Paralympic pressure: Progress doubted on barrier-free access push
Japan is accelerating efforts to improve access to accommodations and transport for the Paralympics, but people with disabilities are questioning whether enough is being done. While the games are being touted as a chance to create a more inclusive society, 66 percent of respondents to ...
Tokyo manga hotel makes virtue of sleepless nights
Few hotels in the world actively encourage guests to have sleepless nights, but a manga-themed establishment does just that — and it is proving very popular with Japanese and non-Japanese alike. The Manga Art Hotel in central Tokyo has developed a unique offering, with capsule-like ...
Kyoto mayor says city will require barrier-free rooms at all new hotels and lodging facilities
In order to improve the accommodation experience for people with disabilities and elderly guests, the city of Kyoto plans to require all rooms in newly built lodging facilities to be barrier-free in principle, Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa said Monday. The city, one of the most popular ...
Five other Japanese lawmakers may be involved in casino bribery scandal
An adviser to a Chinese gambling operator that is under investigation for allegedly bribing lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto, formerly a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, over a casino resort project, has told investigators that the company also gave cash to another five lawmakers, a ...
NHK and Japan sportswear firm Mizuno apologize over phony program guest
NHK apologized Thursday for failing to check the identity of a program guest it had introduced as a customer of a shoe rental service at a hotel. The guest was actually an employee of sportswear firm Mizuno Corp., which provided the shoes to the ...
Real estate and hotel developer Apa Group opened in Osaka on Tuesday a 32-story hotel with 913 guest rooms, making it one of the largest inns in western Japan. The Apa Hotel & Resort Midosuji Hommachi Eki Tower has direct connections with Hommachi Station, which ...
Sumitomo to build hotels with over 1,700 rooms at Tokyo's Haneda Airport
Two hotels, with a total of more than 1,700 rooms, will be built in Tokyo at Haneda Airport, according to Sumitomo Realty and Development Co. Sumitomo said Tuesday a large-scale multipurpose development complex connected to the airport, comprising the hotels, shopping areas and an open-air ...
Venice hotel bookings at low ebb after post-flood cancellations
Tourists are shunning Venice after a series of exceptionally high tides last month, with a plunge in hotel bookings bringing fresh economic woe to the lagoon city. Beloved around the world for its canals, historic architecture and art, Venice suffered its worst week of flooding ...
The government will help the private sector build 50 luxury hotels that will appeal to foreign tourists, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Saturday. The government hopes to see "new world-class hotels at some 50 locations" by supporting hotel development projects through a loan program ...
Defying local skepticism and 'Tokyo first' mentality, Science Park thrives in rural Yamagata
When Keio University professor Masaru Tomita accepted an offer in 2000 to head a new science lab in the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, his fellow researchers — shocked at what they evidently considered his relegation to the countryside — warned him that his ...
More zany than Zen: Kyoto hotels paving the way to 2020
Tired of always staying at the same minimalist hotel? Inject some levity into your Kyoto trip by booking a room at one of these avant-garde boutique hotels instead.
Hokkaido may fold its hand in the nationwide bid to host a casino resort
Some residents voiced concerns about the environmental impact of building a so-called integrated resort housing a large hotel and conference rooms.
