Nara Hotel

Nara Hotel (奈良ホテル) is a five star hotel in Nara, Japan. The hotel is located on the hillside overlooking Nara Park. Opened on October 17, 1909, it is one of the most historic hotels in Japan. It was designed by Tatsuno Kingo who was also the designer of the Bank of Japan building and the Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station and is known as the teacher of Kenkichi Yabashi, the designer of National Diet Building, and Kataoka Yasushi who was also the designer of Osaka City Hall. It is partially owned by the West Japan Railway Company. In 2009 the first centennial anniversary of the hotel was celebrated. Famous guests Various crowned and uncrowned heads of state, members of royal families, heads of government, politicians, actors, artists, and other notable persons have stayed at the hotel. Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei, with Crown Prince Hirohito, in 1916 Kyoshi Takahama, Japanese poet, in 1916 Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer, on May 19–27, 1918 Count Nogi Maresuke, Japanese general, in 1911 Crown Prince Hirohito, in 1921 Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, on July 19, 1921 Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1922 Albert Einstein, Swiss physicist, on December 17–18, 1922 Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun, in 1928 Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in 1929 Charles Lindbergh, American aviator, in 1931 Emperor Shōwa, in 1932 and 1940 Emperor Puyi, in 1935. He gave medals to all the staff of the hotel. Charlie Chaplin, in 1936 Empress Kōjun, in 1937 and 1941, 1954 Helen Keller, American social welfare entrepreneur, in 1937 José P. Laurel, former Philippine President, in 1945 for two months Richard Nixon, U.S. vice-president, in 1953 Joe DiMaggio, 1954, Marilyn Monroe canceled her reservation Marlon Brando, American actor, in 1956 Glenn Ford, American actor, in 1956 Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian prime minister, and his daughter Indira Gandhi, in 1957 Princess Alexandra of Kent, in 1961 John Diefenbaker, Canadian prime minister, in 1961 Arturo Frondizi, Argentine president, in 1961 Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General, in 1962 Princess Margrethe, The Hereditary Princess of Denmark, in 1963 Prince Takamatsu, in 1964 King Baudouin of Belgium, in 1964 Premier Georges Pompidou of France, in 1964 Prince of Laos, in 1965 Prince of Spain, in 1966 Prince Chichibu, in 1967 Prince of Nepal, in 1967 Crown Prince Naruhito, in 1968 Gaston Eyskens, Belgian prime minister, in 1969 Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun, in 1970 Prince Takamatsu and Princess Takamatsu, in 1970 Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, in 1970 Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, in 1970 Pope Paul VI, in 1970 Prince Fumihito, in 1970 Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun, in 1979 and 1981 Yul Brynner, in 1980 Audrey Hepburn, British actress, March 31-April 2, 1983 Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko, with daughter Princess Sayako, in 1987 Prince Akishino and Princess Akishino, in 1990 Václav Havel, Czechoslovak president, in 1992 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, in 1992 Emperor Heisei and Empress Michiko, in 2002 and 2008 14th Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual head, in 2003 Hu Jintao, Chinese president, in 2008 Gallery See also Fujiya Hotel Nikkō Kanaya Hotel Nagoya Hotel Imperial Hotel, Tokyo Hōshi Ryokan Dōgo Onsen References External links Media related to Nara Hotel at Wikimedia Commons Nara Hotel, from The Official Nara Travel Guide