Authorities are going full-steam ahead with plans to roll out "hotel ships" that will be stationed in Tokyo Bay to alleviate the expected shortage of accommodations during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
Progress has been made in selecting the large cruise ships to be used and establishing legal rules to realize the concept. However, there remain thorny issues such as determining the necessary business qualifications and developing port facilities.
The central and local governments aim to use the opportunity of the Tokyo Games to establish hotel ships as a lodging option during major events.
About 10 million people are expected to visit the Japanese capital during the 2020 Tokyo Games, including those directly related to the event and tourists from both home and abroad.
The Mizuho Research Institute estimates that Tokyo will see a shortage of up to 14,000 hotel rooms in August 2020, due especially to surging demand from Japanese people for accommodations. However, the research institute says building more hotels is "not effective" when taking into consideration demand outside of this period.
Though the Private Lodging Business Law that took effect in June last year to establish so-called minpaku private lodging was viewed as a possible solution to the problem, the government and other entities believe hotel ships will be more effective because they can provide a large number of rooms.
Currently, detailed preparations for introducing hotel ships are under way at five locations, including Tokyo Port and Kawasaki Port.
The Yokohama city government announced in June last year that JTB Corp. had chartered the U.S. cruise ship Sun Princess to operate as a hotel ship. The ship, capable of round-the-world cruises, has 1,011 guestrooms, an outdoor movie theater and restaurants.
Despite accommodation fees of around 70,000 yen to 600,000 yen per person for two nights, demand is expected to be high. The city government is considering using another cruise ship as a hotel.
The Tokyo metropolitan government has selected MSC Cruises S.A. as a hotel ship operator, and is negotiating with the Switzerland-based company to use the large cruise ship MSC Lirica, with 992 guestrooms.
The Kawasaki city government is planning to enlist a cruise ship with about 900 guestrooms, while the Kisarazu city government in Chiba Prefecture plans to berth a ship of up to 50,000 tons after the prefectural government develops port and harbor facilities.
Meanwhile, the central government is working to establish both the physical facilities and legal rules necessary to transform large passenger ships into hotels.
Many guestrooms on large cruise ships lack windows to let in light and other furnishings required under the Inns and Hotels Law. In May last year, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry notified municipalities that hotels with windowless guestrooms can operate in exceptional cases.
The government also eased regulations such as a requirement for crew members to disembark in Japan, by revising the enforcement regulations for the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law in September last year.
The metropolitan government has asked cruise ship companies to obtain the necessary Japanese licences to ensure crew members who cook and clean aboard the ships are in compliance with Japanese requirements. Measures such as installing septic tanks on land and connecting sewage pipes will also be necessary to ensure sewage treatment is conducted in accordance with local government standards.
Shuttle bus services must also be planned to transport guests from ports to their nearest station.
"It's like suddenly building a large hotel at a port. There are lots of things to prepare," said a metropolitan government official.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry intends to use the 2020 Games as an opportunity to promote the use of hotel ships. It plans to draw up guidelines that include measures to cope with challenges by the end of the current fiscal year.
Authorities are also considering using a hotel ship as an athletes' village at the upcoming Asian Games in Aichi Prefecture in 2026.
Success at 1964 Tokyo Olympics
Hotel ships were in fact used during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Foreign tourists who came to Japan on cruise ships at the time were able to watch the opening ceremony and sports events, and to conduct sightseeing.
During the Games, the Oriana and four other large cruise ships dropped anchor at the Osanbashi terminal at Yokohama Port. About 3,500 stayed on the ships, and tens of thousands of people came to catch a glimpse of them. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Oct. 20, 1964, that, "The idea of staying on ships proved a great success."
Hotel ships were also used at recent Olympics Games in Vancouver (2010), London (2012), Sochi (2014) and Rio de Janeiro (2016). They have become an established method of providing extra accommodations during major events.
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