Abandoned Japanese temples are a great new tourism investment, start-up PlanetDao says
- Company wants to turn Japan’s growing number of vacant temples and onsens into unique lodgings, with buy-in starting at 34,540 yen (US$217)
Start-up PlanetDao is seeking 34 million yen (US$212,134) from investors around the world to fund its first real estate project, which aims to turn an abandoned temple in Japan’s western Wakayama prefecture into a profitable lodging business where tourists can stay, dine and learn about local history and culture.
The 170-year-old Ryogonji Temple sits on a 199-square-metre (2,142 sq ft) property on a hill overlooking Irokawa village. Once the planned development is complete in 2025, it will accommodate between 12 and 15 guests, said Tamaki Nishimura, founder and CEO of PlanetDao.
Japan has an estimated 75,000 temples, and a third of them are abandoned, she said. Many onsens, traditional inns built around hot springs for bathing, have been deserted too.
Nishimura believes that along with an estimated 8 million old and abandoned homes in Japan, temples and onsens that no longer have caretakers present a compelling investment opportunity for foreigners drawn to Japan and its culture.
For example in Kanazawa, capital of Ishikawa prefecture, an average of 150 historical buildings and temples are either torn down or left empty each year, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
