Tokyu Fudosan Holdings has acquired the Kyu-Karuizawa Hotel for an undisclosed price at the end of March. The seller was an offshore company.

Tokyu is expanding into the luxury hotel market in anticipation of growing demand from foreign tourists. They are also planning to open a hotel in Okinawa in a joint venture with NTT Group. The Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island Okinawa is scheduled to open in mid-2018.

The 50 room Kyu-Karuizawa Hotel opened in 1979. Room rates at the mid-size and recently renovated hotel are around 35,000 Yen per night. Tokyu plans to operate the hotel themselves.

Japan’s major real estate developers are actively investing in the hotel industry. In 2016, Mori Trust opened the Karuizawa Marriott Hotel. Room rates start from 58,000 Yen per night. Services include English-speaking staff, English instructions for using the hot spring baths, as well as providing stickers or seals to cover up any tattoos on guests when using the baths. Mitsubishi Estate plans to open three Royal Park Hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka from 2018, while Mitsui Fudosan will be opening mid-term stay luxury hotels in Kyoto and Tokyo under their “The Celestine Hotels” brand from late 2017. Sumitomo Realty & Development is planning a 1700-room hotel near Haneda Airport scheduled to open in mid-2020. Nomura Real Estate Development is also considering expanding into the hotel industry.

Karuizawa had 8.4 million tourists in 2015. In 2014, Nagano Prefecture’s various hotels and accommodation facilities welcomed 465,240 foreign visitors, up 29% from 2013.

Source: The Nikkei Shimbun, May 10, 2017.

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