Luxury boutique hotel planned for Otaru, Hokkaido
A Sapporo-based real estate developer is planning a small luxury hotel within the grounds of a historic villa in Hokkaido’s Otaru City. The boutique hotel is scheduled to open in July 2017. It will be connected to the historic residence next-door which is operated as a restaurant. Read more
Park Hyatt opening in Kyoto in 2019
Hyatt Hotels and Resorts is planning to open a new hotel in Kyoto. Park Hyatt Kyoto will be located within the grounds of the Kyoyamato Restaurant in Higashiyama-ku, which is about 600 meters from Kiyomizu-dera temple. The property was originally part of the estate of a sub temple and includes a tea room established 360 years ago.
Details on the Kyoto property have yet to be announced, but it is expected that the project will include 70 guest rooms. The restaurant will continue to operate after the hotel has opened. Takenaka Corporation will lease the land from the owner and build a 4-storey hotel which will then be leased to Hyatt. Construction will begin by the end of 2016 with the hotel scheduled to open in 2019.Read more
Developer to raze 84-year old building in Ginza
Ginza is about to lose another of its pre-war buildings as an 84-year old office building is under demolition by a developer.
Demolition started in early September with the removal of asbestos. The building will be completely demolished by early November.Read more
Tokyo apartment asking prices in September 2016
According to Tokyo Kantei, the average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq.ft) second-hand apartment in greater Tokyo in September 2016 was 35,300,000 Yen, up 0.3% from the previous month and up 11.7% from last year. This is the 9th month in a row to record an increase from the previous month. The average building age was 22.4 years.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average asking price was 48,050,000 Yen, down 0.1% from the previous month but up 9.4% from last year. The average building age was 22.1 years.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average asking price was 52,640,000 Yen, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 7.1% from last year. The average building age was 22.0 years.
In Tokyo’s central six wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Shibuya), the average asking price was 71,980,000 Yen, down 0.1% from the previous month but up 4.0% from last year. The average building age was 20.1 years.
Mt Rokko’s corporate retreats to be converted into lodging for foreign tourists
Hyogo Prefecture and Kobe City are embarking on a plan to convert unused corporate retreats and holiday homes in Mt. Rokko into accommodation facilities for foreign tourists.
Mt. Rokko is said to be West Japan’s version of Karuizawa, and was historically a popular summer mountain resort area. Following the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, tourist numbers dropped significantly and the area went into decline. A city investigation in 2016 found 171 of the 233 corporate retreats were not being adequately maintained and potentially falling into ruin.Read more
Restauranteur planning big expansion into luxury hotel business
Hiramatsu, a famous French and Italian restauranteur, announced bold plans for their newly created hotel brand.
In July, they opened The Hiramatsu Hotels & Resorts Kashikojima in Mie Prefecture. The small-luxury resort has just 8 guest suites and is targeted towards wealthy individuals with a net worth of over 100 million Yen. Room rates, which include meals prepared by renowned chefs, range from 65,000 ~ 80,000 Yen/night (640 ~ 790 USD) per person. The hotel was fully booked for the months of July and August, and reservations for 2017 are already starting to fill up. Currently the restaurant in the resort is only open to hotel guests, although they are considering opening it up to non-guest bookings.Read more