91-yr old building in Jimbocho to be demolished
The 91-year old former Sogo Mutual Loan building in Tokyo’s Jimbocho neighborhood will be demolished in September. The 5-story concrete building with brick-tile facade was built in 1929. It has a total floor area of 453 sqm (4,874 sq.ft) and sits on a 106 sqm block of land.
100-yr old post office listed for sale for 1 million Yen
A former post office in Kagoshima Prefecture has drawn a lot of buzz online for its charming appearance and low price, with buyer inspections already fully booked for the rest of July.
113-yr old ryokan in Sendai closes its doors
The 113-year old Chitoseya Ryokan in Sendai City closed its doors on May 31. It was originally scheduled to close in 2021 as the current operators, now in their 70s, have no successor. But, the recent decimation of the tourism industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic hastened the closure.
Hoshino Resorts announces fund to save struggling hotels and ryokans
On May 29, luxury hotelier Hoshino Resorts announced plans to establish a fund to support domestic hotels and ryokans that are suffering from a drop in customers due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tentatively-named Hotel Ryokan Fund will be set up this summer, with an expected investment of between 10 ~ 20 billion Yen (approx. 93 ~ 185 million USD).
Heritage-listed ryokan in Chiba to close and be demolished
The latest coronavirus-related closure in Japan’s hotel industry is the heritage-listed Kappo Ryokan Tamagawa in Funabashi, Chiba. On May 19, the operator announced that the ryokan had closed permanently at the end of April. No time will be wasted, with demolition of the 92-year old ryokan to start as early as June.
Oldest merchant house in Kanto region demolished
Demolition of the Mizumura Residence in Kawagoe, Saitama, started on April 24. Built in the 1700s, this is said to have been one of the oldest surviving machiya townhouses in the Kanto region.
Tsukiji machiya demolished
The traditional machiya-style townhouse in Tsukiji we featured back in February 2019 when it was listed for sale, has, sadly, been demolished. It will be replaced with a 5-story hotel covering the adjoining vacant lots. Completion is scheduled for February 2021.