By Asako Sugiyama,
The introduction of food stalls to a run-down shopping street in Osaka may prove to be just a temporary, nostalgia-driven attempt at urban renewal.
But with tourists flocking back to the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and locals back on the streets, the once-thriving commercial district is hoping to cash in on an opportunity to reinvent the area in the western Japan city, famous for its history as a mercantile center.
The operators of the stalls have enlivened the narrow Shinsekai Market downtown shopping arcade that stretches out from the foot of the landmark Tsutenkaku Tower.
Boasting a history of more than 100 years, the market, located next to an old neighborhood that shares the same name, at one point hosted some 50 stores, including butchers and produce grocers.
But with the aging of shopkeepers in Shinsekai, which translates to "New World," one business after another has been pulling down their metal shutters for the final time.
Redevelopment efforts have failed to stem the decline of the popular entertainment district, with the area's heyday of some 50 years ago now feeling like the very distant past.
A ray of hope for revival emerged in the 1990s when Shinsekai's cityscape and atmosphere, reminiscent of the late Showa era (1926-1989), began to attract visitors whose interest in turn brought movie and TV drama productions who used it as a shooting location.
Despite its former pop culture profile, the market is now characterized more by closed stores and empty streets. Locals hope that the district's recent tourism-driven return to prominence will lead to a resurgence of stores there.
Walking along the arcade with decorative "akachochin" red lanterns dangling from above, eight food stalls sit in front of the shuttered shops. The aroma of grilled oysters and buttered scallops fills the air as jovial customers feast and chat amongst themselves.
Akiomi Tagaya, 43, who serves grilled seafood, said that he made a fresh start by opening a food stall after the restaurant where he used to work closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I get more and more customers here every day," Tagaya says.
At a nearby stall serving battered "takoyaki" balls filled with diced octopus and other bar foods, a female customer in her 50s says, "This is more casual than going to a Japanese izakaya because of the wide open space."
The Shinsekai neighborhood, which lies west of Tennoji Zoo and adjacent to Osaka's downtown area, was created in 1912 with Luna Park at New York's Coney Island in mind for the southern half and Paris as the inspiration for the northern half.
The market was established two years later. After its destruction during World War II, it was rebuilt in 1946.
Although the neighborhood of Shinsekai has a less-than-wholesome reputation due to its past links to criminal elements and its significant homeless population, it also attracts visitors looking for cheap meals and products.
People came to see the market as a "community kitchen" due to its many fresh food stores, but only about 15 are in business today. Many of the shopkeepers who are now too old to work, live above their shuttered shops.
Haruki Kumagai, 42, the organizer of the food stall street, has been running a restaurant here for about a decade and had been deeply saddened by the street's decline.
He tried livening things up with a weekend-only night market, but that was quickly scrapped due to COVID.
He then came up with the concept of a food stall street, which would be open day and night, offering affordable food and entertainment. It opened in September last year.
Kumagai is aiming to create a lively atmosphere, akin to Khaosan Road in Bangkok, where food stalls and revelers party the night away year-round.
But he also values communication with the retired shopkeepers. He felt that a compromise with them was necessary after his experiences during the massive 2011 disaster that devastated Japan's Tohoku region in the northeast.
Kumagai, a native of Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit regions at the time, said in the wake of the disaster, he became aware that those who came to help in recovery efforts failed to properly take into account the priorities of those who lived through the quake and tsunami.
It was not a mistake he was going to make in Shinsekai, so when former shopkeepers pointed out that the placement of the food stalls might impede traffic for passersby in the arcade, he reworked the design to better accommodate their wishes.
"We hope to co-exist and co-prosper with the people living on the upper floors (of the shuttered stores) and revitalize the area," Kumagai said.
Katsumi Miyaura, 63, president of the market's commercial cooperative, said, "Things have gotten a lot more lively. The best will be when we can open the shutters again, and this is a step in that direction."
There are approximately 12,000 shopping districts in Japan, but many have a significant number of vacancies.
According to a 2021 survey by the central government's Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, some 40 percent of Japan's shopping districts have a vacancy rate of 10 percent or more. The shopping malls are considered "in disuse" when the vacancy rate exceeds that percent.
Yoshinori Hiroi, a professor of public policy at Kyoto University who studies urban decay, said, "Once a street becomes shuttered, it is difficult for it to recover, but by creating a lively atmosphere in a food stall district, it is likely to lead to the revitalization of stores themselves."
"This offers a clear direction for other shopping districts around the country," he added.
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