It was learned on March 7 that Rakuten STAY (headquartered in Tokyo), which operates the Rakuten Group’s Rakuten STAY brand of lodging facilities, is planning to expand into Hokkaido. The company acquired approximately 6,000 m2 of land in the Kitanomine area of Furano City where ski resorts, hotels and pensions are concentrated. Luxury rental villas will be constructed there in the future. The presence of a major domestic player is expected to create new tourism and investment needs and revitalize Kitanomine, where large-scale development has been slow.
The project involves a total area of 99,506 m2, including 64-1 Mukogaoka, Rusutsu, which is close to the roadside rest area, Michi-no-Eki 230 Rusutsu and other facilities. There will be a total of 25 lots of approximately 2,000 – 6,500 m2 each.
Interviews with several sources revealed on November 13 that Rakuten Group, Inc. (headquarters: Tokyo) is planning to build a data center (DC) in the Ishikari Bay New Port area of Ishikari City. This data center will have an estimated power capacity of around 10–15 megawatts. By using renewable energy power produced in Hokkaido, it will be an eco-friendly facility used for their own business operations. Construction is apparently targeted to start in or after 2024.
SoftBank Corp. and its subsidiary IDC Frontier Inc., both headquartered in Tokyo, announced on November 7th their master plan to develop a data center (DC) hub with a power capacity of over 300 megawatt on a 70-hectare site in Tomakomai City. It will be the largest domestic facility complex of its kind. Construction of an initial 50-megawatt data center planned to open in FY 2026 will commence in FY 2024. The project cost for the first building alone exceeds 65 billion yen, of which a maximum of 30 billion yen is expected to come from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s development subsidy program.
Real estate investment firm Wealth Management, Inc. (1-12-32 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Kazutoshi Senno) is planning to build a hotel with a total floor area of 15,369 m2 in the Kabayama area of Kutchan Town. The company will select a building contractor and plans to initiate construction in April 2024.