The holiday spirit is ever present throughout the Christmas season, with dazzling decorations adorning the hotel’s public spaces and a stately, 16-foot-tall Christmas tree taking pride of place in the grand lobby.

With majestic lighting displays beginning to shine across the city each wintertime from early November through the Christmas holidays, a ‘Tokyo Illuminations’ tour is included in this year’s offerings. The approximate four-hour experience starts after dusk at guests’ choice of 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm.

In the company of a guide, guests will be chauffeured around the city in a private car to several of the areas featuring impressive installations, including the brilliantly lit Marunouchi Naka Dori, the 0.8-kilometer-long (half a mile), tree-lined boulevard that stretches from nearby the hotel to the ritzy Ginza district. Also on the itinerary are Omotesando and Shibuya, with their zelkova trees all aglow.

Tailored to guests’ interests, the tour will include as many stops as desired (during the allotted time) – including the opportunity to swing by the Christmas markets at Roppongi and Azabudai Hills – as well as the services of a local photographer to capture the entire experience. At the top of Palace Hotel Tokyo’s roster of handpicked photographers is Gorta Yuuki, a seasoned professional whose versatile and artistic body of work has been featured in the likes of Vogue, Elle Décor and Condé Nast Traveller magazines, among others.

Presenting an upscale experience but with the comfort and warmth of Christmas at home, Palace Hotel Tokyo’s all-day dining restaurant Grand Kitchen draws inspiration from the kitchen of a grand residence. A large, see-through fireplace adds to its cozy, welcoming feeling on chilly Tokyo nights. Its sumptuous, six-course Christmas menu includes abalone and zuwai (snow) crab, steamed flounder with caviar, and choice of grilled or roasted Japanese beef.

Guests who prefer a Michelin-starred Christmas or a more traditional Japanese menu can opt to dine at Esterre by Alain Ducasse – the hotel’s contemporary French restaurant featuring the natural flavors of Japan’s terroir – or at one of the hotel’s Japanese eateries instead (at additional charge). Options include kaiseki at Wadakura, teppanyaki at GO, or tempura at Tatsumi.

Travelers expecting to miss out on their favorite European-style Christmas breads and cakes while spending Christmas in Japan will be pleasantly surprised to discover Sweets & Deli’s array of homebaked stollen, kouglof, berawecka and panettone – including some with a uniquely Japanese twist, such as the Bohnen Stollen made with yuzu-flavored marzipan and kinako (soybean flour) and Kouglof de Noël baked with sweet chestnuts kneaded into a matcha dough and finished with a raspberry chocolate glaze.