Sankei Building to enter Kyoto machiya hotel business
On July 27, The Sankei Building Co., a Tokyo-based real estate company, announced that they will be entering the Kyoto machiya hotel business. Their first property is a traditional machiya merchant residence located a kilometer from Nijo Castle that is scheduled to open in April 2018.
100+ year old convent to be converted into luxury hotel
On July 31, Mori Trust announced that they have acquired the historic former Maria-en Catholic nursery school in Nagasaki. Mori will restore the 119-year old building and convert it into an internationally-branded luxury hotel targeting wealthy foreign tourists with an opening scheduled for around 2022. Mori Trust operates 21 hotels across Japan, and this will be their first venture in the Kyushu region. The seller was the Minami Yamate-kai social welfare corporation.
32 million Yen lawsuit filed against illegal Airbnb hosts in Osaka apartment building
The owners association of a condominium in Osaka’s Minami district have filed a lawsuit with the Osaka District Court seeking 32,670,000 Yen (approx. 300,000 USD) in damages from hosts providing illegal overnight accommodation in the building.
According to the association, 5 of the 100 apartments in the 10 year old building have been rented out to overnight guests using online booking sites, contravening the building management bylaws. The association made attempts to have the hosts, who also owned the apartments, stop the activity by imposing fines of 50,000 Yen per day and putting up posters in the building. However, their attempts were ignored.
Tokyo apartment sales in July 2017
The following is a selection of apartments that were sold in central Tokyo during the month of July 2017:Read more
Local groups seek ban on unlicensed short-term letting in Hakuba
Hakuba’s local tourism associations are seeking a ban on short-term Airbnb-type accommodation because it could threaten the already-low operational rates of the village’s existing inns and hotels.
Hakuba’s Kirikubo and Shinden districts at the foot of the Hakuba Iwatake Ski Resort have 68 licensed lodgings that have operating ratios of around 15 ~ 20%, as reported by the Iwatake Tourism Association. The president of the Association says the village already has enough accommodation options for foreign and domestic tourists and believes that the new model of short-term Airbnb-type lettings is something more suited to a large city.
For Sale: 3-Bedroom corner apartment in Roppongi Hills
ROPPONGI HILLS RESIDENCE
SOLD
Potential rent: -
This is a sought-after three bedroom corner apartment on the 19th floor in Roppongi Hills Residence B - the 43-storey tower. The Roppongi Hills Residences form part of the internationally-renowned Roppongi Hills complex in the center of Tokyo, which includes a 238m tall office tower, a variety of restaurants and cafes, a high-end retail mall, the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the TV Asahi studio, and the Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Escada boutiques.
The developer, Mori Building, spent 17 years getting the various land parcels and landowners together in order to start the project. Since its completion in 2003, Roppongi Hills has been considered one of the most desirable places to live, work and play in the country, and has attracted some of Japan’s most elite business people and celebrities as residents.
Construction starts on 3,000-unit project in Kachidoki
Construction has started on a triple-tower high-rise apartment project on the man-made island of Kachidoki in Tokyo Bay. Completion of the 165.5 billion Yen (approx. 1.5 billion USD) development is tentatively scheduled for late July 2027.
The Kachidoki East District Redevelopment includes three towers ranging from 106 ~ 195 meters, with a total floor area of 369,000 sqm (3.97 million sq ft) and as many as 3,120 apartments.