IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 19 hotel brands with more than 6,300 hotels in over 100 countries. In Japan, IHG Hotels & Resorts currently operates about 47 hotels under seven brands from Hokkaido to Okinawa (as of March 2024). For this interview, we asked Shigenori Tamaki, general manager of the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel TOYAMA, about the hotel’s surrounding area.
Name: ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel TOYAMA
Location: 2-3 Otemachi, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture
–How did you come to work at the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel TOYAMA?
In 2021, he joined IHG Hotels & Resorts as Director of Sales & Marketing and was part of the team preparing for the opening of Hotel Indigo Karuizawa. The following year, as a challenge for further career development, he decided to participate in a training program to become a general manager, and was appointed to his current position as general manager in June 2023, just one year into his career.
–What kind of hotel is it?
Opened in 1999 as the ANA Hotel Toyama, the hotel was rebranded in 2007 as the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel TOYAMA, a premium brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The hotel has 252 guest rooms, Japanese, Teppanyaki, and Western cuisine restaurants (beer garden open in summer), Sky Bar, and one of the largest banquet halls in Toyama City, and is well known as a landmark hotel located in the center of Toyama, The hotel is used by both domestic and international guests as a base for leisure and business.
Although the hotel is located in the city center of Toyama, you can enjoy a great location where you can feel the history and nature of Toyama close at hand. From the teppanyaki counter of the Japanese restaurant “Unkai,” you can enjoy a view of Toyama Castle over the Japanese garden, while the panoramic view of Toyama city below and the majestic Tateyama mountain range at an elevation of 3,000 meters attracts the hearts of visitors.
–please let me know if you have any personal favorites tourist spots or restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel.
The Matsukawa River running along Toyama Joshi Park in front of the hotel is in full bloom in spring, and is selected as one of the 100 best cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan, as well as a recommended walking course. A sightseeing boat is available to enjoy the rows of cherry trees from the water, and from now through the summer, you can enjoy an elegant moment while feeling the fresh green of the trees.
–What restaurant menu do you recommend?
We recommend the “Seasonal Afternoon Tea,” which was newly introduced this year and is available only on weekends. The young staff of the Western Cuisine Department have been sharing their ideas to create seasonal sweets, such as those arranged with seasonal fruits, so that our customers can enjoy a sense of the season. The “Plated Afternoon Tea” is a new menu item available only on weekdays starting in May, and has been very well received.
–What souvenirs do you recommend?
Toyama’s local sake is made from the pure melted snow water from the Tateyama mountain range and high quality rice grown in the rich soil, and is well known throughout the country. The Japanese restaurant “Unkai” offers a sake tasting contest of three types of local sake. We hope you will enjoy this event as a memorable part of your trip, along with a meal featuring fresh seafood from Toyama’s location on the Sea of Japan.
© Source travel watch
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