Hublot moves into historic machiya in Gion, Kyoto
Swiss watch brand Hublot will be opening up a boutique in an old machiya-style townhouse in Kyoto’s famous Gion district on August 26. The previous tenant was Hermes.
The shop will feature custom Japanese washi paper and wickerwork replicating the company’s logo, while customers will receive Japanese-style folding fans as gifts.
Renovated machiya guesthouse in Kyoto makes 1 million Yen in first month
A renovated guesthouse located just 7 minutes from Kyoto Station has made a gross turnover of 1 million Yen (approx. 9,150 USD) in the first month of operations.
Yadoru Kyoto Washi-no-Yado is a 102-year old traditional Kyoto machiya-style townhouse that was given a full renovation and converted into a holiday rental. The occupancy rate for the month of July was over 97%. Over 80% of the guests have been foreign travelers, with visitors from China and Taiwan making up 60% of bookings.
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.
New apartment prices in Kyoto drop as developers are forced out of city center
The supply of brand new apartments in Kyoto City in the first half of 2017 increased by 21.7% from the same period in 2016, while the average sale price saw a steep drop of 24.1% to 43,280,000 Yen. The reason for the decrease in the price was due to intense competition for hotel development sites in the city center which has forced apartment developers to shift their focus to the city’s outskirts where prices are cheaper.
Kyoto’s most expensive rental apartments to open in 2018
Kyoto’s most expensive rental apartment building is scheduled open in May 2018. The 5-storey La Tour Kyoto Higashiyama residence is being developed by Sumitomo Realty in the Higashiyama ward. It will be part of Sumitomo’s 'La Tour' brand of high-end rental apartments. The developer currently operates 20 La Tour buildings in central Tokyo, but this will be their first one outside of the capital.
Lingerie company to start Kyoto machiya accommodation business
On May 30, Japanese lingerie company Wacoal Holdings announced that they will be starting an accommodation business that will feature Kyoto’s traditional machiya residences.
From early 2018 onwards, the company plans to renovate old machiya into hotel-like guesthouses targeting tourists, with two or three machiya to open next year. Their goal is to manage 50 machiya over the next five years with a total annual revenue of over 1 billion Yen (approx. 9 million USD).Read more
2.2 Traditional machiya houses in Kyoto are demolished each day
Kyoto City is losing its traditional machiya townhouses at an alarming rate, with an average of 2.2 of these symbolic houses demolished each day.
On May 1, Kyoto City announced that approximately 5,600 machiya have been demolished over the past seven years. In 2016, a survey found that there were 40,146 surviving machiya in the city.
Of the surviving machiya, 14.5% are vacant and not occupied by owners or tenants, an increase of 4 points from the previous city survey in 2009. Kyoto City’s vacancy rate across all types of housing was 14% in a 2013 survey.Read more