TOKYO – Singapore’s Frasers Hospitality and Britain-based lifestyle hotel chain Yotel on June 9 celebrated several firsts with the official opening of the 244-room Yotel Tokyo Ginza.

It marks the first time the two brands have teamed up, Yotel’s debut in the Japanese market and Frasers Hospitality’s maiden ground-up investment and development project in the country. The Singapore company acquired the land and oversaw the building’s construction before handing the operations over to another company.

Situated on the periphery of Ginza, the Japanese capital’s most prestigious shopping district, the 14-storey boutique hotel offers compact “cabins” of between 14 sq m and 18 sq m in size, as well as family units comprising two connecting rooms.

The hotel is strategically positioned near the Shimbashi district, a haven for salarymen, and the Shiodome business district, which caters to business and leisure travellers alike.

This marks a rare ground-up project for Frasers Hospitality, as most of its real estate investments thus far have been the acquisition of existing assets.

The company is riding the crest of a boom in both real estate investment and inbound tourism in Japan, which has been a draw for many Singaporean hospitality and real estate firms. Recent and upcoming entrants include Pan Pacific Hotels Group, SC Global, Banyan Group and Capella Hotels & Resorts.

This comes as Frasers Hospitality has embarked on what it describes as “twin engines of growth”. It operates hotels and serviced apartments across seven brands – including Fraser Residence, Capri and Modena – that may be owned by a third-party company.

It is also acquiring real estate – plots of undeveloped land as well as ready-built property – that can be operated by anoth...