TOKYO -- Real estate companies in Japan are busy building luxury hotels that will charge more than $250 a night, perceiving a shortage of top-of-the-line accommodations due to a surge in international travelers, particularly from the U.S. and Europe.
Mitsui Fudosan on Friday opened Halekulani Okinawa, whose 360 guest rooms all have rates exceeding 50,000 yen (about $460) a night -- the highest range in the country's southernmost prefecture. The hotel's website recently showed it heavily booked for late July and much of August. While most reservations are for guests from within Japan, foreign tourists are seen accounting for about 30% in the future.
