The hotel has appeared in novels such as 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, The Ninja by Eric Van Lustbader and Zero Sum by Barry Eisler.

In the movie Walk, Don't Run, Cary Grant tries to check-in at the fully-booked Okura two days before the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

The original Main Wing closed in August 2015 for demolition, leaving only the smaller South Tower operating.

The demolition plans were met with dismay by travel journalists, like Tyler Brûlé, who called the original "a masterpiece" and "one of the most loved modernist hotels in the world".

[7] Others lamented the irony of the iconic building and its "Orchid Bar", a favorite meeting place for the foreign diplomats from the many embassies nearby, being demolished at a time when shows like Mad Men have made the modernistic style of the 1960s highly fashionable again.