Shinjuku's latest luxury rental tower is home to Japan's first infinity rooftop pool

The brand new Park Habio Shinjuku Eastside Tower is the first rental building in Japan to have a rooftop infinity swimming pool for residents [As pointed out by a reader, Atago Green Hills Forest Tower (2001) has a rooftop pool on the 42nd floor]. Located on the 32nd floor, the infinity pool will have a commanding view of the Shinjuku skyline. There is also a bar lounge and rooftop terrace which can be used for residents to hold catered private parties. Other facilities include an indoor golf range, fully-equipped gym and karaoke room.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Kengo Kuma designs Starbucks store

Japanese modern architect, Kengo Kuma, has designed a Starbucks Coffee store for Dazaifu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. The new store is located along the road that leads to the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine and is scheduled to open on December 16, 2011.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Nomura's Proud Tower Shinonome sells out on 1st day of sales

In what appears to be good news for developers on Tokyo's bay area, all of the apartments in Nomura Real Estate's Proud Tower Shinonome Canal Court that went on sale this Monday received purchase applications on the same day.

The 52-storey, 600 unit residential tower is located on a reclaimed island on Tokyo Bay, an area that suffered from a  drop in popularity following the March 11 Tohoku disaster due to its liquefaction risks.Read more

by Zoe Ward

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

by Zoe Ward

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

by Zoe Ward

Danchi reconstruction cancelled due to liquefaction

Reconstruction plans for the Sodegaura Danchi public housing project in Chiba's Narashino City have been put on hold as the recent liquefaction in the area caused by the March 11 Tohoku earthquake has deterred potential buyers for apartments in the new project.

The Sodegaura Danchi was built in 1967 and has 250 units. It is built on reclaimed land on Tokyo Bay and is a 45 minute drive from central Tokyo. A 3-bedroom apartment in the complex can be rented for as low as 60,000 Yen/month (780 USD).Read more

by Zoe Ward

Is 2012 the time to buy?

Good news for those waiting to buy an apartment. From next year, the inventory of unsold apartments is expected to reach high levels, which could result in more bargain buys.

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, the sales contract rate for new apartments in September, 2011, had rebounded to 78%. In actuality, that degree of sales may not actually be true. The president of Attractors Lab said that the 'sales contract rate' is not entirely accurate because it does not include apartments that were held back from being released for sale.

In January, 2011, the Institute forecast an inventory of 50,000 apartments for the year. However, this was later reduced to an estimate of 45,000 apartments. The impact of the March 11 Tohoku disaster led many developers to delay apartment sales. By September, the actual supply was down to 28,000 units. Read more

by Zoe Ward