Advertising giant Dentsu Group is selling off two large estates in Tokyo and Kamakura for a combined 30 billion Yen (approx. US$271 million) to an undisclosed buyer. The Tokyo property includes one of just two surviving Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes in Japan.
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The overgrown and long-abandoned Maya Kanko Hotel in Kobe will be registered as a Tangible Cultural Property. Discussions to register the historic property began in 2017, with the owner, non-profit organization J-Heritage, and an architectural group banding together to start the application process.
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This 1920s mansion may just be the grandest ‘akiya’, or vacant house in Japan. The official residence of the Prime Minister was built in 1929 and has a total floor area of 7,000 sqm over three levels. Despite its significance, it has been unoccupied for the past nine years.
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Hakodate City in Hokkaido has decided on a buyer for the former Russian Consulate. Built in 1908, this is the only consulate remaining from the Russian Empire era, with the interior still retaining its elaborate and decorative details.
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Hanamaki City in Iwate Prefecture will be demolishing an 86-year old traditional house and former restaurant this year. Several attempts have been made at finding a suitable use for the existing building, but to no avail.
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The traditional Taiko-en estate in Osaka City will be sold at the end of March, as announced by owner and operator Fujita Kanko. The wedding and restaurant facility hosted the G20 Joint Session of Finance and Health Ministers in 2019.
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A new hotelier has entered the boutique ryokan space in Japan, with their first project in the Setouchi Region to open in March 2021. Azumi Setoda is the first of the Azumi hotel projects – a hotel brand established by Adrian Zecha, founder of Aman, and Kyoto-based hospitality group Naru Developments.
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Don’t despair. The historic Toranomon Osaka-ya Sunaba Restaurant isn’t being demolished, it’s being shifted to make way for a road-widening project.
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Kawagoe City in Saitama has converted two historic merchant houses into co-working spaces under a trial run. It is hoped that the recent telework trend might have the positive effect of utilizing long-empty buildings as well as preserving the traditional townscape.
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An 88-year old heritage-listed building in Shimbashi is being converted by construction giant Takenaka Corporation into a share office for start-ups.
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