The history of Hotel New Otani began in 1962, when the Japanese government faced the daunting challenge of completing a massive construction effort to host an estimated 30,000 international visitors for the Tokyo Olympic Games in just two years. Yonetaro Otani, Hotel New Otani founder, agreed to build the finest hotel in the Orient on land he owned in Kioicho near the Imperial Palace, and thereby contribute to the national strategy for advancing Japan’s tourism industry.