Photo/Illutration Nipponia Hotel Ozu Castle Town in Ozu, Ehime Prefecture (Provided by Kita Management)

Comprising old houses and townhouses dotting a zone around majestic Ozu Castle in Ehime Prefecture, Nipponia Hotel Ozu Castle Town started operating in July 2020 in Ozu.

The farthest accommodation facility is 500 meters from the inn’s front desk, meaning many patrons drop by stores and shops for local specialties and other items while shuttling between their rooms and the reception desk.

All guests are given “passports” when checking in that help them discover outlets and restaurants in the region. Guests are eligible for special offerings at the places recommended if they show the passport there, such as a free cup of coffee.

“We will continue deepening regional cooperation from here on out to preserve the townscape,” said Yosuke Inoue, president of Kita, a real estate development firm in Ozu, which was involved in refurbishing the lodging facilities.

Such a style of dispersed hotels is a growing trend across Japan.

Traditional townhomes and older houses are being renovated into lodging to preserve regional landscapes while inspiring guests to travel to nearby tourist spots, thereby boosting spending in the area.

There are expectations such a unique inn could help local economies.

The inn in Ozu has allegedly been operating at 30 to 40 percent of the capacity initially expected since its opening, with accommodation fees ranging from 20,000 yen ($146) to 40,000 yen.

The occupancy rate of 30 to 40 percent apparently means investments can be recouped in 10 to 15 years.

Eight rooms within five buildings were included in the list of the hotel’s accommodations in April this year, meaning 28 guest rooms across 22 buildings are currently available.

Similar establishments were put in place earlier this year in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture; outside Tokyo; and Okinawa Prefecture’s Kunigami, while 150 old homes have so far been turned into accommodation facilities or souvenir shops in 28 regions.

Koo Otsu Hyakucho started its services in Otsu in 2018, taking advantage of seven townhouses along a shopping street and elsewhere.

Leaflets are distributed to visitors on local eateries and other outlets. A tour of a shopping district is also offered in the morning and evening free of charge.

Although Otsu once flourished as the home of a post station, 10 percent of the 1,500 townhouses there had reportedly been left vacant before the novel coronavirus pandemic began. 

Hirokazu Taniguchi, president of Taniguchi Komuten, a contractor in Shiga Prefecture, which built Koo Otsu Hyakucho, said dispersed accommodations can provide a new lease on life for declining areas.

“The project should serve as a model of how to revitalize a shopping street,” said Taniguchi.

A similar move is under way to breathe life back into the community along a rural railway with a scattered hotel.

A district around the unstaffed Hatonosu Station in Okutama on the JR Ome Line, which runs in mountains in western Tokyo, is being redeveloped as a dispersed hotel.

The station building is to be used as the reception area for the project, which aims to convert “all areas along the track into accommodations.”

Satoyume Co., a consulting firm in Tokyo that works on local revitalization and other objectives, and East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), are behind the plan. 

The envisioned hotel is scheduled to open in fiscal 2023 and involves remodeling old private homes in the neighborhood.

Of the 13 stations along the Ome-Okutama section of the JR Ome Line, 11 have no deployed staff members, which includes Hatonosu Station. Luring in sightseers is anticipated to help bolster the railway’s ridership levels.

“By creating a sustainable business, we will be raising the profile of areas along the line,” said Shunpei Shimada, president of Satoyume.

East Japan Railway Co. is looking to open dispersed hotels by 2040 in 30 locations of which it is in charge.

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