15/08/2026

"Hotel New Japan" Brand (c. 1960s)

ホテルニュージャパン

Today we’re back off to Japan! Always a treat to see Japanese designs, both the more modern and antique labels have something special about them! This is our first accommodation-based label.

When smoking was much more glamourous, every hotel, pub and restaurant had their own personal branded matchbox. Like with the cleaning brand we looked at a while ago, it’s odd how labels like this are incredibly localised and rare, but have seemingly zero collectors value. This one is a little more interesting however, as it relates to a relatively well known building that’s been lost to time.

Hotel New Japan was opened on March 22nd 1960, initially it was planned as luxury accommodation but was swiftly remodelled into a hotel to take full advantage of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Quite tragically however the hotel was the scene of a terrible fire in 1982, which resulted in a saddeningly high loss of life.

I found a report of the event that states “Virtually no sprinklers were installed. Curtains, carpets, and other furnishings parts of the building were not fire-resistant. TA failure in the emergency announcement system was neglected, and no inspections were performed on the fire extinguishment facilities.”

It unfortunately seems like another instance of “Lesson learned too late,” a sentiment that still echoes prominently in similar tragedies. The Tokyo Prudential Tower now sits on the site of the hotel today in Nagatachō.

Due to the fire the vast amount of memorabilia and ephemera of the hotel has been lost, making this label even rarer. It’s odd holding it in my hand as I write this knowing it was once resting in the lobby of a building that’s no longer there, it’s an odd wistful hiraeth feeling.

Solemn subject matter aside though, the label itself has a strong Mid-Century-Modern design, a style that was especially popular in post-war Japan. The colours are certainly very striking, at a guess I’d say they’re aiming to emulate the colours of the Japanese flag. The design emulates the hotel quite well from the looks of it, but I couldn’t manage to find a good street-level photo for comparison.

Unfortunately the full telephone number in my example has been lost to a crease, though after having a look around I found a Japanese Health Ministry document from 1978 that confirms the full number is (03) 581-5511, we’ve cracked the case! This also helps us date the label to the 1960s. The 03 area code was a later addition to Tokyo numbers after the city's phone network was expanded. So the fact that it’s missing from our label dates it firmly to the 1960s.

As ephemera relating to this hotel is all but lost to time, I thought I’d have a go at recreating / restoring it just so there’s a clear example of the matchbox out there. The font isn’t quite perfect but I think it turned out okay!