Development Accelerates On Tokyo's Waterfront
<H1> Development Accelerates On Tokyo's Waterfront</H1>By Maria Lenhart
<I>Tokyo </I>- With little room left to grow in commercial districts such as Ginza and Shinjuku, the Tokyo Bay waterfront now is shaping up as the city's newest hub for business and international meetings.
New hotels, office towers, a computer-operated transit line and Japan's largest convention center are some of the ambitious developments cropping up along the Tokyo waterfront and on a new artificial island linked to the mainland by Rainbow Bridge, a spectacular bilevel suspension bridge designed after San Francisco's Golden Gate.
The focal point of the island is the Tokyo International Exhibition Center, nicknamed Tokyo Big Sight, which opened seven months ahead of schedule in April (BTN, Dec. 11, 1995). Shaped like an inverted pyramid, Big Sight offers 10 exhibition halls, the largest of which is 800,000 square feet, plus a convention hall and 17 conference rooms.
More than just a convention center, Big Sight also offers dining and entertainment. The facility includes 13 restaurants and Cinema Avenue, an amusement center where headsets and big screens create the illusion of being inside famous scenes from 120 movies.
Adjacent to Big Sight is the new 450-room Hotel Nikko Tokyo, a 16-story structure designed to resemble a sailing ship. The Nikko, which opened in April, is the second major international hotel to open in the Tokyo Bay area in recent months, joining the Inter-Continental Tokyo Bay, which opened late last year. The 339-room Inter-Continental is part of a waterfront redevelopment project called New Pier Takeshiba, which also contains an office tower, shopping arcade and a passenger terminal for ships serving islands around the Izu Peninsula. The terminal is expected to eventually receive international cruise ships as well.
According to Inter-Continental spokeswoman Laurel Perlmutter, corporate travel accounts for nearly half of the hotel's business and is expected to grow in importance as more companies relocate to the waterfront area. Multinationals that recently have opened offices in the vicinity include Emerson Electric, General Oil Co., Analog Device, Kanebo and NTT Telecom.
The Nikko, on the other hand, is somewhat unusual for a Tokyo hotel, with a resort-like atmosphere created by extensive landscaping, recreational amenities and guest rooms with balconies and panoramic views of the bay and Rainbow Bridge. "As a result, the hotel does primarily corporate business during the week and a high volume of leisure business on weekends," said Evelyn Sansaricq, a spokeswoman for Nikko Hotels International in New York.
Opening rack rates at the Nikko range from about $245 to $365 for guest rooms, while suites ranges from $680 to $2,700.
Meeting space at the property includes a 13,000-square-foot ballroom that opens onto a private patio, three smaller conference rooms with adjacent terraces and three private dining rooms. One of the hotel's more distinctive features is Zen, a full-service health spa offering beauty and massage treatments. Zen also features an indoor pool, whirlpools, sauna, gym and outdoor area for tai chi exercises. Food and beverage outlets include Japanese, Chinese and Continental restaurants and a nightclub with live music. The property also features 18 suites, some with their own rooftop gardens and Jacuzzis.
Like the Nikko, the 24-story Inter-Continental also features impressive bay views from most guest rooms and offers top-floor suites with Jacuzzis. Rack rates range from $225 to $445, while rates for Club floor rooms are about $310 to $540. Suites range from $900 to $2,700.
Along with hotels, the waterfront area also has a new transportation system linking it with central Tokyo. The Tokyo Waterfront New Transit line operates high-speed trains that make a seven-minute run from Tokyo Teleport Station to Shin-Kiba Station for subway and railway connections. A monorail also runs through the area, providing transportation from the Inter-Continental to Haneda Airport.