The traditional Taiko-en estate in Osaka City will be sold at the end of March, as announced by owner and operator Fujita Kanko. The wedding and restaurant facility hosted the G20 Joint Session of Finance and Health Ministers in 2019.

Information on the buyer has not been released, but it is said to be a domestic corporation. 

Update: The sale price is estimated to be 39 billion Yen (approx. US$368 million). On April 2, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported that the buyer was the Soka Gakkai religious movement.

Fujita Kanko is one of Japan’s leading hospitality companies, operating Hotel Chinzanso in Tokyo, and the WHG Hotels. Operations have been suffering from a drastic drop in customers due to the pandemic.  The company’s stock price has fallen by 42% since January 2020. A net loss of 22.4 billion Yen is expected for the year ending December 2020, while their equity ratio dropped to 1.2%. The sale of Taiko-en is expected to contribute to an extraordinary gain of 32.9 billion Yen for the first quarter of 2021.

Taiko-en opened in 1959 and includes 26,000 sqm of landscaped gardens. The grand estate was originally built in 1910 for the son of Baron Denzaburo Fujita. 

Location

Amijimacho, Miyakojima Ward, Osaka

Sources:
Kansai TV, February 12, 2021.
Jiji Press, February 12, 2012.

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