Even while the pro-IR political momentum in Hokkaido appears to have stalled, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment is moving forward with its plans to bid for a Tomakomai IR, outlining its plans in a release to the Japanese media at the end of June.
Inspire Hokkaido Resort is envisioned as a roughly US$4 billion facility that would directly employ between 5,000 and 7,000 people. It would include three luxury hotels with a combined room count of about 2,500, a MICE facility, a science and technology complex, a 10,000-seat arena suitable to host a professional hockey team, an indoor digital theme park, an Ainu cultural experience center, and other amenities, all with a design intended to blend comfortably into the natural woodland environment.
Local entertainment offerings would include horseback riding and luxury camping—so-called “glamping.”
“Hokkaido is already one of the most popular ski destinations in the world,” Mohegan CEO Mario Kontomerkos explained in a recent Japanese television interview, “The infrastructure for tourism is already there.”
Mohegan’s office in Tomakomai is expected to open in the coming weeks or months. (AGB Nippon)
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