The Osaka Corona Hotel has been eerily quiet and empty the past few weeks.
“Our name is extremely regrettable,” Kohei Fujii, the hotel’s sales director, said with a sigh as he sat in an empty cafe in the lobby. A sign advertising discounted bottles of Corona beer stood at the front desk, but there haven’t been many customers at the hotel to take up the offer.
Spring is usually the hotel’s busiest season, Fujii said, with Japanese companies renting out conference space and banquet rooms to hold training seminars and parties for their new hires. The hotel is near the bustling Shin-Osaka Station, a transport hub for western Japan.