capital of peace and tranquillity,” Kyoto is an ideal next stop after a fast few days in Tokyo, where the quietude of the city’s shrines and traditions resonate all the more deeply.

Kyoto’s enigmatic peacefulness is easy to tap into for guests of Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, where the rooms, which blend modern minimalist design and traditional Japanese accents, are centred around Shakusui-en, an 800-year-old pond garden. Tucked into the heart of Higashiyama, the hotel is the perfect place to become immersed in the ancient rituals and deep sense of spirituality that permeate Japan’s ancient capital city.

Forest Bathing at Fushimi Inari

Though it sounds ancient, the practice of shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” is surprisingly modern—it was introduced in the early 1980s by the Japanese government as part of the nation’s public health programming. Informed by Zen traditions, the practice is a simple one: take a few quiet moments of stillness to fully experience the sensory experience of being in the forest. Thought to be an antidote to the stress of city living, forest bathing is routinely used in Japan to help improve sleep, mood, and stress levels.

Forest bathing can happen in any pocket of nature, but Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari shrine complex is an extraordinary place to participate in the practice. Guided by a cultural ambassador, guests of Four Seasons can spend a morning hiking the paths lined by the iconic vermillion torii gates and finding moments of stillness to let the experience of being in the forest wash over them. As one of the ambassadors who leads the experience explains, “Away from the busiest paths, this journey through nature, history, culture, and faith invites [guests] to slow down, reconnect, and experience the shrine in a more peaceful and meaningful way.”

A tea ceremony at Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto — A tranquil moment during a tea ceremony at Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto Tea Ceremony

A stay in Kyoto is an exercise in being present, and perhaps no tradition encourages that kind of mindfulness more than a matcha tea ceremony. Guests of Four Seasons can learn the art of traditional matcha preparation alongside the hotel’s resident Tea Master. Held in Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto’s on-property tea house, FUJU, the ceremony guides guests through the carefully choreographed ritual of preparing, serving, and tasting matcha—an art form that takes tea masters years to learn.

The ceremony, which was originally developed by master Sen no Rikyu in the 16th century, has long been a central part of Japanese political and social culture. Today, the careful art of preparing matcha is an opportunity to come together to practice patience, presence, and paying careful attention to the beauty of the smallest details.

Osaka nighttime — The vibrant lights of downtown Osaka

A Craft-Driven, Foodie-Fuelled Taste of Osaka

Osaka is the final destination of the Japan: The Art of Old & New itinerary—and is a fitting place for the journey to end. For 1,500 years, Osaka functioned as one of the gateways to Japan, serving as the site of cultural exchange, innovation, and trade that had far-reaching influence on the rest of the country. Today, remnants of the city’s history—which include ruins of Naniwa Palace (one of Japan’s earliest imperial palaces)—sit comfortably alongside ultramodern skyscrapers and a glittering skyline.

A stay at Four Seasons Hotel Osaka puts the city’s past and present on full display. Guests on the Japan: The Art of Old & New trip will stay on the GENSUI floor, where the Tatami Premier Rooms reimagine the traditional ryokan architecture and approach to hospitality for the 21^st century. Located in the historic Dojima neighbourhood, just steps from the bustling Osaka Station and Umeda, the hotel is a crossroads of Osaka old and new—and an ideal place to embrace the city’s rich history of craftsmanship and culinary arts.

traditional kiriko glass — The intricate details of traditional Japanese Kiriko glass

Kiriko Glass Making

Though Tokyo is more known for glassmaking today, the art of Kiriko glass—in which fluid lines and sweeping patterns are carefully cut into colorful glass—was pioneered in the Osaka’s Temma neighbourhood in the 1700s. (Edo Kiriko, now more common, traces its roots back to Osaka.) While few of the family-owned workshops that once served as the centre of Japan’s glass industry still exist, there are a handful of artisans keeping the tradition—a confluence of European techniques first introduced by Dutch traders in the 1700s and Japanese aesthetic sensibility—alive and well.

