450-room hotel for Niseko

Philippine real estate developer DoubleDragon Properties is about to embark on a 450-room hotel project in Niseko.

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Quick real estate news summary for the week

OYO sells short-term letting unit, New World resort for Niseko, and DeNa moves into WeWork. Below is a quick weekly summary of some of the recent goings-on in the Japanese real estate market.

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Six Senses to open in Niseko

A Six Senses resort is coming to Niseko in 2024 ~ 2025. On April 8, the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper reported that IHG Hotels & Resorts is planning the luxury hotel for the Hirafu district.

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US$600million+ resort condo development for Niseko

Another week, another multi-billion Yen project announced for Niseko. Singapore-based Shenning Investments is developing a luxury Capella-branded resort in Niseko’s Hanazono district with a planned opening in 2024 ~ 2025. The total cost of the project has not been disclosed but some have estimated it to be over 70 billion Yen (approx. 664 million USD).

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Resort development activity picking up in Hokkaido

Architect Tadao Ando visits the site in Tomakomai.

Resort development activity is starting to accelerate in Hokkaido as the region begins to see a rebound in foreign tourist numbers.

Construction is scheduled to start on a large-scale resort in the Uenae area in Tomakomai City this June. The 1000 hectare site will include a hotel, horse-riding and trekking facilities. Aman Resorts Group's GHM (Singapore) are tentatively scheduled to be the hotel operator. The development is being designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando and will be completed in 2014. They are targeting wealthy foreign tourists. The total investment is estimated at 13 billion Yen (158 million USD).

*Update: Aman's 'Chedi' brand of hotels is scheduled to operate the hotel. "The Chedi Tomakomai" is now scheduled to open in 2017.

*Update 2: Mori Trust have acquired the site in 2016 and will start construction on a resort in 2017 with completion expected in 2026.Read more


Niseko Kogen Hotel sold

Niseko Kogen Kanko, a subsidiary of Tokyu Land, announced that they will be selling the Niseko Kogen Hotel to an undisclosed buyer for just over 1 billion Yen. The buyer is said to be a fund based in Asia.

The Niseko Kogen Hotel will remain open until March, 2012, at which time the new buyer will take over the property. The hotel is aging, so it is expected that the new buyer will demolish and rebuild a high class international hotel on the site. The current 59 room, 4-storey hotel was built in 1975, and room rates start from 7,000 Yen/night (90 USD). In recent years, construction of new condominiums in the area have had a negative impact on the hotel's profitability. Read more