Hawzah News Agency-A hotel for Muslim travelers has opened near the Kawaguchiko Lake, a tourist spot at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

“Syariah Hotel Fujisan,” which opened in the Yamanashi Prefecture town of Fujikawaguchiko, has a prayer room and offers halal food complying with Islamic religious law.

At the hotel, a renovated house that was previously empty, Japanese dishes using beef and unfermented seasonings will be served in consideration of bans on the consumption of alcohol and pork.

Prayer mats are available at the hotel, which contains eight rooms with arrows pointing to Mecca.

As of this date, no reservations had been made at the hotel.

Shigeru Yamashita, president of the hotel operator, said that he did not expect customers in the first days after the opening. “I run the hotel while looking ahead to the future in five to 10 years,” he said.

Yamashita, 72, became interested in halal food after sponsoring an event several years ago organized by a group that certifies such diets.

He decided to target Muslim tourists due to the increasing number of visitors to Fujikawaguchiko from Indonesia and Malaysia, both of which have large populations of Muslims, on the back of the countries’ economic growth.

Another hotel run by Yamashita in the town started to offer halal food last year.

Yamashita made up his mind to open a hotel dedicated to Muslims after being told in April by a Muslim family visiting the town that there were no mosques around the hotel and that they faced difficulties finding a halal restaurant.

The total number of Indonesians and Malaysians staying in Fujikawaguchiko each surpassed 8,000 in 2015.

Yamashita said that the figure will further expand if an environment is developed for welcoming tourists from these countries.

He is also considering setting up a mosque at the site of the new hotel and offering services for Muslims staying at another hotel he owns, depending on the performance of the Muslim hotel.

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