The Park Hyatt Tokyo, which famously served as the setting for the 2003 movie Lost in Translation, recently unveiled a first look at new renovations after a 19-month restoration.
The 171-room hotel perched atop the Shinjuku Park Tower boasts soaring glass atriums, sleek cocktail bars, and sweeping views of Tokyo’s glittering cityscape. Launched in 1994, the five-star property ascended to cinematic immortality in writer/director Sofia Coppola’s acclaimed film, where lonely Americans Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson forged a friendship amid the quiet lull of the hotel’s flagship cocktail bar.
The Park Hyatt Tokyo team collaborated with Paris-based design studio Jouin Manku on an extensive restoration that refreshed guest rooms and suites, launched French fine dining destination Girandole by Alain Ducasse, and revamped the 52nd-floor, black-and-chrome New York Grill & Bar, where key scenes from Lost in Translation were filmed. Much like how Caesars Palace Las Vegas had a starring role in The Hangover and Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont was the backdrop for Coppola’s Somewhere, the Park Hyatt Tokyo retains an inescapable association with Lost in Translation.
The film focuses on the relationship between aging movie star Bob Harris (Murray) who’s in Tokyo to film a Japanese whisky commercial, and Charlotte (Johansson), a bored newlywed in town with her distracted celebrity photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi). Stranded in a foreign city, Bob and Charlotte strike up an unlikely bond at the hotel’s New York Grill & Bar and during nights out at Tokyo karaoke joints.
While The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey” is the movie’s signature song—it’s heard in the trailer and over the end credits—those karaoke scenes provide memorable moments outside the Park Hyatt’s high-end setting. Murray croons “More Than This” by Roxy Music and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding” by Elvis Costello, while Johansson sings “Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders. The LIT soundtrack also features early 2000s-era indie hits from Phoenix and Air, the atmospheric French electronica duo that also scored the soundtrack to Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides.
Designed by the late Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, the hotel’s three-tower complex—distinguished by its distinctive triangular peaks—is considered a groundbreaking pioneer of Tokyo’s mixed-use high-rise movement. Inside, interior designer John Morford artfully blended steel, glass, and wood to create a soothing, understated aesthetic.
The renovated suites feature landscape painter Yoshitaka Echizenya’s artworks, newly commissioned lithographs, and design flourishes that include magnolia leaf decor, Isamu Noguchi’s signature washi paper lamps, and a black-anthracite color palette accented by soft green carpeting.
Girandole, a partnership with famed Michelin-starred French chef Alain Ducasse and helmed by Chef de Cuisine Kojiro Tsutsumi, will serve an upside-down cheese soufflé, Wagyu beef tenderloin with Bordelaise sauce, and a cocotte of lobster with truffle macaroni. The stylish eatery also featues red velvet banquettes, mirrored walls, and Vera Mercer’s 144-image collage celebrating European cafe culture.
At the New York Bar & Grill, where stunning skyline views are bolstered by Valerio Adami’s murals and Minoru Nomata’s Metropolis series, the menu focuses on steakhouse-style standards like Kobe sirloin, Akagi Tomahawk steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and Caesar salad. The expanded cocktail list notably still includes the “L.I.T.,” a pink-hued tribute to the movie that’s made with sake, cherry blossom liqueur, peach liqueur, cranberry juice and lime.
“Lost in Translation aligns well with Park Hyatt’s brand of understated luxury,” said general manager Fredrik Harfors of the hotel’s cinematic legacy in an emailed statement. “It positioned Park Hyatt Tokyo not just as a hotel, but as a symbol of modern Japan’s intersection with global culture—something that has become an enduring part of our brand’s DNA.” Check out this landmark Tokyo hotel’s latest images above.
