3 days ago
A seaside hotel built on competitive Japanese cycling
Despite a persistent rain off the Seto Inland Sea in early June, nine keirin bikers in brightly colored Lycra are lining up on a track in the coastal town of Tamano, their rear wheels held in a starting block so they're ready to take off as soon as the pistol fires. With the course banked to 30 degrees in places to accommodate speeds approaching 70 kilometers per hour, a wet track seems like a risky prospect.
'Nothing short of a major typhoon will make them cancel a race,' says Eiji Kosaka, reception manager of Keirin Hotel 10 .
Opened in 2022, the hotel was the first in Japan to be integrated into a sports stadium — in this case, the Tamano Keirin velodrome. Most of its rooms look directly over the track, allowing guests to watch races from the comfort of a private balcony.
I've come to get an up-close taste of keirin, a competitive biking discipline that started in Kyushu in 1948 to boost the postwar economy and has risen to the ranks of Olympic competition. In keirin's lapped races, cyclists initially follow a pacer, using the slipstream to get up to breakneck speeds. They remain in a predetermined order until the final laps, when the pacer exits and the racers sprint for the finish line, jostling for position.
Japanese-style competitive cycling is just one of a few examples of legalized sports betting in the country. |
ONKO CHISHIN
I've heard the Japanese version can get fairly rough and tumble, with headbutting, thrown elbows and no brakes to soften collisions.
To my relief, the soggy race I'm watching never gets ugly. The riders just zip over the line, trailing fantails of water and coasting amiably back to the locker rooms. Perhaps because of the rain, there are only a handful of spectators, so I've no crowd reaction to gauge the result. Was it the outcome expected or an upset? I'm not sure, but since punters can place bets at a track or off-site facility, by phone and even online, I know somebody somewhere is ripping up a betting slip in frustration.
Keirin is big business. Alongside motorcycle, boat and horse racing, it is one of only four sports with legalized gambling in Japan. Races take place nearly every day at 43 velodromes across the country, and in fiscal 2024, the Japan Keirin Association reported over ¥1.3 trillion in betting slip turnover.
Rooms at Keirin Hotel 10 offers views of both the velodrome track below and the Seto Inland Sea beyond. |
ONKO CHISHIN
The historic Tamano velodrome, which was established in 1951, has been there throughout most of keirin's rise to popularity. When the operators decided to renovate in 2020, they wanted to preserve the track's 70-year history while getting more use out of the facility. They settled on the idea of a hotel.
'Typically, keirin venues have athlete accommodation facilities, but these are only used during races — just a few dozen days per year,' says Tomoki Matsuyama, CEO of Keirin Hotel 10 operator Onko Chishin. 'The project team thought: 'Why not transform it into a hotel and open it to the general public?'
'We're introducing the appeal of keirin culture not only to traditional fans but also to people who know nothing about keirin, younger generations and international visitors.'
The erstwhile athlete dormitory was converted into Keirin Hotel 10, an eight-floor, 149-room hotel that opened in 2022. The facilities include a restaurant, Japanese-style bath, event spaces and even a small gallery with a keirin exhibit. The athletes still stay here on race days but on floors sequestered from regular guests.
Races at the Tamano Velodrome take place a few dozen days per year. |
ONKO CHISHIN
The DNA of the historic stadium is alive in the hotel's decor, with salvaged seats turned into rocking chairs, lap timers into colorful objets d'art and even parts of the stadium mascot, Guts Tamachan, repurposed as art in the lobby bathroom. Bike frames become chandeliers and flower vases. Hangers are halved tire rims. The bold color scheme comes from the racers' uniforms.
It's a kitschy-fun immersion in the world of keirin and a ready-made chance for the cycling-loving staff to connect with guests by explaining the finer points of the sport to the uninitiated.
With a location near Uno Port and rental bikes that can be taken on the ferry, the hotel makes for a convenient base for exploring Naoshima and the art islands of the Seto Inland Sea on two wheels. Meanwhile, a range of rooms from suites with semi-open-air baths and spacious balconies (¥48,450 per person per night) to budget-priced singles (¥8,580 per night) accommodates most budgets.
