Original Kanaya Hotel re-opened to public viewing
After a careful restoration, the historic Kanaya Samurai House in Nikko was re-opened to the public from March 29th. The property forms a very significant part of Japan’s hotel industry as it was the very first western-style hotel in Japan.
The 2-storey wooden house was built in the 1640s as a samurai residence. In the late 1800s it was the residence of Zenichiro Kanaya. Mr. Kanaya was inspired to open up his home to foreign guests after hosting a foreign friend, James Curtis Hepburn, a Christian missionary who created the Hepburn romanisation system for Japanese. Mr. Hepburn saw the appeal of the Nikko area and the potential for foreign visitors, and suggested that Mr. Kanaya create accommodation catering to foreign tourists.
Mr. Kanaya made some alterations to the home and opened it up to guests as the Kanaya Cottage Inn in 1873. British traveler, writer and historian, Isabella Bird, wrote about her stay at the inn in 1878 in her book ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’, which further helped to promote the area and the hotel.Read more
Construction to start on Shibuya Miyashitacho Project
Miyashitacho Realty, a corporation funded by Tokyu Corporation, Tokyu Construction, Taisei Corporation and Sapporo Real Estate, will officially begin construction on the Shibuya Miyashitacho Project on March 30.
The 5,000 sqm site is owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and forms part of their ‘Urban Regeneration Step Up Project’. It was originally the site of the the Miyashitacho Apartments. There were originally three apartment buildings, with demolition of the last building fronting Meiji Dori starting recently.Read more
Yokosuka City forcibly demolishes abandoned home
Yokosuka City began the forced demolition of an abandoned home in Higashiuraga on March 13. This is the first forced demolition to be carried out in Kanagawa Prefecture and the third in Japan.
The wooden house, which was built sometime between the Taisho and early Showa periods, had a total floor area of 25 sqm. It was in a serious state of decay, with exterior cladding and doors coming loose in past typhoons. It became vacant after the owner passed away in 1988.
In 2012 the city received a complaint about the house and had repeatedly tried to contact relatives of the current owners, but with no success. The owners of the house did not own the land, and since the house did not appear on any cadastral maps, the heirs were not subject to annual property taxes.
The house was considered a hazard to the locals who often use the pathway running in front of the house as a shortcut to the station, and in December 2014 a removal order was issued. Read more
Construction starts on Shin-Hibiya Project
Mitsui Fudosan started construction on the Shin-Hibiya Project on March 23. The 192m tall, 35-storey office tower is expected to be completed by the end of January 2018. London-based architectural firm Hopkins Architects are in charge of the master plan.
The project will help to enhance the area's image as centre for international business and the arts. The retail component will include Toho Cinemas, and will be the largest cinema complex in central Tokyo. This area has a long history as a theatre district. Toho, the producer of the Godzilla franchise, was founded nearby.Read more
Secondhand apartment prices continue to rise in February
Second-hand apartment prices in Tokyo continued to climb in February, with the latest data from Tokyo Kantei showing a 1.3% rise in apartment prices in the Tokyo metropolitan capital from the previous month.
Strong demand from both local and foreign buyers, and a growing number of renovated properties being flipped by real estate companies is thought to be behind the surge in the asking price of second-hand apartments.
The average asking price of a 70 sqm (753 sq ft) second-hand apartment in the metropolitan area was 40,040,000 Yen in February, up 1.3% from January and up 5.7% from February 2014. The average building age was 21.8 years.
This is the 8th month in a row to see a month-on-month increase in asking prices and is the first time that the average price has exceeded 40,000,000 Yen since September 2008.
In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the average asking price was 44,590,000 Yen, up 1.3% from the previous month and up 7.7% from last year. The average building age was 22.0 years. The price is now 5.7% below the peak of 47,280,000 Yen seen in February 2008.Read more