One month and a half after its opening! Toyosu “Ten Thousand Visitors”, a new landmark in Tokyo, shows us the “super gap between Japan and other countries”.

Right next to the Toyosu Market, which boasts the world’s largest scale, the streets of Edo (old Tokyo) were spread out.

Manyo Club, which operates hot spring facilities in various locations, opened “Senkaku Manyrai” in February of this year. The complex, which consists of a “Shokuraku Building” with about 70 restaurants and stores and a “Onsen Building” where visitors can enjoy Yugawara’s famous hot springs in the heart of the city, is said to be crowded with inbound visitors every day.

Since its opening, this new landmark in Tokyo has been receiving some unflattering criticism. Many comments, mainly from Japanese visitors, have been pouring in, lamenting that “it’s too expensive” and “it’s a rip-off. A FRIDAY reporter went to the area to verify the truth.

On a Saturday in March, the restaurant was so crowded that it was hard to walk around.

Even at 3:00 p.m., a little after lunchtime, there were lines at many stores, and the place was filled with people speaking not only Japanese, but also English, Chinese, and many other languages. The stores selling kushiyaki (skewers for eating and drinking) had English menus posted on their shelves. We spoke with a woman in her 30s who had eaten an A5 wagyu beef skewer priced at 4,300 yen.

I came from Tochigi without doing my homework, so I was honestly surprised at the high price,” she said. To be honest, I was surprised at the high prices. The food is certainly delicious, but all the restaurants are expensive, so it is difficult to walk around eating. However, I appreciate that there is no admission fee, so I can enjoy the atmosphere as if I had stepped back in time to the Edo period.

The price is right.

After interviewing the woman, the reporter visited Unitora, a seafood bowl restaurant that had been derided on the Internet as an “in-bound bowl” that only foreign tourists eat because of its wild prices.

As expected, there was a line of people waiting in line, but surprisingly, they were all Japanese and no foreign tourists were in sight. Inside the restaurant, people with an aura of affluence, such as a couple carrying a large CHANEL paper bag, were tucking into their seafood bowls.

The reporter ordered the “Emperor” (18,000 yen), the highest priced bowl, which was rich in sea urchin and tuna. The “Emperor” arrived about five minutes after I ordered, and the gold bowl was filled to the brim with gorgeous seafood, making me want to say, “A jewel box of the sea! The sea urchin was rich and full-bodied, with a pleasant texture. There is not the slightest hint of alum odor. The toro melted in my mouth, but I did not feel any unpleasant taste, and it was of such high quality that I wanted to eat as many pieces as I could. It is indeed very tasty.

It is delicious, but if I had to pay 18,000 yen to eat it again, I would go to ……. We asked the waiter how he felt about selling “in-baung-don” (bowl of rice topped with a bowl of rice).

The staff at “Uni Tora” told us, “I think it’s fair because it contains carefully selected buffoon sea urchin, purple sea urchin, tuna fatty tuna, tuna medium fatty tuna, and salmon roe.

This is an exemplary answer for an employee of Uni Tora. However, some of the staff at Senkaku Banrai did not think the “emperor” was a fair price. A woman who was serving customers in another store said, “The price is not cute.

If you pay 18,000 yen, you can get good sushi in Ginza. Well, whatever the reason, I think it’s good that people are talking about it.

When the reporter stopped by the “Senkaku Manrai Ashiyu Garden,” where visitors can enjoy a free footbath (200 yen for a towel), he was speechless. The only people eager to take “cool photos” while soaking in the footbath overlooking Toyosu were Japanese. The people lined up in front of the elevators leading to the footbath were probably all Japanese. A woman in her twenties from Chiba told us, “I was so excited to be able to take pictures of the Rainbow Bridge.

She said, “I was able to enjoy the footbath while looking out over Tokyo Bay with the Rainbow Bridge overhead, and it was free of charge. The food is expensive (laughs), but I think just coming here is enjoyable enough.

The economic disparity was clearly demonstrated. However, I also felt the resilience of the Japanese people who were enjoying themselves. I am sure that “Senkaku Banrai” will become a new Tokyo sightseeing spot.

From the April 5-12, 2024 issue of FRIDAY