Residential hotel development and operation business "&Here" will open its first hotel "&Here TOKYO UENO" in Ueno, Tokyo on Friday, March 15, 2024

Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Masahiro Miwa) has announced that it will open its first hotel in Ueno, Tokyo from the residential hotel business “&Here,” which it announced in July 2022. We are pleased to announce that the hotel “&Here TOKYO UENO'' (145 rooms in total) will open on Friday, March 15, 2024.

This hotel will be the first long-stay hotel developed and operated by Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate. The operation will be handled by NSKRE Hospitality Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Munenori Otani), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate, which was established in July 2022.

▲“&Here TOKYO UENO” 1st floor lounge

“&Here TOKYO UENO'' was designed with families in mind for long-term stays in Ueno, a popular area in Tokyo where many foreign visitors to Japan gather. Ueno is in a prime location, with a concentration of cultural and leisure facilities such as the Tokyo National Museum and Ueno Zoo, as well as spots where foreign visitors to Japan can experience Japanese culture, such as Ameyoko, which is lined with a variety of shops.

The hotel's northern area is a scenic area facing the nature of Ueno Park (FOREST SITE), and the southern area is an area lined with long-established shops selling traditional crafts from the Edo period (CULTURE SITE). We offer the pleasure of choosing your favorite guest room from the different guest rooms designed with the concept of each area in mind.

Following this opening in Ueno, we are planning to construct eight hotels in three prefectures in the future.

■Background of entering the hotel business

Since the end of the COVID-19 border measures in April 2023, the number of foreign visitors to Japan has exceeded 25 million annually, and inbound demand is steadily recovering. According to a survey*, about 50% of visitors to Japan stay in groups of 3 or more people, and about 80% stay for 4 days or more, indicating that there is a high need for hotels and guest rooms that allow groups to stay in one room for a long period of time without having to separate rooms. I understand.

Additionally, in Japan, there is an increasing trend in the number of multi-person trips, such as three-generation trips, mainly among retired seniors. Furthermore, in recent years, “residential hotels'' have been attracting attention as they rationally incorporate the advantages of both hotels and serviced apartments, providing added value such as kitchens and laundry facilities, and allowing guests to stay as if they were living there. However, on the other hand, hotels in major cities in Japan currently lack guest rooms that can accommodate three or more people at the same time.

Based on the above, we have decided to develop and operate the residential hotel brand “&Here'', which meets the needs of long-term and large-group accommodation, including foreign visitors to Japan, domestic families, and group travelers. SPECIAL DAYS HOTEL is a new category that is neither a business hotel nor a city hotel, but pursues comfort and well-being not only during hotel stays but throughout the journey. We aim to be a hotel that provides the following.

*An original survey by Nippon Hotel Appraisal Co., Ltd. based on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tourism Agency's "Survey on Consumption Trends of Foreigners Visiting Japan," "Statistical Survey on Overnight Travel," and interviews with health centers, etc.

■About the new brand “&Here”

&Here, a new residential hotel brand, focuses on the important elements of travel : ENJOY and RELAX , and the precious time guests spend with the people they care about, such as family and friends. It was created with the hope of becoming a place that “attracts and connects'' many important things.

Our ideal is to offer a variety of "enjoyment" and "relaxation" times not only within the hotel, but also to customers who are traveling, and to have them take home "special memories." Masu. The "&" in the logo represents the hotel's ability to connect travelers with the local area, travelers with various experiences, and travelers with staff. The design, inspired by the traditional craft of mizuhiki, resembles a “road'' and also embodies the idea of “a hotel that leads to wonderful places.''

[What is the journey proposed by &Here?]

Traveling is made of "enjoyment" and "relaxation." Based on this idea, we develop hotels that design not only the way you spend time inside the hotel, but also the entire journey. We firmly support each person's various ways of enjoying the game.

① Located in an area full of Ueno's rich greenery and manufacturing culture

“&Here TOKYO UENO'' is located in one of the greenest areas in Tokyo (FOREST SITE) such as Shinobazu Pond and Ueno Park on the north side, and in an area full of traditional crafts and manufacturing culture (CULTURE SITE) on the south side. Our hotel's concept is "Ueno Park Shrine," and we will create a peaceful forest adjacent to the cultural shrine "Ueno Park," providing a place where you can experience local culture.

– Conveniently located at the southern end of Shinobazu Pond, with views of Shinobazu Pond and Ueno Park from the guest rooms.

– Can be used on multiple lines such as JR Line, Ginza Subway Line, Chiyoda Line, etc.

