The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo

Shinagawa's Vertical Luxury Tier

Tokyo's luxury hotel market has long clustered around two distinct geographic poles: the central wards of Chiyoda, Minato, and Chuo, where properties like Aman Tokyo, Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, and Palace Hotel Tokyo anchor the prestige market, and the transit-connected southern corridor around Shinagawa, where a smaller cohort of full-service luxury hotels serves an overlap of long-haul business travellers, regional commuters, and international guests entering the city from Haneda. The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo sits firmly in the latter geography, occupying the upper floors of East One Tower in Konan, Minato City. That address puts the property within a short walk of Shinagawa Station, one of Tokyo's most strategically connected rail hubs with access to the Shinkansen network, the Keikyu Airport Line, and multiple JR lines. For guests whose itineraries extend beyond Tokyo to Kyoto or Hakone, properties like HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO or Gora Kadan, the Shinagawa departure point is not a compromise but a practical advantage.

The tower format shapes the experience in ways that distinguish it from the low-rise ryokan aesthetic found at properties such as Amanemu in Mie or Asaba in Izu. High-floor placement in a modern Shinagawa tower means the property trades courtyard garden views for refined city panoramas, a trade that many business-trip travellers in this district actively seek. The visual context from those upper floors shifts with the hour: the orderly geometry of Tokyo Bay infrastructure and the Yokohama skyline beyond form a backdrop that is functional and unexpectedly atmospheric at dusk.

A Recognised Position in Tokyo's Competitive Set

Within the Tokyo luxury hotel field, The Strings by InterContinental carries a double designation from the World Luxury Hotel Awards: Country Winner for Luxury Hotel and Continent Winner for Luxury City Hotel. Those distinctions place it in a peer conversation with the city's most formally recognised full-service properties. The continent-level recognition in the luxury city hotel category is a useful calibration point: it signals performance within a competitive segment that includes major urban properties across Asia, not merely local comparison. Among Tokyo's comparable international-brand luxury tier, properties such as Andaz Tokyo, Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, and JANU Tokyo each occupy distinct positioning: design-led or brand-heritage-driven approaches that appeal to different guest priorities. The Strings operates in the service-and-recognition lane of that market, with its InterContinental affiliation providing a consistent global framework.

For travellers who have also considered Bellustar Tokyo, A Pan Pacific Hotel or The Capitol Hotel Tokyu, the distinction often comes down to location priority and brand relationship. The Strings is the choice for those whose transit logic runs through Shinagawa rather than Ginza or Akasaka.

Responsible Luxury in a High-Rise Context

The question of environmental responsibility in Tokyo's luxury hotel sector has grown more pressing as the city prepares for sustained international attention. Properties operating within large mixed-use towers face a particular version of this challenge: the building infrastructure, shared with commercial tenants, sits outside the hotel's direct control, while the guest-facing operations, from F&B; sourcing to amenity formats, sit squarely within it. InterContinental's parent group, IHG Hotels and Resorts, has published multi-year sustainability commitments that include carbon reduction targets, single-use plastic reduction programmes, and responsible sourcing frameworks. As a property operating under that brand umbrella, The Strings participates in those group-level programmes, though the specific on-the-ground implementation details for this property are not independently confirmed here.

The broader Tokyo luxury market context is relevant: Japanese hospitality culture carries its own long-standing ethic of material restraint and intentional use, expressed through concepts such as mottainai (the value of avoiding waste) that predate Western sustainability frameworks by centuries. High-end properties in Japan, whether urban towers or the rural ryokan tradition represented by places like Fufu Kawaguchiko, Fufu Nikko, or ENOWA Yufu, tend to operate within this cultural frame even when not explicitly marketing it. For travellers comparing their options across Japan's accommodation spectrum, the sustainability story of an urban InterContinental tower and a mountain ryokan sit in genuinely different registers, shaped as much by format and cultural context as by explicit policy commitment. Properties such as Benesse House on Naoshima or Jusandi in Ishigaki represent the end of the spectrum where built environment and ecological setting are inseparable; The Strings operates at the other end, where urban infrastructure and responsible operations are the relevant frame.

Planning a Stay

Strings sits at Shinagawa East One Tower, 2-16-1 Konan, Minato City, a district that functions as a departure point as much as a destination. Guests typically access the property directly from Shinagawa Station, which is served by JR, Keikyu, and Shinkansen lines, making it one of the most transport-efficient hotel locations in central Tokyo. For guests arriving from Haneda Airport, the Keikyu Airport Line connects directly to Shinagawa in roughly 13 minutes, which is a faster arrival path than many properties positioned deeper in the central wards. For context on how this fits within the wider city, our full Tokyo hotels guide maps the full range of luxury options across districts. Dining options across the city are covered in our full Tokyo restaurants guide, and for evenings beyond the hotel, our full Tokyo bars guide covers the city's most considered drinking options. Those extending their Japan itinerary to the countryside will find useful comparisons in our full Tokyo experiences guide and our full Tokyo wineries guide. Booking lead times for award-holding properties in Tokyo's business district tend to compress around Golden Week (late April to early May), the September and October conference season, and the winter holiday period; planning two to three months ahead for those windows is advisable. For travellers also considering luxury hotels in other major cities, The Fifth Avenue Hotel and Aman New York represent comparable award-level urban luxury in New York, while Casa Maria Luigia in Modena offers a point of contrast in the European context.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the standout thing about The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo?

The property holds both a Country Winner designation for Luxury Hotel and a Continent Winner designation for Luxury City Hotel, placing it among the formally recognised upper tier of Tokyo's full-service luxury market. Its location above Shinagawa Station provides direct Shinkansen and airport access that few comparable properties in the city can match.

What is the leading suite at The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo?

Suite category details are not independently confirmed in our current data. Based on the property's award standing and InterContinental's standard full-service model, the property is expected to offer premium suite categories with city and bay views from its upper-floor positioning. Confirm current suite availability and pricing directly with the hotel at time of booking.

How far ahead should I plan for The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo?

If you are travelling during Tokyo's peak periods, including Golden Week in late April and early May, the autumn conference season in September and October, or the December holiday period, booking two to three months in advance is a reasonable precaution for an award-holding property in this location tier. Outside those windows, shorter lead times are generally workable, though rate availability and room category choice improve with earlier planning.