Rokkosan Hotel 2

The 87-year old Rokkosan Hotel in Hyogo Prefecture has been sold to Osaka-based car importer Hakko Group for an undisclosed price. The sale includes the land and both the historic hotel and the adjacent, newer 45-room hotel building. This is the first hotel acquisition for the company. They plan to preserve the historic building and possibly re-open it next year. The newer building next-door will be demolished and replaced with new accommodation as well as multi-purpose hall facilities. In the meantime the hotel will continue to be operated by Hankyu Hanshin Hotels.

The hotel opened in 1929 as an annex to the Takarazuka Hotel, and was the first hotel in the Rokkosan mountaintop area. The two-storey, 25 room hotel was designed by architect Masaharu Furuzuka. Furuzuka is considered to one of the Osaka-Kobe region’s leading modernist architects. The building received a national heritage designation in 2007 and is recognised as one of the best examples of pre-war modernist architecture in the area.

The original hotel building was owned and operated by Hankyu. Hankyu closed the old hotel building in December 2015, although they continued operations in their newer hotel building next-door. The reason for the closure was due to ageing equipment and concerns about the earthquake resistance of the structure. Hankyu also own the equally historic and architecturally significant Takarazuka Hotel (c1926), but plan to demolish it and replace it with an apartment building.

Rokkosan Hotel 1

Sources:
The Kobe Shimbun, August 25, 2016.
Hankyu Hanshin Hotels News Release, August 25, 2016.

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