Takanawa Prince Hotel Scores Hat Trick In Japan

<B> Takanawa Prince Hotel Scores Hat Trick In Japan</B>

By Judy Jacobs

The 309-room Takanawa Prince Hotel Sakura Tower opened in southern Tokyo in early October as the third hotel in a complex that also includes the 414-room Takanawa Prince Hotel and the 946-room New Takanawa Prince.

The three hotels are located a mere three-minute walk from Shinagawa Station, a major railway station on the Yamanote Line, which rings Japan's capital and connects Shinagawa with Tokyo and Shinjuku stations, among many others.

The Shinagawa area is a burgeoning satellite business area that currently includes the offices of such global brands as Mobil, Philips, Siemens and Sony. Fujitsu and NTT-affiliate Obayashi also plan to set up shop in the neighborhood at the new Shinagawa Intercity complex opening this month. Japan's giant Mitsubishi Group will move to Shinagawa in 2003.

The Sakura Tower, which distinguishes itself as the most upscale of the three Prince properties in Shinagawa, is targeting the corporate and meetings market.

"We are expecting 44 percent of our business to be business travelers," said sales manager Hiroshi Moriyama. "Every room has voice mail and fax machines with personal computer connections." At 495 square feet, the rooms also are very large by Tokyo standards.

Moriyama estimated that meeting and convention attendees will comprise about 20 percent of the Tower's business.

The Tower has a conference floor with 20 rooms, which is a multipurpose space exclusively for guests staying at the hotel. The layouts of the divisible meeting rooms can be flexibly customized in accordance with the purpose of the gathering.

Advanced equipment, including a simultaneous interpretation facility for international conferences, also is available in the hotel, he said.