Japanese Prison to Reopen as Luxury Hotel
Japan's oldest prison will reopen in 2021 as a hotel. The Ministry of Justice sold the rights to manage the 100,000 square meter property for 32 years to a group of companies led by Solare Hotels and Resorts in 2017.
Nara Prison was built in 1908. After World War II, it became a prison for young people, but it was closed in 2017 because officials were worried about its earthquake safety.
The prison held up to 700 people in beautiful red-brick buildings. It has now been made an Important Cultural Asset, and $136 million is being spent to turn it into a luxury hotel. In January of this year, Solare Hotels and Resort hired Hoshino Resorts – a company which manages many luxury resorts in Japan – to run the hotel.
Guest rooms will be built in four of the prison's five main buildings. While Hoshino has not yet said how much it will cost to stay there, other Hoshino hotels usually cost between $450 and $720 a night.
This will be the first prison to become a hotel in Japan, but not the first in the world. The Four Seasons Sultanahmet in Turkey was a prison but is now a five-star hotel, while the Alcatraz Hotel in Germany, which was also a prison, now lets guests stay in prison-style rooms with the original beds.
