Shuttered Japanese inn reopens as modern art masterpiece

Sleepy Maebashi wakes up to renewal efforts centered on historic site

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The Shiroiya Hotel in Maebashi, in Gunma Prefecture, combines architectural innovation, art and fine dining.   © Shinya Kigure

HIROSHI FURUTA, Nikkei staff writer

MAEBASHI, Japan -- This small prefectural capital will likely be absent from most itineraries once Japan reopens its borders to tourists, except for a few who won't mind a short jaunt from Tokyo to experience the curious Shiroiya Hotel, a striking example of the country's brutally ugly 1970s architecture turned into art.

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