Unabashedly racist, Uno-In Hotel bars all other nationals; ironically, its head and staff are Indians
The hotel makes no bones about it. Its website categorically states: Located in Bangalore, we are a hotel exclusively for Japanese. Situated on Langford Cross Road in Shanthinagar, Hotel Uno-In, which also houses a Japanese rooftop restaurant called Teppen, has a policy of not allowing access to Indians, or for that matter, any other non-Japanese nationals.
Adjacent to the KTM showroom, Uno-In started two years ago with the sole aim of catering to Japanese nationals visiting the city for work or tour. It's clear the hotel is not eager to advertise its presence as a hand-painted sign on the mouth of the road is the only giveaway to the place situated at the cul-de-sac.
Based on an incident (we will come back to it later) that happened a few months back, these reporters visited the hotel with a colleague and got a first-hand taste of the discriminatory attitude. The moment they stepped foot into the lobby and expressed a desire to have lunch at the hotel's rooftop restaurant Teppen, they were told 'Indians' were not allowed.
This is my favorite part.
Ishiro Takazuma (name changed on request), a Japanese advertising professional who frequently travels to Bangalore for work, said that during one of his initial sojourns, he had stayed at the Uno-In and knew the food there was good. So when some Japanese colleagues were in the vicinity along with a couple of Indian colleagues a couple of months back, he recommended Uno-In's restaurant. "We have never had any problem there before but our Indian colleagues were stopped from accompanying us into the restaurant. They relented on our insistence, though. I understand their policy of catering only to Japanese clients and their rights to reservation, but they should not have stopped our Indian friends from entering the place when they were with us."
I checked the hotel's website and in English and Japanese it clearly says ....
バンガロールにある日本人専用ホテルです。バンガロールの中心地にあり好アクセス。日本人目線から快適なご宿泊とお食事をご提供しております。
Located in Bangalore, we are a hotel exclusively for Japanese. Conveniently situated in the center of Bangalore, we offer meals and comfortable accommodation suited for Japanese tastes.
Good point. I wonder if Havill has any business trips coming up?