【Tokyo】The Lounge by Aman – Afternoon tea for an elegant moment

Afternoon tea is often served at the lounge of luxury hotels in Japan. The elegant time spent chatting with friends and family while enjoying cakes and sandwiches arranged on three-tiered stands, in a calm space with the rich aroma of tea wafting in the air, brings an indescribable sense of happiness.

Recently in Japan (and maybe the rest of the world), afternoon tea has become more popular, not only in hotels but also in fashionable cafes and restaurants. However, the truth is that I don’t have much experience with afternoon tea…

This time, my boss gave me the gift of an elegant moment at Aman Tokyo, which is very popular in the Tokyo afternoon tea world! Thanks for the treat!

Aman Tokyo is located on the top floors of Otemachi Tower, a high-rise building in the centre of Tokyo.
At the bottom of the building, slightly detached, there is The Cafe by Aman. Here, you can enjoy lunch and delicious sweets in Otemachi, one of Tokyo’s most prominent business districts, yet still being surrounded by nature.

The café is located outside the hotel, so even if you are not staying at the hotel and feel uncomfortable going to the hotel lobby, you can use the café without hesitation. Hours of operation are from 11:00 to 19:00.

But because that Aman Tokyo is such a beautiful hotel, let’s have Afternoon Tea at the lounge on the top floor!

From the ground, take the elevator up to the 33rd floor. You’ll first arrive at the reception area, and then to the spectacular lobby with its atrium and high ceiling.

As I was scurrying around, a staff member approached and led me to the lounge.
We had afternoon tea at “The Lounge by Aman” located on the 33rd floor, behind the lobby.

Even though we visited at 3 p.m. on a weekday, there were quite a few customers enjoying afternoon tea.
The seating space per couple is spacious, so you can relax.

The card lined up next to the cutlery is the menu – isn’t it beautiful?

Today’s afternoon tea is the “Sweet and Bitter Caramel Afternoon Tea”, a winter menu available only on certain days from November 2021 to January 14, 2022 for the price of 7,456 yen per person.

For up to two hours, you can enjoy any number of your favorite teas from the menu.
You can actually check the tea menu from your phone by accessing the QR code.

Before the meal, we ordered cold tea first. The contents of the iced tea also change depending on the season, so you can enjoy the menu only at that time. The iced tea was delicious and soaked up the heat of effort, as we took a short walk before arriving at the hotel.

Now, the first dish on the menu, “Apple Soup with Yuzu and Caramel Espuma,” arrived. After the glasses were placed on the table, the staff used a whip cream machine to serve the espuma in front of us. The aroma of caramel was really good and it was very tasty.

After enjoying the apple soup, here comes the three-tiered stand you (and I) have been waiting for!

Aman Tokyo’s afternoon tea is based on the color black, and it’s more stylish than cute! In fact, my husband enjoyed it without any hesitation.

The first and second tiers are for sweets, and the third tier is for savories. Those mushrooms at the top, they’re so pretty!

This alone is very satisfying, but with the scones on the side, I don’t need dinner anymore.

The variety of creams and jams are also great.

And the background music is a live koto performance! The beautiful and dignified sound of the Japanese Harp echoing throughout the floor really made me feel like spending a very special and relaxing time…

By the way, I made a reservation for 3:00 p.m. in November, so the view from the window would change rapidly, which indeed happened and was very nice.

At 3:00 p.m. when the sun is strong, the shades are used to keep the window seats from getting too hot.

As the sun goes down, the shades are raised and you can enjoy the sunset and the night view of Tokyo.

It was a beautiful day, so we could even see Mt. Fuji !

In the stylish atrium, we ate delicious sweets and enjoyed fragrant tea… What a fun time we had!

Before I knew it, two hours had passed. Nothing had changed for me, but just by enjoying afternoon tea in this space, I somehow felt as if I had become a special person. I think I’m going to be addicted to afternoon tea and would like to try it at other hotels and cafes. I hope you will also enjoy afternoon tea while in Japan!