Step inside Japan's new luxury hotel converted from 118-year-old Japanese prison: Would you stay the night for…

The repurposed Nara Prison, now Hoshinoya Nara Prison Resort, offers luxurious accommodations in a century-old correctional facility. Take a look inside.

Can a Japanese prison turn into a luxury hotel? On August 17, Elona Karafin, a luxury travel content creator and founder of Japan Like a Local, posted a tour of a luxury suite in a century-old former Nara Prison, part of which has been converted into an unusual luxury stay by Hoshinoya Resorts.

In the video, Elona shares details of the luxurious five-star hotel that was recently repurposed from a century-old Japanese correctional facility. She also highlights a spacious suite created by merging several former cells into a single, elongated living area that retains some of its original architectural features. Let's take a look inside:

A prison turned into a luxury hotel

Sharing the video on Instagram, Elona wrote, “I spent the night inside a 118-year-old Japanese prison.” According to her, the resort is called Hoshinoya Nara Prison and opened its doors for guests in July. The former Nara Prison was built in 1908 and later used as a juvenile prison until 2017. Today, it’s an important cultural property of Japan.

Moreover, operating part of the site as a hotel helps fund the continued preservation of a culturally important building that is incredibly expensive to maintain. “This is definitely one of the most unusual hotels I’ve ever stayed in,” Elona added.

Inside the 118-year-old Japanese prison

The former prison, turned into a five-star property, is located in Nara, Japan. According to a local Japanese commenter, the location of the stay helps encourage tourists to visit places like Nara because Kyoto is currently suffering from overtourism.

Calling it one of the most distinctive room tours she has ever given, Elona showed the suite's various amenities. The room, according to her, has been converted from 9 to 11 former prison cells, creating a long, rather than wide, suite. The lobby retains the usual prison architecture, and even the heavy metal door of a cell is still there.

The rooms

Inside, as soon as you enter, the first room is a lounge area. Much of the exposed red brick remains in its original form from when the facility was fully operational as a prison. The lounge has a mini dining table, a small coffee station, and a mini bar that's fully stocked with champagne, spirits, and wine, all included in the stay.

The suite also has a walk-in closet stocked with gifts that guests are allowed to take home, all from Nara Prefecture, including fans, handmade socks, and handmade bags, all of which pay homage to the locals.

The suite features an open floor plan – a long but not wide space – with each room having small windows that let in natural light. According to Elona, before coming to the hotel, natural light was one of her reservations, since the hotel was still a former prison. But she shared that when the sun is out, it is perfect.

The suite also has a fully functioning bathroom with a standalone tub, a shower, and a toilet. A second lounge area serves as a living room, with an old-school CD and cassette player where guests can enjoy music from the former Meiji Era. And lastly, Elona revealed the bedroom, with nothing but a bed in soft tones.

Would you stay here?

According to the Hoshinoya Nara Prison website, a one-night stay here would cost between USD 317 (approximately ₹30,345) and USD 1,114 (approximately ₹1,06,638). The rooms are divided into three categories: the 11-cell deluxe suite, the 10-cell suite, and the 9-cell suite.