Pre-reading questions:
- What is the most difficult Olympic sport?
- How do countries get chosen to hold the games?
- If we hold the Olympics in this class, in which sport would you win the gold?
As a preparation for 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, hotels have started to offer Japanese-style accommodation and hospitality. Hotels like the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, and the Park Hotel Tokyo recently unveiled an updated Japanese-style accommodation for their guests.
Newly renovated hotels used tatami, paper screens, shiraki furniture and lantern-like lighting for their rooms. A kimono-clad staff welcomes guests upon their arrival and leads them through an incense-fumed Japanese garden to a teahouse that serves matcha (green tea). Underneath the traditional look, all rooms are equipped with modern amenities as well. Foreign guests in search of authentic Japan can now experience traditional ryokan without leaving the city.
Vocabulary:
accommodation – [noun] a room or group of rooms
hospitality – [adjective] the business of housing or entertaining visitors
unveiled – [verb] show or announce publicly for the first time
clad – [adjective] clothed
incense – [noun] the perfume or smoke arising from such a substance is burned
fume – [noun] gas, smoke, or vapor that smells strongly
authentic – [adjective] true; real
Comprehension Questions:
- Why do you think hoteliers need to renovate their hotels?
- What will hoteliers offer this coming 2020 Olympics?
- Can you name the hotels who recently revealed their updated accommodation?
- What are the materials used in renovating the hotels?
- What do foreign guests search for?
Express Your Opinion:
- “Hotels in Tokyo bids farewell to modern style.”
- “Renovating an iconic place to modern one.”
- “Tokyo set to attract tourists for 2020 Olympics.”