Memories

Memories

The art of memories

Okura's Art of Memories is how we cherish special moments and inspiring stories. The way in which we, with modest pride, share these with our guests. Stories about our heritage and our traditions. About authenticity and perseverance. Stories set in the East and the West, in Tokyo and in Amsterdam. Stories that still inspire, amaze and move us till this day. We would like to share these special memories with you during our anniversary year. We invite you to join us, listen and learn what the Art of Memories means to us.

Hotel Okura Amsterdam - Okura tulip

De Okura-tulp

With its reddish-orange petals aflame, it sways gently in the breeze as it reaches up towards the first rays of spring sunshine. Striking Okura tulips flourish in the gardens and line the drive of Hotel Okura Amsterdam. Yet their blooms can be enjoyed far from the hotel grounds. For the past twenty-five years, this exceptional blossom can be admired every year in the famous Keukenhof gardens and at Okura hotels around the world.

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Maquette Hotel Okura Amsterdam

The zoning plan

At the end of the 1950s, when a Japanese family of entrepreneurs – the Okuras – heard that the municipality of Amsterdam was drawing up plans for an opera house with an adjoining hotel, they immediately expressed their interest. A location in Amsterdam would perfectly match their ambition to expand the Hotel Okura chain into Europe.

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Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus

Royal memories

Prince Claus’s speech was received with great enthusiasm by Dutch and Japanese spectators alike. And even though the story is now half a century old, it continues to enthral. The reminiscences about Japan, the experiences with Hotel Okura Amsterdam, and the origins of the warm relationship between the two countries are as inspiring today as they were 50 years ago.

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Baron Okura

Baron Okura’s dream

Despite his many successful ventures, there was still one thing left on Okura’s wish list. An ambitious dream in which his international entrepreneurial spirit and his sensitivity to and respect for authentic traditions were combined. He wanted to open his own hotel.

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Drinks at Okura

Stay tuned

We will be adding new stories to the tree each month during the jubilee year. We invite you to sign up for our newsletter, to be part of our celebration.

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