Apartments for wine lovers in Shibuya

Apartment developer, Inovv Inc, announced plans for a new residential building in Shinsencho, Shibuya-ku, that will be designed for wine aficionados.

Construction of the tentatively titled "Shibuya Shinsen Wine Apartment Project" will start in May 2012. The 10-storey building will have 18 studio apartments ranging from 42 to 45 sqm (452 ~ 484 sqft). Apartments will be available for rent only, and will not be available for individual sale.Read more


3480 homes completely destroyed in Kanto area following Tohoku disaster

An investigation by the Tokyo Shimbun has found that as many as 3480 homes in the Kanto area were completely destroyed in the Tohoku disaster. A further 2815 homes were partially destroyed and will need to be demolished. In some areas, the number of partially destroyed homes equalled the number that were completely destroyed.

Homeowners may be eligible to receive a maximum of 3 million Yen as compensation, but high construction costs mean that very few homes are being rebuilt. It has been almost 11 months since the disaster and the full extent of the damage is only now coming to the surface.Read more