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.
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The number of registered ‘minpaku’ short-term accommodation providers has dropped for the first time since the new system was introduced in June 2018. According to the Japan Tourism Agency there were a total of 21,176 registered properties across Japan as of May 11, down from 21,385 just one month earlier.
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On May 21, hotel developer and operator APA Group held the ground-breaking ceremony for a 1,001-room hotel and 212-unit condo development in Niigata City. This will be the largest mixed-use hotel and residential development in East Japan.
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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.
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On April 10, hotelier APA Hotels & Resorts announced that the APA Hotel & Resort Yokohama Bay Tower will be leased out to Kanagawa Prefecture provide beds for coronavirus patients with light or no symptoms. The 37-story hotel is located on the Yokohama waterfront. With 2,311 rooms, it is the largest hotel in Japan based on room count.
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Tokyo Shoko Research released a report on March 18 on the current impacts the coronavirus is having on Japan’s hotel industry. We are only two months into the crisis and listed companies are one-by-one lowering their earnings estimates for the year.
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The impacts of the coronavirus are being painfully felt by hotel and ryokan operators in Shizuoka’s popular hot spring locations. Hotels and onsens that have relied heavily on tour groups from China are now facing either temporary or permanent closure.
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On February 4, Hilton announced plans to open an LXR-branded luxury hotel in Kyoto. The resort will be located within the 28-acre Shozan Resort Kyoto on the site of a former bowling alley.
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On December 7, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced a plan to encourage and support the opening of fifty world-class luxury hotels across Japan. Suga made the announcement at a press conference following a visit to a town devastated by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.
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Hiramatsu, a fine-dining and wedding function company, will be opening a boutique luxury hotel in Kyoto in March 2020.
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