Guests of Four Seasons will have the exclusive opportunity to learn the art of Kiriko glassmaking from a master craftsman at Temma Kiriko, a workshop founded in 1933. While there, they’ll watch as artisans blend time-honoured techniques with innovative designs and will collaborate with them on a unique piece of colourful cut glassware to take home as a treasured memento.

A dish served at Sushi L'Abysse Osaka Yannick Alléno — Endives Salad & Marinated Radicchio served at Sushi L’Abysse Osaka Yannick Alléno

Osaka’s Culinary Craft

Osaka’s history of craftsmanship extends beyond handmade art and objects and into the city’s culinary legacy. Known as the “kitchen of the nation,” the city has long played a key role in getting rice and other ingredients from farmers to the rest of the country. Today, access to fresh ingredients and melting-pot history still define Osaka’s culinary scene—and the approach to dining at Four Seasons Hotel Osaka.

Inspired by Osaka’s history as a place where cultures come together, Sushi L’Abysse Osaka Yannick Alléno, brings the precision of Edomae sushi to French haute cuisine. The Omakase menu is a collaboration between the Michelin-distinguished chef Yannick Alléno and sushi expert Chef Yasuda Itaru, where the season’s best ingredients are combined into innovative courses that showcase the best of both French and Japanese culinary arts.

If dinner at Sushi L’Abysse Osaka Yannick Alléno is where cultures collide, breakfast at SABO Lounge (exclusively available to GENSUI floor guests) is where the essence of Japanese ingredients is distilled. Starting the morning with a bento-style breakfast is, as SABO Supervisor Aina Ota puts it, “a simple yet meaningful way to experience the flavours of Osaka.” It’s also an excellent way to fuel up for a day spent touring Kuromon Ichiba Market, where Osaka’s reputation as the nation’s kitchen is on full display.

A Journey Through Japan

The latest multi-destination itinerary from Four Seasons is more than a whirlwind tour of the country’s most iconic destinations. It’s a ticket to a deeper experience, where Four Seasons’ unparalleled hospitality opens the door to a side of the country few visitors get to experience. From early mornings spent alongside tuna auctioneers and afternoons when savouring a cup of matcha prepared by a tea master is the only thing on the itinerary to evenings spent bathed in the neon glow of Dotonbori, the journey is a curated mix of contrasts unlike any other.

Learn more about the Japan: The Art of Old & New itinerary and book your journey here.

Tradition, Craft, and the Art of Memory Making at Four Seasons Chiang Mai

Posted on October 9, 2026October 8, 2026 by Phoebe Neuman

The most memorable moments are the ones that engage the senses: The feeling of rice paper beneath your fingers as you practice the art of lantern making. The sight of your children smiling and the sound of their laughter as they delight in learning a new skill. The lingering smell of spices and taste of fresh ingredients from the meal cooked together earlier that day. These are the paths by which the present moment becomes etched into memory.

Stays at Four Seasons hotels and resorts are crafted with this philosophy in mind. At Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, the artisans, chefs, and staff use Northern Thai traditions to create lasting impressions on guests. When they lead a workshop at the traditional Chaan Ban or host a cooking class in the open-air kitchen, they’re not just teaching—they’re noticing what inspires your senses, building connections around craft, and creating moments where you feel like you’re known by heart. “These simple things are a way to share our way of life,” says Mother Noi, who leads a traditional flower floating workshop at the resort. “The flowers may not last forever, but I hope the memory of the moment does.”

Here, we share just a few of the ways the craftspeople at Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai create deeply personal experiences that engage the senses and create lifelong memories.

Lighting the Way

The open-air lobby at Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai is where guests first encounter the breathtaking beauty of Loy Krathong—a festival held every November when thousands of floating paper lanterns are released into rivers, lakes, and waterlogged rice paddies across Thailand. The magic of the festival is captured in a larger-than-life mural that greets guests upon check-in.

