In Kanazawa, 100 historic townhouses are demolished each year
The historic merchant city of Kanazawa is seeing as many as 100 of its historic machiya-style townhouses demolished each year. And while there are efforts underway to preserve as many homes as possible, there are still some high hurdles that remain.
Tokyo office vacancy rate climbs for 20th month
According to brokerage Miki Shoji, the average vacancy rate for office space across Tokyo’s five business districts of Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya reached 6.47% in October, up 0.04 points from the previous month and up 2.54 points from last year. This is the 20th month in a row to see an increase.
Tokyo apartment prices increase for 18th month
Apartment prices across Tokyo continued to climb last month with REINS reporting a 7.9% year-on-year increase in the average price per square meter of a second-hand apartment sold across the greater Tokyo area. This is the 18th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase.
Demolition of Hotel Okura South Wing to start today
Demolition of the Hotel Okura South Wing kicks off today, marking the end of an era for the hotel’s former modernist architectural style. The 13-story annex building will be completely razed by December 2022.
Modernist National Theatre to be demolished
The Japan Arts Council is moving forward on plans to demolish the National Theatre of Japan building in Chiyoda and replace it with a new theatre with a hotel on the upper floors.
Shrink-wrapping to solve Japan's vacant home issue
A demolition company based in Tokushima Prefecture has come up with a novel, short-term way to deal with Japan's derelict, vacant homes.
Historic home matching service for Karuizawa
In an effort to save the historic holiday villas of Karuizawa, a matching-service has been set up by the Karuizawa Cultural Heritage Preservation Association.