Hiramatsu to open Kyoto hotel in 2020

Hiramatsu, a fine-dining and wedding function company, will be opening a boutique luxury hotel in Kyoto in March 2020.
Construction starts on 265m Toranomon Hills Station Tower

Groundwork on the OMA-designed Toranomon Hills Station Tower in downtown Tokyo officially started on November 25. The high-rise forms part of Mori Building’s US$3.6 billion redevelopment project centered in Toranomon.
Niseko now has an accommodation tax

The popular ski resort of Niseko in Hokkaido has joined the ranks of districts with accommodation taxes. Kutchan Town introduced the tax on November 1. It will apply to all types of accommodation providers, including hotels and minpaku-style operators.
Roppongi to see new Langham hotel in 2024

Preliminary images of the jaw-dropping design for the proposed Langham hotel in Tokyo have been released.
Kamakura has less than 1,000 hotel rooms

Despite welcoming over 20 million annual tourists, Kamakura, a historic beachside city an hour by train from central Tokyo, has a surprisingly small number of hotel rooms. The mountain resort town of Hakone, also in Kanagawa Prefecture, has the same level of tourists but as many as 8,000 hotel rooms. Kamakura has just 980.
Nara soy-sauce brewery to become boutique hotel

Nara-based Nanto Bank has set up a 1.5 billion Yen (approx. US$14 million) fund that will restore historic kominkas and convert them into tourist accommodation. Nara Kominka Machitsukuri Partners will start operations next month. The first project is a soy sauce brewery founded in the Edo period. The former storehouse will be converted into overnight accommodation.
Onsen, retail and event space planned for Shimokitazawa Station area

Odakyu Electric Railway has released their development plan for the newly freed space above the underground section of railway that runs between Yoyogi Uehara and Umegaoka Stations.