The story of Loy Krathong is one that staff loves to share, and they find ways to turn a Thai tradition into a beloved family memory. An open afternoon becomes a chance to embrace the traditions of Loy Krathong, when one of the Resort’s artisans visits a guest’s villa with paper to craft lanterns and banana leaves to make krathongs, teaching the children these traditional Thai crafts. Come dusk, the resort’s lotus pond becomes a place where the lanterns made earlier that day can be launched.

“I grew up seeing lanterns as part of life and celebrations in Chiang Mai, so this tradition has always felt very close to me,” says Kanchana, one of the artisans at Four Seasons Chiang Mai. “It makes me happy to know that something we have learned and passed down through generations can be shared with people from around the world,” she explains. “Not only can they take home what they have made, but also a special memory of their time in Chiang Mai.”

Chef at Four Seasons Chiang Mai leading cooking lesson

Tastes of Tradition

During chef-led cooking classes at RIM Thai Kitchen, guests aren’t the only ones learning. What chefs notice about guests during a few shared hours in the kitchen allows the experience of the cooking class to extend into the rest of their stay—and become moments that linger long after the journey ends. A guest’s story of how the smell of fresh basil harvested in the secret garden reminds them of their grandmother inspires the chef to use a little extra Holy Basil in the stir-fry they make for them the next day. The thong muan a child loved during their lesson becomes an afternoon ritual as staff surprises their family by the pool each afternoon with a plate of the delicate coconut wafers.

“Moments like that stay with me,” says Astuti Singh, senior Director of Digital Marketing, Public Relations and Communications at Four Seasons, “because they remind us that we may begin by sharing something from our culture, but our guests often give something back to us, too.” In these classes, the tastes, smells, and sounds of traditional Thai cooking bring families together—writing new traditions in the ancient flavours of khao soi curry and maing kham.

Four Seasons Chiang Mai rice farmer sharing leaf figurine with girl

Woven Mementos

Four Seasons Chiang Mai is built around a working farm and rice paddies, giving guests the opportunity to experience the rhythms of life as they’ve played out in the mountains of Northern Thailand for centuries. The verdant leaves of the rice plants and palm trees create the rippling greens of the iconic landscape and are the materials used in many traditional Thai crafts.

Across the resort, artisans can be seen weaving animal figurines out of rice and palm leaves to use in flower arrangements. More than a decoration, these figurines double as playthings that have delighted children for generations—and are opportunities for staff to create lasting connections with the guests who visit the resort.

“When I teach a guest,” explains Uncle Boonsri, who leads a workshop on traditional animal weaving at the resort, “I feel I am sharing a little part of our culture with them. The woven animal may be small, but I hope the story and. Memory they take home with it will stay with them for a long time.”

The Art of Hospitality

At Four Seasons, hospitality runs much deeper than simply welcoming guests to destinations around the world. It is rooted in craft—an art form that has been honed over decades, shaped by local cultures, and that staff personalise for each and every guest who checks in. Because travel isn’t just about where you go, the most memorable journeys are the ones where you sense that you were known by heart.

Book a journey to a world that feels made for you—find your Four Seasons destination here.

Threads of Tokyo: An Inside Guide to The City’s Singular Style Scene

Posted on October 6, 2026 by Tres Dean

Inside a bustling Ginza department store called Hankyu Men’s, less than 24 hours after stepping off a flight from Los Angeles, I stumbled upon the future of Japanese fashion.

The establishment—seven stories tall—is full of vintage clothes, international labels, and some of the most exciting names in Japanese design.

On the store’s fifth floor, that future is represented by Shinya Kozuka, who launched Shinyakozuka just over a decade ago. Lately, the brand is starting to blossom in a big way, thanks to a standout debut showing at Milan Fashion Week in June, plus buzzy collaborations with Converse and Dickies.

