De Niro to open Japanese-themed condos

NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) -- Robert De Niro is planning to open a Japanese-themed condo and hotel complex in New York, one of the actor's business partners said.

The New York Post said the 140-unit Nobu Hotel will feature a spa, as well as a Nobu Japanese restaurant, while rooms will offer mini-bars stocked with green tea and sake.

"Instead of a mint on the pillow, you could find a sushi roll," De Niro's partner Richie Notar told the Post.

The Nobu Hotel in Manhattan is to open in two to four years and will be half condos, half hotel rooms.

It will be the second in the franchise after the first opens this summer in the Israeli town of Herzliya.

"It's really exciting for us," the actor's son, Raphael De Niro, told the Post.

The younger De Niro is a broker who is marketing the properties in New York and Israel.

Robert De Niro -- who has starred in the films "Taxi Driver," "Mean Streets," "Raging Bull" and "The Godfather Part II" -- also owns several eateries and hotels.

He is a partner in the Nobu restaurant chain, as well.