First hotel near World Heritage Horyuji temple hopes to lure foreign guests
Waqoo Horyuji is hoping to attract more foreign guests now that it has opened as the first hotel built in the vicinity of Horyuji, a World Heritage Buddhist temple in the prefecture of Nara. The hotel operator, Waqoo Project Co., said it expects foreign customers ...
'Scattered hotels' offering village-type stays are taking off in rural Japan
A recent trend in the tourism sector that lets visitors stay in re-created traditional villages while experiencing local cuisine and cultural activities is growing in popularity in Japan. The "scattered hotel" business is believed to have originated in Europe, and Maruyama Village — a facility ...
Eight areas in Japan considering bids to host casino resorts
Eight areas in Japan are considering hosting casinos as part of integrated resorts, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Tuesday. The eight areas are Hokkaido, the city of Chiba, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, a combined effort by Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka, Wakayama Prefecture and ...
Shrinking Yamanashi village converts 150-year-old home into hotel in hope of reversing decline
A new hotel in a traditional wooden house has been opened in a small village in Yamanashi Prefecture in the hope of revitalizing an area that it is grappling with a declining population. The village of Kosuge, where the population has fallen by 40 percent ...
Renovated Okura Tokyo unveiled to the press ahead of public opening
Renowned for melding East and West, old and new with its architecture and design, The Okura Tokyo opened its doors to the press for the first time Friday after three years of renovations, ahead of its public opening on Sept. 12. "We hope that we ...
Ordinance on barrier-free hotel rooms takes effect in Tokyo ahead of 2020 Games
An ordinance takes effect that is expected to boost the number of hotel rooms in the capital accessible by disabled and elderly people ahead of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
SoftBank's Fortress emerges as white knight for hotel chain Unizo with $1.3 billion bid
Hotel chain Unizo Holdings said Friday it has received a friendly buyout offer worth up to $1.3 billion from a SoftBank Group investment firm, in a deal that will help it fend off a rare hostile takeover bid from travel agency H.I.S. Co. U.S.-based Fortress ...
Temple in Tokyo enters hospitality business to offset decline in devotee families
A temple in Tokyo has opened a lodging facility as part of efforts to survive a drop in member families caused partly by Japan's graying and shrinking population. Shodenji temple in Minato Ward opened a hostel big enough for 12 guests after receiving a proposal ...
Casino resort frontrunner MGM says winning and building Osaka facility by 2025 is tough but doable
Over the next few months, the government is expected to debate the structure of a new regulatory committee that will oversee so-called integrated resort complexes containing casinos and draft a basic policy specifying the selection criteria for such facilities. For Osaka, considered the frontrunner of ...
U.S. hotels, unions push back against pressure to hold detained migrants
There's a new target in the clash over immigration: hotels. Advocacy groups and unions are pressuring Marriott, MGM and others not to house migrants who have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. For decades, the U.S. government has occasionally detained migrants in hotels, and ...
Shigeru Ban designs an escape from the pressures of urban life
Nature takes precedence in Shigeru Ban's unusual design for Shishi- Iwa House, a resort hotel in Karuizawa designed to encourage human interaction within luxury minimalism.
Wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms still an issue ahead of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and Olympics
A shortage of wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms remains an issue for Tokyo 2020 organizers, who say they are committed to using the Paralympic Games to make Japan a more inclusive place. As the clock ticks down to the Aug. 25, 2020, opening ceremony for the games, ...