Kozuka is part of a wave of inventive designers, including Ryota Iwai of Auralee and Kazuma Shigematsu of A.Presse, who are shaping the next generation of fashion in Japan. Together, they are reason enough to book a flight and experience Tokyo’s style scene firsthand.

Details from Shinyakozuka fall 2026 collection — Details of Shinyakozuka’s fall 2026 collection

A look from the Shinyakozuka fall 2026 collection

Kozuka’s work feels particularly aligned with Tokyo’s vibrant youth culture. “Spending time with younger generations, I sense that many are beginning to feel exhausted by this constant speed. When I think about what they are searching for to ease that fatigue, I believe the answer is culture,” Kozuka tells Four Seasons magazine. “Fashion is simply one part of that broader cultural landscape. People are no longer connecting only with clothes, but also with the ideas, values, and attitudes behind them.”

Take a stroll through Harajuku, Tokyo’s streetwear epicentre, and the proof is evident. You’ll see countless twentysomething locals dressed in this brand’s image (if not actually in its clothes). Fast fashion is out, and pieces that are stylish, comfortable, and, above all else, considered are in.

Shinyakozuka embodies this sensibility. Like many designers around the world today, Kozuka places an emphasis on sustainability, incorporating reclaimed fabrics and textiles into his collections. He brings a distinctive sensitivity to proportion and the way fabric moves on the body. Among the standouts in his atelier—a nondescript walk-up near Shibuya Crossing—are an oversize sleeveless tee in ultralight ventilated cotton and pleated shorts that nearly reach the ankle.

“Japanese designers have a unique perspective on menswear,” Japanese American stylist Chloe Takayanagi explains. “Every detail they add is intentional and has thought put into it, and they’re not afraid to play around with proportions.” Takayanagi points out that Japanese designers rarely rely on branding to get attention. “Most of their garments are logo-free, which I think makes them more wearable,” she says.

An Issey Miyake store in Tokyo — Issey Miyake’s Homme Plissé collection

PAST AND PRESENT

This balance of restraint and innovation in Japanese fashion echoes Tokyo itself. Like the city—with its mix of winding train tracks and postwar brutalist complexes that share space with centuries-old shrines—the modern menswear scene exists with one foot rooted in tradition and the other stepping into the future.

That ethos did not emerge overnight. It was shaped by three of the biggest names to come out of Japanese fashion in the past 50-odd years: Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto. Their groundbreaking creations reimagined the relationship between body and garment, transforming elements such as drape, proportion, and silhouette into artistic expressions. Often identifiable in this approach is ma—the Japanese concept of the space in between—which can be seen in everything from traditional architecture to fashion. “I learned about the space between the body and the fabric from the traditional kimono,” Miyake once observed. “Not the style, but the space.”

At Hankyu Men’s—a quick drive from Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi and Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi—it’s worth lingering over how the brands of Miyake and Yamamoto continue to spotlight their founders’ singular visions. Miyake’s Homme Plissé line showcases his signature wafer-thin, sculptural pleating—garments engineered for drape and fluid movement. A couple of floors down, you’ll find the latest collection by Yamamoto, an artist who paints more or less in black, with clothing that experiments with contrasting proportions and unconventional closures and whose influences range from anime and heavy metal to conceptual art and alternative culture.

Tokyo's Ginza shopping neighborhood. — Tokyo’s Ginza shopping neighborhood

Top row, from left: A look from the Shinyakozuka fall 2026 collection; CFCL jackets, shirt, and shorts; Auralee spring 2027. Middle row, from left: Issey Miyake Homme Plissé apron-style vest; A.Presse collection, available at Maxfield in Los Angeles; Auralee silk-twill bomber jacket, available through Mr. Porter. Bottom row, from left: Kyosuke Kunimoto suit, available at Maxfield in Los Angeles; Yoko Sakamoto look; Visvim bandana-print cotton-voile shirt and Social Sculpture wide-leg jeans, available through Mr. Porter

THE FUTURE IS HERE

So much of Japanese fashion has for decades been dominated by those three iconic designers whose legacies live on, but the style world is always looking ahead. With a new generation on the rise, there’s a growing list of names that should be consulted by those looking for the best of what’s now and next. These brands offer a fresh vision of what Japanese menswear can be.

