Palace Hotel set to reopen in May, 2012
The Palace Hotel reconstruction project is expected to be completed in 2012 with the "Palace Hotel Tokyo" scheduled to start accepting hotel guests from May 17, 2012. The new hotel will be 23 stories and will have 290 hotel rooms. The rooms start from 45 sqm in size (484 sqft), which is much larger than the typical Japanese hotel room.Read more
100 condominiums in Sendai City need rebuilding
In Sendai City, a condominium that was seriously damaged by the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake is scheduled to be demolished. Sunny Heights Takasago is a 14-storey apartment building with 189 units. The earthquake damaged the foundations and the building began to lean at a dangerous angle, threatening neighboring buildings. Demolition is scheduled to begin by the end of December and should be completed within 6 months. This is the first case in Sendai City of an apartment building of this size being demolished due to the effects of the Tohoku earthquake, but it won't be the last.Read more
SUUMO real estate site opens cafe in Ginza
One of Japan's major real estate listing sites, SUUMO (http://suumo.jp), has recently opened up a promotional cafe in Ginza.
The cafe shares the space of the R25 Cafe on the 1st floor of the Recruit Ginza 7 Chome Building (see google map here). They are selling various sweets and drinks featuring the Suumo character (a green alien) including hot cocoa, muffins and cider. Prices range from 330 - 500 Yen.Read more
Apahome purchases Daikanyama bldg for 4.5 billion Yen
Two buildings in Daikanyama, Shibuya-ku, that were owned by Nara Prefecture were recently sold by auction. The "Daikanyama i Studio" was acquired by ApaHome for approximately 4.5 billion Yen, and the "Tsurumaki Residence" - a former housing complex for Prefecture staff - was acquired by i-nest Co. for 244.5 million Yen.Read more
Sumitomo cancels City Tower Shibaura
Sumitomo Corporation have temporarily (or permanently) cancelled the construction of City Tower Shibaura in Minato-ku. Construction of the 30-storey condominium began in November, 2010, and was scheduled to be completed by March, 2013.
Although foundation work had already began, the ground has since been filled in and returned to its vacant state and all advertising has been removed from the site. Read more
Lake Biwa historical villa partially de-listed after land sale
The Rokasensui Villa on Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture was built in 1921 and was the holiday home for Japanese painter Shunkyo Yamamoto. In 1994 it was listed as an important cultural property. In 2008, a 190 sqm parcel of the 1230 sqm estate was sold to a private buyer and from August, 2010, an average modern home was built on the site. The Agency for Cultural Affair decided to de-list the smaller parcel of land after it was sold to a third party.Read more