Yokohama Prince Hotel site redevelopment work commences

Clearing work has started on the site of the former Yokohama Prince Hotel in Isogo ku, Yokohama. The 11 hectare site will have a 1200 unit condominium, commercial facilities as well as a child-care center.

The site is located on the top of a hill and development will include elevator access as well as a tunnel. The five developers working on the project are Tokyo Tatemono, Orix Real Estate, Tokyu Corporation, Itochu Toshi Kaihatsu and Nippon Tochi-Tatemono.Read more

by Zoe Ward

High-rise Refugees

Tokyo's bayside area, which has seen a boom in high-rise condominiums or "tower mansions" in recent years, is now considered a rather risky area to live since the March 11 earthquake. The earthquake caused land liquefaction and many elevators to stop working, resulting in a newly coined term for residents living on high floors - "high-rise refugees".

"There was a lot of swaying. It felt like an amusement park ride" remarked a resident who lives in a 54-storey condominium in Koto-ku's Shinonome area. "I still cannot forget the sounds made by the steel-frame of the building."Read more

by Zoe Ward

Market prices for apartments along the Hibiya Subway Line in Tokyo

The following data was published by Tokyo Kantei in July, 2011, and is based on the asking prices for apartments for sale on the secondary market along the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. The most recent data for 2011 is based on listing prices from March to May.

The apartment price in the table below is the price in Yen per square meter. The number in brackets is the average apartment age in years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Average secondhand apartment prices for June only increase in Osaka

Tokyo Kantei has announced the average sale prices for secondhand apartments across Japan for the month of June, 2011.

In the greater Tokyo area, the average price was 29,750,000 Yen (376,580 USD). This is a fall of 0.7% from the month before, and a fall of 3.5% from June of 2010. It is also the first time in 17 months that prices have fallen.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Historic lodging house "Hongokan" to be demolished in August

hongokan-exterior-1

Built in 1905, Hongokan is Japan's oldest 3-storey wooden lodging house. The L-shaped building has approximately 70 rooms and a total floorspace of 1500 sqm which is very large in scale for a wooden structure.

It was built by an aristocratic family from Gifu Prefecture and was initially used as a boarding house for the Tokyo Girl's Highschool (now known as Ochanomizu Women's College), but soon became a high-grade lodging house that provided luxury accommodation.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo office rents at historically low levels

Miki Shoji announced on July 7 that office rents for commercial properties in central Tokyo have fallen 4% in the past 12 months and are now at the lowest levels ever seen since data collection began.

A major contributing factor to this fall are the companies who are seeing lower earnings as a result of the March 11 Tohoku disaster and can no longer pay high rent for their office space.Read more

by Zoe Ward

New certificates to be issued for earthquake-resistant buildings

Starting in Fall, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will issue certificates for free to buildings that satisfy current earthquake-resistance standards. The certificates will cover office buildings, apartments and houses and will be issued to all who apply.

The certificate can be displayed at the building entrance to put building occupants at ease. While self-governing bodies have been creating assistance measures, there are over 500,000 buildings in Tokyo that do not meet minimum earthquake-resistance levels. The city hopes that the introduction of the certificate will encourage owners of unsafe buildings to have them upgraded.Read more

by Zoe Ward