If Shinyakozuka taps into the vibrant youth culture of Harajuku, Auralee and A.Presse speak to the vibe of the quieter (but still hip) Shimokitazawa neighbourhood. The darlings of the menswear world in recent years, they’re less concerned with showing you something you’ve never seen before than with showing you the best possible version of something familiar: a dress shirt, a leather jacket, a pair of pleated trousers.

Auralee is the brainchild of Kobe-born Ryota Iwai. The brand has become renowned for its obsessive focus on custom textiles and for ever-so-slightly relaxed silhouettes that are designed to not go out of style. “That’s my mission—that I absolutely have to make something good,” Iwai told Vogue earlier this year. The Auralee flagship store is in Tokyo’s Aoyama neighbourhood, near the famed Nezu Museum.

A.Presse, founded by Kazuma Shigematsu, similarly draws on simplicity, elevating classic items while leaning into traditional Americana and workwear influences. A.Presse’s textiles (except for leather) are sourced in Japan, an approach that supports domestic craftsmanship from the earliest stages of garment creation. Finding A.Presse can be tricky—it’s currently available at fewer than 30 retailers worldwide—so if you’re intrigued by the brand’s Spanish-leather trucker jackets and washed-silk bombers, you’d do well to head to the flagship store in Tokyo’s Jingūmae neighbourhood in Shibuya. Be warned: Stock often sells out the day it hits the shelf.

Soshiotsuki Fall 2026 Collection. Photo by Vanni Bassetti

For a looser, relaxed approach to suiting, look to designer Soshi Otsuki’s eponymous brand Soshiotsuki. His lookbooks evoke 1980s Tokyo channeling Giorgio Armani, all slouchy jackets with shoulder pads and wide-legged trousers that subvert the traditional salaryman’s suit. You can find his pieces at the brand’s limited Tokyo stockists, including LHP Harajuku or O in Daikanyama, but be forewarned, they tend to go quickly. “I don’t really think about tailoring as office wear,” Otsuki tells Four Seasons. “By shifting the silhouette or combining familiar elements in unexpected ways, a suit can feel contemporary and expressive while still respecting its history.”

The label Ssstein does with European luxury what other Japanese brands do with Americana, filtering classic tailoring through an ultraprecise lens. Take Ssstein’s immaculate, oversize double-breasted trench coats: They’re proof that you don’t need to head to France to dress like a Parisian; just go to Barneys in Ginza. Meanwhile, Comoli elevates Scandinavian minimalism better than just about anyone. Keijiro Komori’s cult label has remained quietly under the radar since launching in 2011—he didn’t even create an Instagram account until recently—but insiders swear by it. Seek out Tokyo stores such as Beams and Maidens Shop for Komori’s blacked-out essentials, like perfect work trousers and matching zip-up mechanic jackets.

The list is practically endless. Trying to name every great Japanese menswear designer working today—additional standouts include Kyosuke Kunimoto (for precisely tailored suiting) and Yoko Sakamoto (for distinctive essentials in natural-dyed textiles)—is like trying to cap the number of steps you take while exploring the city.

And those who are obsessed with the vintage look but aren’t ready to root through the infinite secondhand racks of Shimokitazawa should keep an eye out for Visvim. Founder Hiroki Nakamura, who has dubbed the brand’s aesthetic “future vintage,” draws inspiration from the past of Americana and workwear (Levi’s 501s, trucker jackets, collegiate zip-up hoodies), re-creating clothes with a luxurious attention to craft, textile, and detail.