– Easy walking route for tourists with a flat approach from the station

・Good access to Narita Airport and Haneda Airport from Ueno Station

② Design the exterior and guest rooms based on the image of the "FOREST" area on the north side and the "CULTURE" area on the south side

▲“&Here TOKYO UENO” exterior

The north side is designed with Ueno Park's trees in mind, and the south side is designed with traditional crafts and manufacturing culture in mind, with a decorative design of aged bricks and an exterior design that takes advantage of the characteristics of “FOREST'' and “CULTURE.'' We aimed to be a hotel full of local character.

There are 14 types of guest rooms to choose from: “FOREST SITE,'' which expresses a sense of nature while taking advantage of the view of Shinobazu Pond, and “CULTURE SITE,'' which has a design with a craft feel, workshop room, and literary masters in mind. We provide.

70% of the guest rooms are family-type, with various facilities for long-term stays such as a mini kitchen, refrigerator, microwave, dining table, and in addition to beds, sofa spaces and Japanese-style rooms for relaxation. We provide a space for

[FOREST SITE guest room]

▲Deluxe Sweet Bank

▲Deluxe Family Bank

▲Deluxe family Japanese-Western room

[CULTURE SITE guest room]

▲Deluxe family “Bungo”

▲Superior twin Japanese room

▲Deluxe family “Takumi”

③Creating a sustainable space with common facilities that make your stay comfortable and artwork co-created with local workshops.

In addition to the hotel lounge and cafe space, the first floor lobby floor is equipped with a shared office called “WAW,'' which allows guests to comfortably spend their business time during their stay, taking into account telework needs. "WAW" is also available to visitors other than hotel guests.

The artwork on display in the lobby is the braided cord of “Domei'', which is located in the Nakamachi Shopping Center where the hotel is located, and the work of “Toumei'', an acrylic resin processing company in Ueno. By co-creating with local workshops, we have created a system to deepen understanding of the city.

The courtyard in the center of the lobby is designed to create a sustainable space by using "Loss Plants," which reuses plants used for events and other events. In addition, in order to improve the attractiveness of hotels through industry-academia collaboration projects, we collaborated with students majoring in interior design from the Tokyo Communication Art College to develop "hotel artwork" that attracts target customers and "tools to communicate regional attractions" that enrich customers' trips. (Tabloid Uchiwa)" was produced and installed at the hotel.

[1st floor lobby floor]

▲ Artwork co-created with a local workshop is displayed in the lounge.

▲Cafe space “&Here Cafe”

▲Share office “WAW”

▲Artwork created through industry-academia collaboration project

▲Courtyard with Ross Plants

④Large bath where you can enjoy the magnificent scenery of Ueno Park

We have prepared a large public bath where you can feel the comfort of relaxing your mind and body while enjoying the magnificent scenery of Ueno Park. With an open view facing Shinobazu Pond, you can enjoy the feeling of openness to your heart's content. You can enjoy a relaxing time with the view of Shinobazu Pond, which changes its appearance depending on the time.

▲Large bath

▲Large public bath open-air bath

▲Shinobazu Pond and Ueno Park seen from the public bath

⑤ “&LOVER” connects guests with the local community as a city information center

▲“&LOVER” Map

"&LOVER" is a surrounding information content created by the hotel staff of "&Here TOKYO UENO" to convey the diverse charms of the city that they have personally searched and discovered, and to make the guests' journey more enjoyable. is.

We provide information by genre, such as “fast food restaurant menus'' recommended by our foreign staff in Japan that our customers would like to try in the neighborhood, “Ueno Park,'' where you can enjoy culture and art, and “Shopping Streets,'' which retain the atmosphere of a downtown area. We create original surrounding information materials and surrounding maps. We aim to become a hotel where hotel staff become information providers and serve as an information center for the city.

■Future opening schedule

・“&Here OSAKA NAMBA” scheduled to open in April 2025

・“&Here SHINJUKU” scheduled to open in July 2025

・“&Here TOKYO ASAKUSA” scheduled to open in January 2026

■Overview of “&Here TOKYO UENO”

Location: 2-11-18 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo

Access: 7 minutes walk from JR “Ueno” station, 2 minutes walk from Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line “Yushima” station, etc.

Number of rooms: 145

Design: Tokyu Sekkei Consultant Co., Ltd.

Construction: Sekisui House Co., Ltd., Asanuma Gumi Co., Ltd. (construction cooperation)

Opening date: Friday, March 15, 2024

■“&Here” brand site: https://andherehotels.jp/