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The Mainichi

Hotel in Japan's Atami opens 'Showa retro' themed areas for 100th anniv. of era

ATAMI, Shizuoka -- Marking 100 years since the Showa era (1926-1989) began in Japan, a mainstay hotel in this central Japan hot spring resort city has been offering a number of projects themed on the period. With Nintendo Family Computer ("Famicom") consoles, rotary phones and cassette decks, visitors may feel like they've slipped back into the '80s, if not earlier. The Hotel New Akao opened in 1973. After closing down in November 2021, it was taken over by a U.S. investment firm along with affiliated facilities in the area. Popular for its Showa-era luxury facilities, including a dance floor with sparkling chandeliers and a main dining hall with seating for 496 people, stays increased by 20% in 2024 versus before the COVID-19 pandemic in a V-shaped recovery. A 12-tatami mat Japanese-style room that is being offered starting April 29 on the Showa Day public holiday is themed on 1970s hobbies and aims to let guests experience a night from the past era. Visitors can enjoy playing original Famicom games and listening to vinyl records. The items were either provided by businesses or collected by employees who brought them from their parents' homes. Since January, the hotel has been offering guests a variety of retro-themed experiences in a bid to recreate the atmosphere of the Showa era. As part of its initiatives, guests can borrow record players, cassette boom boxes and board games at the lobby. The facility also offers rentals of "bubble outfits" -- flashy clothing styles popular among women during Japan's bubble economy period in the latter half of the 1980s -- and has recreated a room reminiscent of a typical Showa-era living room. Guests who stay overnight or visit for day-use baths are being encouraged to take eye-catching photos and upload them to social media. The first-floor dining area, known as "Nigiwai Yokocho," hosts a "dagashi" penny candy shop supervised by Amanoya Shigeta Shoten, a long-established candy store from Shizuoka Prefecture founded in 1926, the first year of the Showa era. Around 200 varieties of dagashi and toys, mostly priced between 20 and 60 yen (around 14-42 cents), are available, and sales have exceeded expectations. A 20-year-old man and his 17-year-old sister from the city of Soka, Saitama Prefecture, who stayed with their 81-year-old grandmother, said, "It feels new. We came because we like taking photos." A couple, 64 and 63, from Tokyo's Meguro Ward who visited for the day-use bath commented, "To use a current expression, it's 'emoi' (emotionally moving). It's nostalgic." The Showa experience room is available until July 13, while the bubble dresses will be available until June 30. (Japanese original by Koji Wakai, Ito Local Bureau)