A ryokan and inn operator has unveiled an ambitious plan to attract visitors to a sprawling complex in the ancient capital of Nara that people wanted to avoid at all costs a century ago.

Hoshino Resorts Inc., known for its innovation-driven approach to hospitality, plans to turn a former prison into a luxury hotel with a history-themed museum.

On Sept. 25, the Nagano-based company, which operates a diverse portfolio of accommodation brands in Japan and overseas, announced the blueprint for converting the red-brick prison landmark into a new cultural and tourism hub.

“It is meaningful to preserve cultural properties by sustaining them through tourism revenue," Yoshiharu Hoshino, Hoshino Resorts chief executive, said at a news conference in Osaka. "The museum is far more fascinating than one might imagine.”

Kae Yasoda, a Hoshino employee who will serve as the museum’s director, added, “We are confident visitors will experience the overwhelming beauty and atmosphere of the buildings. We also hope to collaborate with the local community to develop new attractions, such as nighttime tourism.”

The Nara Prison Museum is scheduled to open on April 27 next year within the grounds of the nationally designated important cultural property, the former Nara Prison (once the Nara Juvenile Prison) in the Hannyajicho district of Nara — a place long associated with Buddhist temples and free-roaming deer.

Later in the year, the company will also launch the Hoshinoya Nara Prison, a 48-room luxury hotel within the same site.

According to the plan, several buildings on the north side of the grounds, to the right of the imposing front gate, will be converted into a museum complex featuring exhibition halls, a cafe and a shop selling original goods.

Exhibits will cover the history and architectural features of Nara Prison — celebrated for its red-brick Neo-Romanesque design — along with displays on prison life and rules, as well as galleries showcasing art connected to the facility.

ETERNAL QUESTION POSED BY ICONIC PRISON

The central structure, once home to a watch tower at the heart of the prison’s radial layout, will also be incorporated into the museum and preserved largely in its original form as a designated conservation area.

The project is built around the concept of “An Eternal Question Posed by an Iconic Prison.”

It invites visitors to reflect on the meaning of true freedom within a space once ruled by strict discipline, while also appreciating the elegance of Meiji Era (1868–1912) architecture.

The solitary confinement cells in the radial prison wings, which fan out from the central building in a hub-and-spoke design, will be repurposed as guest rooms for the Hoshinoya Nara Prison.

For more information, including admission fees, visit the official website: https://hoshinoresorts.com/nara-prison-museum/ja/.

LONG-AWAITED HOTEL IN ASUKA VILLAGE

Hoshino Resorts has also unveiled plans to open another property in Nara Prefecture — the 35-room Hoshinoya Asuka, in the village of Asuka, known as the “birthplace of Japan.”

Asuka served as the capital for about a century from the late sixth to early eighth centuries, when the foundations of Japan’s first codified system of centralized government were laid.

The project will develop a hillside site about 800 meters west of Kintetsu Railway Co.’s Asuka Station.

On the roughly 50,000-square-meter property, the company will construct low-rise guest pavilions in a dispersed layout, complemented by gardens designed to evoke terraced rice fields.

Nearby stands the Kengoshizuka Kofun burial mound, a distinctive octagonal tumulus typical of imperial tombs from the Asuka Period (592-710).

Since 2016, the company and the village have been working under an agreement to create accommodations rooted in the history-laden character of the region, consistent with Asuka’s designation as a “special historic landscape preservation district” under the Ancient Capitals Preservation Law.

The village is also seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for the Asuka-Fujiwara Capital Sites as early as next year.

Mayor Yuichi Morikawa welcomed the hotel project.

“This is a facility we have long been waiting for — one we have been requesting for more than 10 years," Morikawa said. "We hope it will help promote Asuka’s historical and cultural heritage internationally.”

(This article was written by Makoto Ito and Kazuto Tsukamoto.)