10 billion Yen hotel demolished in Hamamatsu
A hotel that was built at a cost of 10 billion Yen during the bubble era in the 1980s has been demolished. This was around US$70 million in those days, using the currency conversion rate in 1987 of 1 USD : 144 Yen.Read more
Town to buy 300-yr old house for 38 million Yen
Matsuzaki Town in Shizuoka’s Izu Peninsula will be purchasing the 300-year old former Yoda Residence for 38.4 million Yen (approx. 337,000 USD). The town’s budget for acquisition and preservation of the property is expected to total 48.7 million Yen, which includes 10 million Yen to acquire the rights to a hot spring source.
The property includes the heritage-listed 300+ year old main house and warehouse. The Yoda family has been a landowner for many generations and found success in the silk industry during the Edo period. At one time the house was the family home of Yoda Benzo (1853-1925), one of Hokkaido’s early pioneers and founding settlers.Read more
Yamaha Resort Tsumagoi sold to Kobe-based hotel operator
Hotel Management International (HMI Hotel Group) will acquire the Yamaha Resort Tsumagoi in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka, in March. The seller is Yamaha Corporation. The sale price has not been announced.Read more
Did you know: Atami City has a special tax on holiday homes
The popular beachside resort area of Atami in Shizuoka levies a special tax on owners of holiday homes and resort apartments within the city. Called a "besso" tax (besso = holiday house), it is very similar to a municipal tax. This tax is only charged on properties in Atami City, and is not found anywhere else in Shizuoka Prefecture.Read more
Bankrupt Matsubishi Dept Store to be demolished
Demolition preparation work has started on the Matsubishi Department Store in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The building is expected to be completely demolished by the end of July, 2012.
The total cost is expected to reach 500 ~ 600 million Yen and will be shared amongst the landholders, which include Asahi Corporation.
The main building of the Matsubishi Department Store was completed in 1936. It suffered damage but miraculously survived the bombing of Hamamatsu in WWII which destroyed 60 percent of the city. Later, in 1956, the store was home to the first escalator in Shizuoka Prefecture.Read more
Shizuoka Town creates 1000-yr tsunami hazard map
Following the March 11 Tohoku disaster, a coastal town in Shizuoka Prefecture has decided to create a special tsunami hazard map based on a hypothesized once-in-a-thousand-years tsunami.
Yoshida Town is in south-west Shizuoka and faces Suruga Bay. Although it is protected by a 6 meter breakwater, a tsunami of over 8 meters is now thought to be possible. The last major tsunami to hit the town was a 5~6 meter wave caused by the 1854 Ansei Tokai Earthquake.
Under the supervision of an associate professor from the Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo, the special map will be based on an earthquake of the same class as the 1498 Meio Nankaido Earthquake which had an estimated magnitude of 8.6 and caused a large tsunami in Suruga Bay and at Kamakura. Using historical records, the estimated height of the tsunami in Yoshida was 8.6 meters.Read more
No one wants to live near the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant
The coastal city of Omaezaki in Shizuoka Prefecture suffered a big fall in land prices and is seeing vacancy rates soar as property transactions and prices plummet.
The tsunami in northern Japan and the Fukushima nuclear disaster have had a big effect on this coastal town which is also home to the controversial Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant. Vacancy rates are climbing and property transactions are down.Read more