CFCL look — Minimalist suiting from CFCL

A. Presse SS26 look — A workwear-inspired look from A. Presse’s SS26 collection

Japan’s reverence for heritage craftsmanship is also why the country has become an epicentre for hyper-specialized labels. Founded just over two decades ago, Orslow makes some of the best selvedge denim in the world, while Pagong—a Kyoto-based brand with a store at Tokyo’s Narita airport—offers a luxury take on classic silk aloha shirts. (At Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, the staff at the sushi restaurant KOMO wear shirts by Pagong.) And Matsuda, a Japanese eyewear house founded in 1989, is influenced by old-school yakuza style and Italian gangster movies. Each essentially focuses on one craft, pushing it to the highest expression.

For Yusuke Takahashi, designer of the Tokyo-based brand CFCL (Clothing for Contemporary Life), this single-minded focus is rooted in Japan’s historic Mingei movement, which emerged in the 1920s with a reverence for the functional beauty of everyday objects crafted by local artisans. Takahashi—a former menswear director for Issey Miyake—applies this approach to minimalist knitwear and suits, using sustainable materials like recycled polyester. His clothing (available at the brand’s six stores in Tokyo) channels the Mingei principle of Yo-no-bi, “the idea that beauty comes from the essential,” Takahashi explains. “It’s the beauty of everyday things. So, this is a key word in [my work] . . . that comes from the philosophy of the Japanese traditional design context.”

This legacy explains why designers throughout Tokyo often ask themselves what the point is in bringing something to life if it’s not going to be done well. Throughout Japan, there’s a standard of excellence that is evident across disciplines, not only in fashion but also in areas from fine dining to interior design and even to convenience-store sandwiches. For Tokyo’s new vanguard, fashion isn’t about grand spectacle—it’s about elevating the essential to the level of something exquisite.

At One of One Dinners Around the World, Art is On the Menu

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Fan Winston

What happens when the worlds of art and gastronomy converge at the highest level? A new kind of cultural experience emerges—one where creative expression is not simply observed but savoured.

Last October, Four Seasons, in collaboration with Art Basel, debuted One of One, a dinner series held in select international cities and created to champion craft in all its forms—be it artistic, culinary, or hospitality. The inaugural event at Le George restaurant inside Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, brought together a few dozen of the globe’s most influential art lovers for a night of gastronomic and artistic exploration. With acclaimed artist Charlotte Colbert as muse, chefs from the hotel’s three Michelin-starred restaurants dreamed up a multisensory five-course menu to complement her surrealist, reality-bending works and challenge the palate. Watched over by one of Colbert’s sculptures, which features an eye with a blue iris atop a cascade of metallic tears (shown below), the evening was a chef d’oeuvre in every sense of the word, from the dramatic, blue-shaded décor and bespoke light-and-sound design to the inventive plating.

Charlotte Colbert sculpture at Le George in Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris — Charlotte Colbert’s eye sculpture at the One of One event in Paris

The momentum has continued with two more extraordinary editions. This past March, invitees gathered at Caprice, the three-Michelin-starred French restaurant inside Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, to celebrate artist Wing Po So and her mesmerizing installation inspired by Chinese medicine. So drew on her upbringing as the daughter of an apothecary for her site-specific commission, a sinuous, tubular light installation that she painstakingly covered with the papery seeds of the Damocles tree (long used in medicinal teas). Seated beneath the colossal sculpture, guests enjoyed dishes that combined Eastern philosophy with French technique. The menu was the first collaboration between chef Guillaume Galliot of Caprice and chef Chan Yan Tak of the hotel’s two-Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant Lung King Heen.

The One of One dinner in Hong Kong, adorned with Wing Po So’s glowing light installation; — The One of One dinner in Hong Kong, adorned with Wing Po So’s glowing light installation

This past June, the choreographer, performer, and visual artist Maria Hassabi designed an evening to remember at Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens. Guests dined alfresco on a bespoke four-course Mediterranean meal by chef Luca Piscazzi of Michelin-starred Pelagos that reflected the artist’s practice at the interplay of stillness and motion. Photographic works by Hassabi—capturing dancers in motion reflected across golden surfaces—framed the dining space. Further elevating the experience, the staff presented each dish with a theatrical synchronicity that reflected the night’s theme of a lived choreographed performance.

