Have you heard of the very popular downtown area in Tokyo, Ginza/銀座? Until a few years ago, the downtown was well known for a town filled with luxury goods, and used to be creating a fun atmosphere that made people want to dress up there. The town could fulfill your material desires and satisfy your vanity.
When the Japanese economy was good, during the day, the town would be always jazzed up with many women wearing stunning outfits and enjoying shopping. As the sun went down, businessmen/women would appear from nowhere. They fully enjoyed having luxurious dinners and drinking. Even after midnight, the town was still bustling with people who didn't care about spending a lot of money. Tough battles to grab a taxi would happen here and there.
Before the Lehman Shock, foreign luxury brand shops were trying to open a flagship shop in Ginza. Some of them succeeded in their plans. In contrast, after the shock ran through world, casual brand shops which wouldn't be allowed to enter the town some years ago started occupying the prime locations. Now, Zara, H&M, UNIQLO and Abercrombie & Fitch are playing an important role of luring people into Ginza (an Apple store is playing this role, too). As the mainstream is changing, regular visitors to Ginza are inevitably changing. All in all, the times are forcing Ginza to change.
Under these circumstances, yesterday, a long-established department store in Ginza, Mitsukoshi/三越, was renovated, and started a fight for survival with a new strategy. The department store keeps its traditional image:a luxury image, highlighting a luxury atmosphere. On the other hand, it newly provides a large bike parking lot to attract ordinary people living in a newly developed bay area near Ginza. As I mentioned above, since Ginza itself used to be where people could put themselves into a luxurious atmosphere, it's said that this attempt, the bike lot, is notable. Many people are paying attention to what kind of town Ginza will become.
By the way,
I pray for the victims of the 9.11 attack and world peace. I happened to see the airplane crashing into the World Trade Center on live TV. When I saw the moment, I was glued to the TV, wondering if Hollywood was doing something surprising. The TV news casters seemed to be wondering how to manage the program. They just said over and over that they didn't know what was going on there and they were waiting for the new information from New York. I'll never forget that moment.
When the Japanese economy was good, during the day, the town would be always jazzed up with many women wearing stunning outfits and enjoying shopping. As the sun went down, businessmen/women would appear from nowhere. They fully enjoyed having luxurious dinners and drinking. Even after midnight, the town was still bustling with people who didn't care about spending a lot of money. Tough battles to grab a taxi would happen here and there.