"Coupled with the recent closing of the sale of the Rihga Royal Hotel Narita, this transaction represents the second Tokyo area disposition we have arranged in less than 30 days--both to international investors," says Stiles, declining to name the most recent buyer. "While there is significant debt and equity capital focused on Japanese investment-grade real estate, there has been a dearth of quality assets. This year is expected to be a turning point with more product likely to come to market in the coming months."

In the most recent deal, Sonnenblick, acting as the exclusive advisor to the Revlon group of companies, arranged the sale of what will be the 2-11-16 Minami Aoyama, an 11-story office building located in Minato-ku, an attractive and fashionable part of the city. Scheduled for completion in November, the building has been master-leased for 10 years by one of Japan's largest owners of commercial office property.

Last month, in what was billed as the first arms-length internationally transacted hotel sale in Japan, Royal Hotel Ltd. of Osaka shed its Rihga Royal lodging asset in Narita. Ishin Hospitality Group, a joint venture of Soros Real Estate Partners and Westmont Hospitality, paid between $70 million and $75 million for the 548-key deluxe hotel, adjacent to the new Tokyo International Airport. Sonnenblick co-represented Royal Hotel with Arthur Andersen.