CELL HOTEL
Notorious abandoned prison being transformed into luxury HOTEL with guests set to stay in solitary confinement cells
The prison's existing appearance will be 'left as it is'
AN ABANDONED prison is being turned into a luxurious hotel where guests can sleep in solitary confinement cells.
The former Nara Juvenile Prison in Japan has been left to rot since closing down in March 2017 but will soon become the Hoshino Resort.
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Located in the city of Nara on the island of Honshu, the 115-year-old prison will reopen as a in 2026.
Its cells will be transformed into 48 guest rooms for tourists and the guard quarters will become shared spaces.
There will also be a restaurant and a lounge as part of the new complex, while a museum telling the history of the former prison will be open to day visitors.
Hoshino Resorts global marketing director Asako Sato told how the former prison would be seismically reinforced and the interior would be renovated.
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However, she added that developers will "leave the existing appearance as it is” because it is a preserved building.
According to Ms Sato, it will be the first time a prison hotel of its kind has been created in Japan.
It will fall under Hoshino Resorts' luxury flagship brand HOSHINOYA, and expects to attract couples who value luxury or those who are interested in staying at historical buildings.
Having originally opened in 1908, the Nara prison was designed by the Meiji government to meet the international standard for prisons.
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It marked the modernisation and construction of Western-style confinement facilities in Japan.
Nonetheless, it was forced to close six years ago as a result of its old and derelict buildings.
But instead of knocking it down, the government opted to reopen it as a hotel instead.
It was originally scheduled to start welcoming visitors in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic brought an abrupt halt to proceedings.
As a result, the process is still underway but it is hoped that the Hoshino Resort will open in the spring of 2026.
Elsewhere, chilling images have revealed the inside of a notorious prison featured in a Hollywood film and Johnny Cash's iconic performance.
The once-bustling Tennessee State Penitentiary now sits abandoned near Nashville, with its eerie execution chambers and crumbling cells.
And a luxurious hotel located on a beautiful beach in a Croatian village has now been left an eerie shell.
The stunning 419-bed Hotel Pelegrin was one of the largest complex's on the Adriatic coast and attracted thousands of international guests in the 1980s.
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