Directors' Message to Shareholders

Ichigo Hotel REIT Investment Corporation (“Ichigo Hotel”) was listed on the J-REIT section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on November 30, 2015.

"Ichigo" comes from an ancient Japanese proverb, Ichigo Ichie, literally meaning "One lifetime, One encounter." The phrase was first used by a 16th-century master of the tea ceremony, Sen no Rikyu. He called upon his disciples to give total focus and sincerity to each act of the tea ceremony for every guest, because that particular moment will only exist once and must be fully lived and realized. In sharing this Ichigo name, Ichigo Hotel embraces this philosophy of total, committed engagement to supporting the long-term success and growth of our hotel operators and shareholders.

Ichigo Hotel was established on July 22, 2015 pursuant to the Act on Investment Trusts and Investment Corporations (“Investment Trust Act”). Its assets are managed by Ichigo Investment Advisors Co., Ltd., the asset management company for the Ichigo Group and a 100% subsidiary of Ichigo Inc., in accordance with the objectives and policies of asset management specified in the Investment Trust Act and the Articles of Incorporation of Ichigo Hotel.

Ichigo Hotel is a specialized hotel REIT formed to invest in hotel properties while making maximum use of the Ichigo Group’s experience and know-how in revitalizing real estate. Ichigo Hotel will deploy Ichigo’s deep real estate expertise to increase asset profitability via, for example, the strategic and effective use of value-add capex. Ichigo Hotel also expects to pro-actively pursue portfolio growth and economies of scale for shareholders by using the Ichigo Group’s robust sourcing capabilities.

Ichigo Hotel listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in order to raise capital for executing its growth strategy for shareholders and benefit from external growth opportunities and Ichigo’s deep value-add expertise and management know-how.

We look forward to serving our shareholders and making a positive contribution to Japanese society.