Osaka Hotels Hit by Reservation Cancellations after Quake

June 20, 2018

Osaka- Hotels in the western Japan city of Osaka have been hit by a flurry of cancellations of reservations, in the wake of a strong earthquake that struck on Monday and reflecting fears about aftershocks.

Each on Monday and Tuesday, Hotel New Otani Osaka, located in Chuo Ward in the capital of Osaka Prefecture, faced the cancellations or changes of dozens of reservations. The reservation of a large-scale drinking party at the hotel has also been canceled.

The hotel is now accelerating work to check its facilities. "Now is the time to put priority on safety examinations to reassure our guests," a public relations official of the hotel said.

The temblor, with an estimated magnitude of 6.1 on the open-ended Richter scale, registered lower 6, the third-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, in Kita Ward in the prefectural capital, and the cities of Takatsuki, Hirakata, Ibaraki and Minoo in northern Osaka Prefecture.

At Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka in the city of Osaka's Kita Ward, some 200 reservations have been canceled since the earthquake, including those for two tour groups each comprising dozens of visitors from Asia.

Imperial Hotel Osaka in the same ward has received consultations from a tour group on a possible cancellation of reservations. Because aftershocks are continuing, it is unsure how many reservations the hotel will be able to receive going forward, an official in charge indicated.

Other than the prefecture, reservations for more than 200 guests have been canceled at Arima Grand Hotel in the famous Arima hot spring area in neighboring Hyogo Prefecture.

Many of the canceled reservations were those for group tours from companies in the Kansai region including Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, an official at the hotel said. "The impact is big," the official said, while noting, "It's not the high demand season, such as the summer holiday period, so we're lucky it wasn't worse." Jiji Press