Nara Dreamland foreclosed
Before Tokyo Disneyland there was Nara Dreamland - a Disney-themed park in Nara Prefecture that closed in 2006 and has since become a popular spot for urban explorers. Due to unpaid property taxes, Nara City is planning to put the property up for public auction soon.
Nara Dreamland was opened in 1961 by Nihon Dream Kanko. After meeting with Walt Disney at California's Disneyland Park, Nihon Dream's president Kunizo Matsuo expressed a desire to build a similar theme park in West Japan to cater to Japanese. Disney was apparently okay with this idea and sent some experts to Japan to advise on park design. While Nihon Dream claimed to have a franchise agreement in place, Disney later denied any official affiliation as they could not come to an agreement on franchise fees.
Final chapter for Tokyo's Chongryon HQ
Rather than hold a third auction, the Tokyo District Court announced plans to sell the foreclosed Chongryon headquarters in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo to a real estate company from Takamatsu City in Kagawa Prefecture. If there are no problems with Marunaka Holdings' paperwork, the final decision regarding the sale will be made on March 24.Read more
Hiroshima's Naked Island sold
Sukune Island in Hiroshima Prefecture sold at public auction to a private bidder for 7,788,800 Yen. The price was a little over 3 times the evaluation price set by the court.
A total of 10 bids were made on the 7400 sqm island. The winning bidder is the manager of a rental apartment building in nearby Fukuyama City. The 73-year old does not have immediate plans for the island.Read more
Mongolian company's bid on Chongryon HQ rejected
On January 23, the Tokyo District Court announced that they have decided against the sale of the foreclosed North Korean defector embassy building and land in Chiyoda-ku to a mysterious Mongolian company after documents submitted by the buyer were found to be colour copies and could not be authenticated as official documents issued by the Mongolian government.
In October 2013, 'Avar LLC' was the winning bidder on the property after putting in the highest bid of 5.1 billion Yen. Suspicions were immediately raised after it was discovered that Avar was created in January with a capital investment of just 60,000 Yen and was registered to an apartment in Ulaanbaatar (the occupant of the apartment had no knowledge of the company).Read more
The Naked Island in Hiroshima for sale
Sukune Island will go up for public auction in February. The uninhabited island was featured in the internationally acclaimed 1960 film 'The Naked Island'. The director, Kaneto Shindo, passed away in 2012 and associates and fans of the actor are looking for donations to purchase the island to honour his memory.Read more
[Foreclosed] Apartment in Park Mansion Roppongi
*Update: The property was withdrawn from the auction. This can occur when the creditor/s are either paid the outstanding debt or reach an agreement with the borrower. It was later listed for sale for 248,000,000 Yen.
A 3-bedroom apartment in the luxury Park Mansion Roppongi building is up for public auction this month.
Bidding on the 114 sqm (1227 sqft) apartment starts from 81,600,000 Yen (715,800 Yen/sqm). Apartments in this building are normally priced around 1.9 ~ 2.5 million Yen per square meter, with those overlooking Hinokicho Park going for as much as 3 million Yen/sqm. Read more
Chongryon HQ sale decision delayed
The Tokyo District Court has extended the decision deadline regarding the sale of the foreclosed North Korean Chongryon Headquarters in Tokyo. The court was expected to announce their decision on October 22, but a lack of information on the buyer, Avar Limited Liability Corporation, means the court needs more time to determine whether or not they are in a position to go through with the purchase.
Avar bid 5.01 billion Yen (approximately 51 million USD) for the 10-storey building in Chiyoda-ku.
Information on the mysterious buyer is still vague. Investigations by media outlets discovered that the company was created in January 2013 with a capital investment of just 60,000 Yen. Mongolian tax officials have no record of Avar paying taxes or insurance premiums. The business is registered to an apartment in Chingeltei, Ulaanbaatar. Neighbors say that the apartment was owned by the father of Avar's director, but he moved out several years ago. The current resident claims to have never heard of the company. Read more