Japan’s luxury hospitality operator Hoshino Resorts is set to debut a striking departure from its usual portfolio: a former prison reimagined as a luxury hotel.

Opening on 25 June 2026, Hoshinoya Nara Prison becomes the brand’s tenth flagship and Japan’s first luxury hotel housed within a former penitentiary.

The historic Nara Prison, a designated National Important Cultural Property, has been sensitively restored, preserving its Meiji-era Japanese Western-style architecture, including red-bricked domes and arched gateways. It is the only fully intact example among Japan’s five largest prisons built in the early 1900s.

All 48 guest rooms have been transformed from former solitary confinement cells to the high-ceilinged, minimalist suites of today which blend brickwork with modern wood panelling.

The largest 11-cell deluxe signature suite comes in at a spacious 70 sqm, with a private dressing lounge and a curated collection of music and books.

The 10-cell suites (60 sqm) and 9-cell suites (from 50 sqm) accommodate up to two guests each, with the latter offering flexible partitioned living spaces.

Rates start at US$233 per guest, per night.

Experiences draw heavily from the Meiji period, from gramophone-accompanied evening drinks and rickshaw tours, to perfume-blending sessions inspired by techniques introduced to Japan at the time.

Ahead of the hotel launch, a museum opens on 27 April, offering insight into the prison’s architecture, Japan’s penal system and inmate life. A café serves Western-influenced Meiji-era dishes, while a gift shop showcases handicrafts produced through prison work.

Source: https://www.travelweekly-asia.com/Luxury-Travel/Former-prison-becomes-Japan-s-new-luxury-resort?