50-yr old office building converted into share space
An old building in Jimbocho Book Town has been converted into a multi-use share space. Osaka-based construction company, Keyman Inc., took a 50-year old building with a GFA of 288m2 and carried out earthquake retrofitting and upgrades. And they didn’t do it alone - they worked with Souzou Kei Fudosan for consulting and Aki Watanabe Architects for design.Read more
Private home converted into contemporary apartments
A 31-year old private home in Takanawadai is currently undergoing a conversion into a 4-unit apartment building. Leading the project is cooperative house developer Archinet.
Nintendo hotel in Kyoto to open this April
The conversion of the historic former Nintendo headquarters in Kyoto will open as a boutique hotel this April. Called ‘Marufukurō’, it is named after Marufuku, the name of the previous corporate incarnation of Nintendo.
50-yr old apartment building in Shinjuku to be refurbished
A former luxury rental apartment building in Shinjuku is undergoing a full refurbishment. Rather than follow the standard practice of demolishing and rebuilding from scratch, the 50-year old building will be stripped back to its concrete structure, retrofitted and renovated.
Muji enters house flipping business
Muji House, part of the household accessory brand Muji, has entered the renovate-to-resell market in Japan. They are planning to flip around 100 apartments annually, focused in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama. Their first two "Muji Infill 0" projects are in Fuchi City and Yokohama City. The property search, planning and renovation took the company three years.
Vintage apartment renovation in Shibuya gets 2,000,000 Yen/sqm price tag
A former expat rental apartment building in Shibuya’s Uehara neighborhood has been fully refurbished with the apartments now available for individual purchase. The condo-conversion is a growing trend in Tokyo where land is scarce and construction costs run high.
First Cabin to open ryokan-style accommodation in Kyoto machiya
First Cabin, a Tokyo-based developer and operator of capsule-style accommodation across Japan, announced plans to open a cabin-style hotel in a traditional machiya-style townhouse in Kyoto. The new hotel will open on March 28, 2019.