Osaka sees first InterContinental hotel built
Osaka is the second command center of the Japanese economy after Tokyo, with a daytime and nighttime population that reflects the massive draw of the city as an economic powerhouse.
During the day, 3.7 million people go about their business in the city, while at night the population plummets to 2.6 million, during the day the population therefore surges by 45%.
This is due in large part to the massive size, by population, of the Greater Osaka Area in which 18 million people live and work, with a GDP per capita that is one of the highest in the country and the world.
Osaka, for these reasons and many more, is a major hotel sector in Japan. Already the city contains more than 300 hotels and is a riot of restaurants, cafes, nightclubs and bars, with a travel market that is served by two major international airports.
It comes as no surprise then that the city has been selected by the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) as the location for their sixth hotel in Japan and their first in this major global city.
The plans for an InterContinental in Osaka were recently reported by Osaka news media after an agreement was reached between IHG and Osaka Station North Yard Development Project, a major mixed-use development of a 24-hectare area of Osaka’s city centre.
The project has been broken up into a number of phases due to its immense size, Phase 1 work has already started on the 7-hectare area in which the InterContinental Osaka will be located when it is completed in 2013.
According to early publicity material released to Osaka news media, the hotel will contain 200 rooms and 50 residential apartments, all of which will be kitted out with the usual InterContinental style and comfort.
The hotel will, naturally, feature several eateries and spots where guests can mingle and enjoy a drink, as well as meeting and conference space, with a health spa and fitness centre for guests to unwind and stay fit.
Of special note will also be the hotel’s location. This first phase of the 24-hectare development has been designated as “a special zone for urban redevelopment” and will be highly concentrated with urban amenities for the city, which InterContinental to which guests will have extremely convenient access.
These amenities include a 10,000 square meter plaza and shopping avenue that will be pedestrian only, sure to become a major attraction of this already bustling and appealing city. In addition, there will be extensive office space for corporate activities, providing business travelers staying at the InterContinental with convenient access to their clients and associates.
There will also be high-rise, high-end residential apartments and associated facilities for residential living. Among all of this, however, the InterContinental Osaka will be the signature development feature, presiding over this area of the major development like a monarch at court.
“We are extremely happy to be working with InterContinental Hotels Group on this project,” Toshio Nagashima, director and executive VP, Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd told Osaka news media. “We are excited to be bringing the InterContinental brand into Osaka, and we look forward to the success of the project through the collaboration of the 12 development companies.”
Mitsubishi Estate Company Limited is one of the headline corporations engaged in the development of the Osaka Station North Yard Project.
NTT Urban Development Company is another major business funding the development. Yoshiharu Nishimura, the Executive Director and senior executive manager, of the company’s Development Promotion Department, also expressed his approval of the deal with IHG.
“It has always been our objective to partner with an international hotel brand with top-quality service that can cater to both short-term and long-stay guests,” Nishimura told Osaka news media. “As the luxury brand within IHG’s portfolio, we are confident that InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is our ideal partner for this project.”
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Osaka Digest
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Osaka sees first InterContinental hotel built
Osaka is a major travel destination within Japan and the wider Asian region for business travelers and leisure tourists alike. The city is an economic powerhouse and part of the backbone of the Japanese economy. It makes sense for InterContinental to finally open a hotel here then.
Osaka is the second command center of the Japanese economy after Tokyo, with a daytime and nighttime population that reflects the massive draw of the city as an economic powerhouse. Read more
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