Japan’s first Hilton Curio Collection hotel to open in Karuizawa

Tokyu Land Corporation has entered into a franchise agreement with Hilton Hotels & Resorts to open Japan’s first Curio Collection by Hilton hotel in Karuizawa.

KYUKARUIZAWA KIKYO, Curio Collection by Hilton is the rebrand of the former Kyu-Karuizawa Hotel that was acquired by Tokyu in March 2017. It is scheduled to re-open in spring of 2018. The 39-year old hotel sits on a 5,800 sqm site located 1.2km north of Karuizawa Station. Almost 90% of the 50 rooms are over 40 sqm (430 sq ft) in size.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Rent in Tokyo jumps 4.2% thanks to supply of new construction

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent of a condominium in Tokyo’s 23 wards was 3,474 Yen/sqm in December 2017, up 4.2% from the previous month and up 3.6% from 2016. The increase was caused by a larger share of relatively new buildings which typically command higher rents, along with the release of a large number of brand new high-rise apartment towers in Shinjuku and Shinagawa.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Foreign funds spend 1.1 trillion Yen on Japanese real estate in 2017

In 2017, foreign corporations and funds spent a total of 1.1 trillion Yen (approx. 9.7 billion USD) on real estate acquisitions across Japan, a three-fold increase from 2016 and the first time that the annual volume has exceeded one trillion Yen.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo’s Chuo ward to ban minpaku rentals 5 nights a week

Tokyo’s Chuo Ward is planning to introduce tight regulations that will ban minpaku-style overnight rentals in private residences from midday Mondays through to midday Saturdays, allowing a host to only operate on Saturday and Sunday nights. This regulation will override the new national law that will go into effect from June 2018.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 63rd month

According to REINS 3,011 second-hand apartments were sold across Greater Tokyo in December 2017, up 3.7% from the previous month and up 0.6% from the previous year. The average sale price was 33,200,000 Yen, up 3.7% from the previous month and up 6.3% from 2016. The average price per square meter was 519,400 Yen, up 3.5% from the previous month and up 4.3% from 2016. This is the 60th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sale prices. The average building age was 20.85 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Marriott to open W Hotel in Osaka in 2021

On January 10, Sekisui House and Marriott International announced plans for Japan’s first W Hotel. The 337-room W Osaka will open in the Shinsaibashi district in 2021. Room rates have yet to be decided, but it is expected that this will be one of the priciest hotels in Osaka city.

The building will be 117 meters tall with 27 floors and will be designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Kyoto property prices pushing younger buyers out of town

Recent population data provided by Kyoto City is showing a growing trend of younger residents moving out of the city to surrounding districts. If this trend continues, the city could see a net outflow of residents in the 30-year old age bracket.

The average price of an apartment in the city in 2016 was about 20 ~ 50% higher than the top 10 cities that these younger residents are moving to, leading some to say that Kyoto has become unaffordable for the younger generation. With surging hotel development creating a shortage of residential development sites, the average apartment price in central Kyoto has reached around 1,000,000 Yen/sqm (approx. 835 USD / sq ft), close to double the price in other districts. In 2016, Kyoto City was the second most expensive district in Japan, second to Tokyo, for new apartments with an average price of 52,960,000 Yen.Read more

by Zoe Ward