Maria Hassabi’s photographic works in Athens

This October, the One of One series returns to Art Basel Paris for another immersive night of fine dining meets fine art—where unparalleled craftsmanship and creativity will once again take centre stage.

Photography by Romain Reglade x Aisha Wiggins

Extraordinary By Design: Architect Jean-Michel Gathy’s Understated Luxury

Posted on September 28, 2026September 28, 2026 by Ingrid Abramovitch

From dramatic water features to public spaces with epic proportions, Jean-Michel Gathy has pioneered the look and feel of the modern ultra-luxury resort.

“After 40 years of designing hotels, I know that customer well—what they like, what they don’t like, and what they aspire to,” he says. “The most important element to me always is comfort.”

The Belgian-born, Kuala Lumpur–based architect has completed two projects for Four Seasons through his firm Denniston: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi (awarded three Michelin Keys in 2025), a sleek, art-filled retreat built into a 39-story tower’s top six floors, with views to Mount Fuji; and Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, a modern architectural statement surrounded by gardens, ponds, and waterfalls that was No. 2 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025.

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi courtyard — Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi

What’s next for Gathy? He has three more Four Seasons collaborations underway: a Shanghai property set in the city’s former French Concession; a resort-style retreat in China’s historic city Xi’an; and a beach resort in the Ras al-Khaimah emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

He fills his projects with art, often of his own conception, and knows how to turn up the volume. But in guest rooms, for instance, soothing décor—soft textures like linen and leather, furnishings that whisper rather than shout—reflects his affinity for understated luxury. “I’m more casual chic than tuxedo polish,” he says.

Here, Gathy shares a few of the details and inspirations that inform his signature aesthetic.

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi pool — Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi

Geoffrey Bawa

The Sri Lankan architect—whose work drew upon village layouts and who blended modernist principles with local materials, climate, and indigenous culture—was an early influence. “He was the master of tropical resort design,” says Gathy, who especially admires Bawa’s architecture based on freestanding pavilions.

Loro Piana

Gathy’s personal wardrobe—everything from jackets and jeans to belts and shirts—is from the Italian luxury brand. “I am sick for cashmere and love their sweaters,” he says. “I have over 75 of them in every colour, but I especially like shades of blue. I take three or four of them every time I travel, even if it’s to a warm place.”

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi reflecting pond — Reflecting pond at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi

Water

For the architect, a hotel is not complete without water features mirroring the sky by day and reflecting the room’s lighting and mirrors by night. At Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, Gathy built a reflecting pond into the 39th-floor lobby. Guests stepping off the elevator meet it before they reach the windows and experience the hotel’s skyline view.

Thai Silk

Gathy employed Thai raw silk in the guest rooms at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, using it on everything from wall coverings to seating and sofas. One source was Bangkok’s famed Jim Thompson Fabrics. The hotel’s palette was drawn from the Thai national flag, marine blue, red, and white, as well as from such native orchid hues as purple, yellow, orange, and crimson.

Sculpture

Gathy conceives artworks for every hotel project and finds local artisans to produce them. For Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, he collaborated with Pongsatat Uaiklang, known as Khun Dong, of Dong Sculpture, on a series of massive sculptures. These include a pair of Thai cabinet sculptures flanking the entrance, a bas-relief in the arrival courtyard depicting white elephants, and an installation inspired by the water hyacinths that line the nearby Chao Phraya River.

Malaysia

The Belgian-born Gathy moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1992 and has lived there ever since. “The country is very, very hospitable,” he says. “It’s unique because of the [people] that live here—the Malay, Chinese, and Indian [communities]. People are exceptionally friendly. The landscape is also gorgeous, and there are beautiful beaches. My favourite is Datai in Langkawi.”

Destinations: Asia & The Pacific

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