Karuizawa

Karuizawa, an upscale summer resort town in Nagano Prefecture, is seeing an increase in both the construction of new hotels and the refurbishment of existing properties. The opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line extension in March 2015 has further improved access for tourists, and has attracted the interest of several hoteliers who are planning new projects in the town.

The Prince Hotel group is spending 500 million Yen to remodel 70 suites and interiors in the Karuizawa Prince Hotel East, with completion expected by July 2017.

On July 29, the subsidiary of mail-order company Belluna will open the Le Grand Karuizawa Hotel. The hotel is 1km north of Karuizawa Station. Nightly room rates range from 40,000 ~ 100,000 Yen.

Le Grand Karuizawa
Le Grand Karuizawa Hotel

On the same day, Mori Trust Hotels & Resorts will re-open their La Foret Club Hotel Naka-Karuizawa. The hotel has been completely refurbished and will be operated under the Marriott Hotel brand.

La Foret Karuizawa
La Foret Club Hotel Naka-Karuizawa

On July 30, Tokyo Tatemono Resort will open Regina Resort Karuizawa Mikageyousui, a pet-friendly hotel. Several suites will feature private outdoor dog-runs. Nightly room rates range from 55,000 ~ 85,000 Yen.

Regina Resort Karuizawa Mikageyousui
Regina Resort Karuizawa Mikageyousui

Tokyu Land is currently constructing Tokyu Harvest Club Karuizawa & Viala, a members-only resort, near Shiozawa Lake. Completion is due by July 2018.

Tokyu Harvest Club Karuizawa
Tokyu Harvest Club Karuizawa & Viala

While many of Japan’s resort areas have been in perpetual decline since the 1990s, Karuizawa is one of the few areas that is seeing increased demand from holiday-makers. According to the government-released ‘chika-koji’ assessed land values for 2016, residential land values in the Kyu-Karuizawa area were the highest in the prefecture, exceeding those in Nagano City for the first time since 1978. The land value in Karuizawa Town increased by 2.3% from 2015.

Karuizawa is a popular and wealthy summer resort area just 70 minutes by bullet train from Tokyo. In the Edo period it was a small town with lodgings for travellers passing by alongside the Nakasendo (Central Mountain Route) which connected Tokyo and Kyoto. It wasn’t until two foreigners, Canadian missionary Alexander Shaw and English professor James Dixon, wrote about the town after visiting in 1886 that it drew attention as a holiday destination.

In 1894, the Kameya Hotel (later renamed as the Mampei Hotel) opened, followed by the Mikasa Hotel in 1906. By 1903 there were already over 100 holiday villas in the area. When it received town-status in 1913, there were 5,000 permanent residents. By 2013, the local population had swelled to 20,000.

Notable past and current residents and holiday guests in Karuizawa include:

  • The current Emperor of Japan
  • Robert Guillain (1908-1998), French journalist and author
  • John Lennon who spent summers with his family at the Mampei Hotel
  • Yoshimura Junzo, architect
  • Eloise Cunningham, musician
  • Bill Gates (rumoured)

 

Sources:
The Shinano Shimbun, July 23, 2016.
The Sankei Shimbun, March 23, 2016.

Loading