IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) has signed its first management contract in Japan with Kajima Corporation (Kajima) to open ANA Holiday Inn Resort Karuizawa in 2025.
This agreement is the first step in a mid- to long-term mutual development partnership in Japan between IHG, one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, and Kajima, a leading Japanese construction, civil engineering, and real estate development company.
ANA Holiday Inn Resort Karuizawa will be an all-season resort which is an hour and a half away from Tokyo Station in a spectacular location at an altitude of 1,300 metres in the majestic Asama wilderness with 100 guest rooms, 2 pet-friendly villas, a restaurant, natural hot spring, gym, indoor swimming pool and other facilities. The grounds adjacent to the hotel will feature a ski slope for children and adults and an 18-hole golf course, offering a wide range of activities throughout the year.
Currently operating as President Resort Karuizawa, the property will undergo an extensive renovation and reopen as ANA Holiday Inn Resort Karuizawa in the first quarter of 2025.
Once open, the hotel will further strengthen its efforts to attract not only guests from Japan but also overseas travellers through IHG’s global enterprise and its award-winning loyalty program, IHG One Rewards, with more than 130 million members worldwide.
Holiday Inn Resort Karuizawa will be the tenth hotel in Japan under the Holiday Inn brand family, and the fourth Holiday Inn Resort offering, alongside ANA Holiday Inn Resort Miyazaki, ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano Omachi Kuroyon, and ANA Holiday Inn Resort Appi Kogen. It’s also IHG’s second hotel in Karuizawa, complementing its boutique premium property, Hotel Indigo Karuizawa, which opened in 2022 and boasts unrivaled popularity among domestic and international travelers.
Abhijay Sandilya, Managing Director of Japan & Micronesia IHG Hotels & Resorts and CEO of IHG-ANA Hotels Group Japan G.K., said, “Following Crowne Plaza Bangkok Lumpini Park in Thailand with Kajima Corporation, we are very honored to announce that we have reached an agreement to open ANA Holiday Inn Resort Karuizawa with them. Karuizawa, long a favourite with political, business and cultural visitors, as well as foreign travellers, is the perfect location to launch this partnership between IHG and Kajima. We look forward to building on this long-standing partnership and developing even more great hotels throughout Japan in the years to come.”
Katsunori Ichihashi, Senior Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of Development Business Division, Kajima Corporation, said, “We are very pleased to sign our first in Japan management contract with the globally renowned IHG Hotels & Resorts to open an international hotel in Japan. We are very happy that the appeal of the President Resort Karuizawa, which has been operated by the Kajima Group since 1997, has been recognized and that we will be able to maximize that appeal to create a new international hotel. We will continue to make every effort for the grand opening to welcome many guests who will have a wonderful time there.”
IHG continues to embed its position as one of Japan’s leading international hotel companies, which currently has 55 open or pipeline hotels across the country and is experiencing its biggest period of growth on record in Japan.
