Japan’s hotel inventory is seeing robust growth with properties from world-renowned brands debuting in prime destinations from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

Here is The Incentivist’s shortlist of properties that have opened recently, will open this year, or are in the development pipeline.

• Roku Kyoto, LXR Hotels & Resorts is Hilton’s first property in Kyoto opened in Fall 2021. The 114-room hotel is part of the 28.6-acres Shozan Resort Kyoto, a luxury enclave currently home to some of the city’s most notable gardens, historic architecture, and authentic tea houses.
• Byaku, a new experiential hotel brand, debuted in 2021 with the opening of Byaku Narai in Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture (central Japan). This unique brand is designed to preserve and use the cultural resources unique to the region. Its premiere property offers 12 guestrooms housed in renovated buildings in a historic part of the town. The small-scale complex also includes a restaurant, sake brewery bar, hot bath facility, and an arts gallery, where guests can experience traditional crafts, music, and songs.
• Marriott has expanded its Japan portfolio with the openings of Aloft Osaka Dojima, W Osaka, and Hiyori Chapter Kyoto, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. The hospitality company’s Japan portfolio now includes 70 properties across 18 brands in 21 prefectures.
• The Okinawa Prince Hotel Ocean View Ginowan will open on April 12, 2022. Located in Ginowan Port Marina in Ginowan City, it is the first of two Prince hotels scheduled to open this year in Okinawa Prefecture. The 14-storey building features 340 ocean-view guestrooms, a spa, restaurants, and infinity pools on the second and top floors.
• OMO7 Osaka by Hoshino Resort is also scheduled to open in April. Located in front of Osaka’s Shin-Imamiya Station, the 14-storey property has 436 guestrooms, gardens, a spa, and a public bathhouse. Its ground floor, OMO Base, includes reception, a library lounge, a cafeteria, and a restaurant.
• Royal Park Hotels and Resorts Co., Ltd. is opening its fifth hotel in Kyoto this spring. A flagship property, The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Kyoto has 130 guestrooms, a restaurant, a lounge, and a public bath.
• Hilton has signed a franchise agreement with Ken Corporation Ltd. to launch Hilton Yokohama in autumn 2023. The 339-room hotel will be part of Ken Corporation’s mixed-use development project “K-Arena” in Minato Mirai 21. (Image at top of post is a rendering of the exterior of Hilton Yokohama and K-Arena. Photo © Hilton 2022.)
• Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. to open Japan’s first Bvlgari hotel in Tokyo. The property will occupy the top seven floors (39-45) of an ultra-skyscraper planned for construction in the Yaesu 2-Chrome North District Category-1 Urban Redevelopment Project. The 98-key hotel will include iconic Bvlgari features such as Il Bar, Il Ristorante, Il Cioccalato and the Fireplace Lounge. It will also have a ballroom with large outdoor space, and a 16,000+ square-foot BVLGARI Spa with a fitness centre and indoor pool. It is slated to open in 2023.
• Hilton has entered into an agreement with Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd. to manage its new build property on Miyako Island. Scheduled to open in 2023, Hilton Okinawa Miyako Island Resort will have 329 guestrooms, restaurants, fitness amenities, meeting and function spaces, a banquet hall, chapel, executive lounge and ocean-view rooftop bar. It is Hilton’s first property on Miyako Island.
• Osaka’s One Dojima Project will include Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts’ first property in the city. The 178-room hotel will be housed on floors 1-2 and 28-37 of the 49-storey, mixed-use tower being developed by Tokyo Tatemono and Hotel Properties Ltd. It is scheduled to open in 2024.
• IHG Hotels & Resorts and GI Capital Management will welcome a new era of luxury to Japan, following the signing of Regent Kyoto. Opening in 2024, the property will have 86 guestrooms. It will be set within a garden that was originally landscaped 100 years ago by renowned gardener Kumakichi Kato, and is currently home to Tsuruya, one of Kyoto’s top dining destinations.
• Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., a subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co., Ltd. will open the Nikko Style Niseko Hanazono hotel in 2024. The 234-room property will be located in Niseko, a world-famous ski resort in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Guestrooms on the top two floors will have private hot spring baths. Other notable amenities and facilities will include open-air baths overlooking Mount Yotei, a club lounge, a fitness center and banquet facilities.
• Six Senses plans to open its first Japanese property, Six Senses Kyoto, in 2024. Working in partnership with Tokyo-based Wealth Management, the company is developing an 81-key property, which will be organized around a central courtyard. It will include a spa with wellness facilities, a meeting room with a fireplace, several f&b options (all-day dining restaurant, sushi restaurant, brew bar, etc.), and an Earth Lab, the brand’s space dedicated to environmental engagement and innovation.

Japan’s hotel inventory has been steadily growing thanks to the country’s growing appeal as a leisure travel and MICE destination.