Sony to demolish iconic Ginza building in 2017
The 50-year old Sony Building in Tokyo’s Ginza area will be demolished in 2017 to make way for a temporary park, and finally a replacement building by 2022.
The building sits on a prime 700 sqm (7,500 sq.ft) corner block of land just 180 meters from the historic Wako Building and the Mitsukoshi Department Store. The land is used as one of the government’s chika-koji annual land survey sites. In 2016, the land had a surveyed value of 34,700,000 Yen/sqm (approx. 31,000 USD/sq.ft), which would make the 700 sqm site valued at approximately 24.5 billion Yen (approx. 235 million USD). The valuation was up 18.03% from 2015, and has increased by a staggering 151% since 2002. Read more
Construction starts on Aoyama’s latest luxury condo
Details have been released on a new condominium project in the Minami Aoyama address that is set to become one of the city’s most unique and luxurious developments.
Park Court Aoyama The Tower is a 26-storey residential tower currently under construction near Aoyama Itchome Station. It will contain 163 apartments, of which just 99 will be made available for sale. Completion is scheduled for late March 2018, with apartments to be delivered by buyers from late April 2018.Read more
JR to revamp Harajuku Station
On June 8, the East Japan Railway Company announced that they will be rebuilding the historic Harajuku Station in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which will take place nearby. The new station will be designed to alleviate some of the current passenger congestion problems. A new exit will be added on the Meiji Shrine side.Read more
Kioi Residence luxury rental apartment building now 80% full
Kioi Residence, the rental-only apartment building in the recently completed Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho complex, is proving popular with tenants with 80% of the apartments already under application. Despite facing north, the most popular apartments have been the ones overlooking the historic former residence of Prince Yi Un, which will be used for weddings and functions.
The 21-storey building was only completed last month. The 135 apartments range in size from 55 ~ 227 sqm (590 ~ 2,440 sq.ft), and rents range from 350,000 ~ 2,400,000 Yen (3,300 ~ 22,500 USD) per month. Read more
Tokyo metro apartment prices increase for 44th consecutive month
According to REINS, 3,001 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in May, down 8.9% from the previous month and down 0.2% from last year. The average sale price was 29,910,000 Yen, up 2.5% from the previous month and up 3.6% from last year. The average price per square meter was 469,700 Yen, up 1.0% from the previous month and up 3.7% from last year. This is the 41st month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price on a price-per-square-meter basis. The average building age was 20.64 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1,503 second-hand apartments were sold, down 9.1% from the previous month but up 3.4% from last year. The average sale price was 36,950,000 Yen, up 1.6% from the previous month and up 2.2% from last year. The average price per square meter was 625,900 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 2.1% from last year. This is the 44th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in the sale price per square meter. The average building age was 19.84 years.
Central Tokyo’s 3 wards
In central Tokyo’s 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), 178 second-hand apartments were sold, down 6.3% from the previous month and down 5.3% from last year. The average sale price was 58,090,000 Yen, up 18.0% from the previous month and up 8.3% from last year. The average sale price per square meter was 1,043,400 Yen, up 9.4% from the previous month and up 4.4% from last year. The average building age was 17.23 years.Read more
Demolition of philosopher’s home in Kyoto starts this week
Demolition of the former home of philosopher Kitaro Nishida (1870-1945) started earlier this week. Nishida, founder of the Kyoto School of philosophy, rented the traditional Japanese house from 1912 ~ 1922. It is 500 meters north-west of Kyoto University, where he was a professor.
The 2-storey, wooden house was built in the later part of the Meiji era (1868-1912) as a rental property, with the landlord living nearby. The deteriorated condition of the 100+ year-old house was cited as the reason for demolition. It is expected that it will be replaced with apartments.
Ehime ‘Castle’ up for public auction
A 5-storey ‘castle’ in the outskirts of Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, is up for public auction this month with a minimum bid set at 39,240,000 Yen (approx. 370,000 USD).
The property is a run-down former love hotel designed to resemble a traditional Japanese castle. The 2,600 sqm (27,800 sq.ft) hotel was built in the 1980s, but has been closed since the early 2000s. It is located on a 15,000 sqm block of land across the road from a pond and golf course, and a few hundred meters from several housing subdivisions.Read more