Along the Canals of Madinat Jumeirah

Say "Dubai" to most people in Japan, and what comes to mind is probably a skyline of towers reaching for the sky. But in the seaside district of Jumeirah, there's a corner deliberately kept to three stories or less, where small boats called abras move along canals connecting the buildings.

From rooms facing the courtyard, you can see the lit windows of the next wing, laundry hung out like everyday life on display. It's an intentional "presence of life," and the traditional wind-tower architecture that channels breeze through the buildings has also been faithfully recreated — a piece of wisdom for staying cool through structure alone, without relying on electricity.

At night, looking down from the rooftop terrace bar, the lights of boats floating on the canal swayed at even intervals. There was no flashy lighting design at all. It's the quiet itself, you realize, that's the hotel's most luxurious feature.