TOKYO – Japanese izakayas, sometimes noisy pubs offering a variety of food and beverages and targeting giant teams of people, have had to reduce their facilities due to the new coronavirus. And while it’s unclear when they’ll be able to get back to normal, many find artistic tactics to keep consumers safe and calm while supporting their activities.
On July 28, Shuta Kuraishi, owner of 37-year-old Porcoro Tsukiji’s Niku no Himaraya, about a two-minute walk from Tsukiji Subway Station, brewed in front of his computer. He enjoyed a video verbal exchange with five people, all holding glasses, while discussing how to cook meat and subjects.
“I met some of the participants for the first time, but sharing the same food made it less difficult for me to locate an unusual topic,” said Tomonoshin Mayuzumi, a 24-year-old student from Ibaraki Prefecture. “I need to go to the Tokyo dining room once the pandemic is over,” he added.
In addition to Mayuzumi, the 4 who joined the call with Kuraishi called from Kanagawa and Okinawa prefectures.
They used the virtual bar service that Ikitsuke operated together through application developer iTAN and Sibire, a startup in the regional revitalization sector. Ikitsuke is a formula in which “the owner of a virtual bar” can request participants from all over the country and set up a video chat with them. Menu entries from an izakaya selection will be delivered to the house in advance so participants can share the same treats.
The service also allows izakaya consumers snacks registered on site and receive them at participants’ homes.
Shunsuke Kurata, a 30-year-old iTAN representative, created the app at the end of March. His favorite izakaya suffered a drop in visitor traffic due to the spread of the coronavirus. He introduced him.
“Izakaya online has some advantages,” Kurata said. “For example, you can meet other people who live far from home.”
Some izakaya check to assure others that it is to take credit for their donations on the spot. The one east of JR Shinjuku Station, for example, surprises visitors with extensive antivirus measurements.
“Welcome. Please take the temperature,” says one Kichiri Shinjuku worker, giving consumers a video call on a 27-inch screen. They take their own temperatures and take a card in the front to locate their tables.
After the declaration of a state of emergency in Tokyo and six prefectures on April 7, Kichiri Shinjuku switched only to delivery and delivery services. He reopened a month later, but his way of doing business had been dramatically replaced.
To attenuate human contact and enclosed spaces called 3 C with poor ventilation, congested spaces and close contact, the eating position decreased the number of their seats across almost part and placed transparent walls between the seats. Customers scan the QR codes from the menu to place orders on their smartphone, so they only contact staff when food is served and expenses are paid.
“The rigorous anti-virus measures make our consumers satisfied and safe,” said Natsumi Koshiba, a 27-year-old store manager.
Even in late March, the Shinjuku region was a ghost in the city, as others have increasingly moved away from leaving. Kichiri Shinjuku has noticed that visitor traffic is reduced to less than the normal part. As a result, their workers invented concepts to ensure consumer protection that would inspire them to return.
The Izakaya Chain In Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, has introduced a self-service service that provides yakitori, or birds and other pieces strung up on a stick. In May, a Shinwa Holdings unit began promoting nine types of dishes for 500 yen ($4.74), adding a collection of yakitori and a namatsukune bento with roasted bird meatballs.
“Izakaya will have to be flexible to meet visitor demand,” Shinwa Holdings President Toshiyuki Sasaki said.
In Hokkaido, the prefectural government declared its own state of emergency last February, urging citizens to leave for non-essential and non-urgent reasons. While many Shinwa institutions have closed, some have continued to offer driving and takeaway services.
In In Nishimachi Honten, about 6 km from Sapporo Station, average daily sales exceeded 100,000 yen before the outbreak, but after the place to eat introduced a self-service service, daily sales exceeded 200,000 yen.
While izakaya remains under pressure as local governments look for shorter opening hours and urge others not to dine in giant groups, some homeowners are testing new concepts for the post-coronavirus era.
Subscribe to our newsletters to get our stories right in your inbox.
You want an Array subscription..