Osaka races Tokyo to open Japan’s first Waldorf Astoria

OSAKA — A group of Japanese companies looks to build a luxury Waldorf Astoria hotel as a main attraction in an urban redevelopment project in Osaka, a city short on top-class accommodations.

Mitsubishi Estate and the other eight companies handling the project on the north side of Osaka Station hope that a Waldorf — one of Hilton’s crown jewels — would draw affluent visitors from Japan and abroad. The new hotel at the earliest may open before the city hosts the World Expo in 2025.

There are now around 30 Waldorf hotels around the world, including in Shanghai and Bangkok. What is now poised to be Japan’s first Waldorf is set to open in 2026 in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district.

The second phase of the so-called Umekita project in Osaka calls for offices, hotels and other facilities integrated into a large green space. A partial opening is slated for 2024, followed by a full opening in fiscal 2027.

A total of three hotels are planned for the second phase, which spans 17 hectares. Hilton would be expected to operate a roughly 250-room superluxury hotel in a multiuse property planned for the south block.

The first phase saw the 2013 opening of the Grand Front Osaka, a multipurpose complex featuring a convention center, offices and apartments.

Land for the Umekita project was formerly occupied by a freight rail station.

The Waldorf Astoria brand dates back to 1893 New York. In 2014, the sale of the iconic Waldorf Astoria on New York’s Park Avenue to China’s Anbang Insurance Group was announced, one of a number of conspicuous acquisitions by the later-troubled conglomerate.