YOKOHAMA, Japan — After a hiatus of 10 years, long-time hospitality business specialist Akira Ando last June returned to the post of president at the operator of the Fujiya Hotel, Japan’s first genuine resort hotel, in the town of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture.
The inn’s 500-year history pivoted in 1877 when industrialist Sennosuke Yamaguchi bought the Fujiya Ryokan, rebuilt it and a year later reopened it as the Fujiya Hotel, catering to foreign visitors.
