City in Kyushu buys former Yakuza office
Karatsu City in Saga Prefecture has purchased a former Yakuza office at a public auction. The city acquired the property at the request of both prefectural police and the prefectural bar association to prevent it from falling back into criminal hands.
Aman to open Kyoto hotel in November
On February 5, Aman Resorts International announced that they will open Aman Kyoto on November 1, 2019. This will be the third Aman hotel to open in Japan. Aman had been eyeing Kyoto as a key destination for the hotel brand since 2006.
Apartment rents in Tokyo increase by 5.3% in 2018
The average rent for an apartment in Tokyo’s 23 wards saw a 5.3% year-on-year increase in 2018 - the highest annual percentage increase in over 10 years. This was due in part to the fact that over 10% of the listings in the first half of the year were new construction. Newly built apartments tend to command higher rents than older ones, and can pull up the average. Average rents in Tokyo are now up 16% from their bottom in 2012.
Tokyo Apartment Sales in January 2019
The following is a selection of apartments that were reported to have sold in central Tokyo during the month of January 2019:
First Cabin to open ryokan-style accommodation in Kyoto machiya
First Cabin, a Tokyo-based developer and operator of capsule-style accommodation across Japan, announced plans to open a cabin-style hotel in a traditional machiya-style townhouse in Kyoto. The new hotel will open on March 28, 2019.