“An inbound facility?” I asked about the reputation of “Shibuya Yokocho,” which is ridiculed for being rattled and only full of foreigners.

Shibuya Yokocho” is empty!

MIYASHITA PARK” is a 330-meter-long commercial complex built on the site of the former Miyashita Park in Shibuya, Tokyo. Since its opening in 2008, it has been visited by many people and has become a new tourist spot in Shibuya. However, “Shibuya Yokocho,” which opened on the same day, has recently been losing popularity.

Many people have criticized it on the Internet, saying that “nearly 90% of the customers are inbound foreigners,” “the food is overpriced and the portions are small,” and “the retro atmosphere is cheaply made. What is happening in Shibuya Yokocho, which used to be very crowded? We actually visited the area to hear what the customers had to say.

Shibuya Yokocho is a huge eating and drinking establishment planned and operated by Hamakura Shoten Seisakusho, Inc. with a total length of 100 meters, a site area of 1,000 square meters, 19 stores, and a total seating capacity of 1,500. The company is also famous for its recent work on “Shinjuku Kabuki Hall” in Tokyu Kabukicho Tower. The concept is to enjoy the tastes of various regions of Japan in a retro space that recreates an old-fashioned “yokocho” (side street). In addition to food and drink, visitors can experience comprehensive entertainment, including live DJs and table performances by magicians. The facility has also received the “2020 Gaitoku Award” from the Gaitoku Press Association.

When it first opened, it attracted many people despite the COVID-19 crisis as a new facility for the younger generation. A businessman in his 30s who works in the neighborhood described the scene at the time : “I used to drop by on my way home from work. At the time, people were talking a lot about the risks of Corona in restaurants, but there were a lot of young people enjoying themselves without masks. I think there was a lot of anticipation for the redevelopment of Shibuya,” she recalls.

When we actually visited, we found that the current users of Shibuya Yokocho are all foreigners, mainly tourists, and there are very few Japanese. According to one store employee, “70% are foreigners.

Even on weekends, there are more foreigners than Japanese. Of course, the increase in inbound tourism has brought more foreigners to Shibuya, but it seems that people who usually drink in Shibuya tend to go to their favorite restaurants.

While there are positive comments from foreigners

When we talked to foreign customers, they gave positive feedback. An American tourist with his family who was enjoying a meal on the terrace said , “My kids are happy that Japanese food is delicious.

He said, “Japan is safe, so I can go out for dinner with my family even at night. And unlike the U.S., everything is delicious. My children are impressed by the unique Japanese food, saying, “I love okonomiyaki now. I enjoy it very much.

Many people also commented favorably on the food offered, saying it was “delicious” and “enjoyable because of the repertoire of dishes.

On the other hand, when we talked to a group of Japanese men in their 20s who were chatting over beer, they said they decided to enter the restaurant by process of elimination, saying, “We couldn’t get into the other restaurants, but Miyashita’s is a sure bet.

They said, “We often have dinner in the Shibuya neighborhood, but some restaurants are so popular that we can’t get in. I can always enter Shibuya Yokocho without waiting in line, so I come here when I want to kill time waiting to enter a restaurant I want to go to, or when I just want to sit down and rest. I feel like I come here because it’s open,” said a Japanese male customer.

The price setting, which is not cheap, is one of the reasons that keep them away, perhaps because the restaurant targets foreigners. The menu is lined with overpriced items that seem to be aimed at “inbound” customers.

The menu is expensive, but there is not much that catches the eye. They say there are gourmet foods from all over the country, but I would go to an izakaya that features regional cuisine as its signature. I just want to have a drink with my friends, so the entertainment element is too much for me.

In addition to these comments, there were others such as, “Once you come here once is enough,” “I feel alienated because it’s all foreigners,” “It’s hard to use because it’s a noisy place,” and “It’s a place for young people, so we feel it’s hard to choose as a place for drinking. I felt that it was difficult to choose as a place for drinking.

Some foreigners gave dry evaluations

Some foreign visitors also had harsh opinions. A man in his 30s who came to Japan with a friend from the U.S. said that his image of Japan was different from what he had expected.

This is the third time I’ve been to Japan,” he said. I feel that this place is like a foreigner’s idea of Japan in a foreign movie, and it is not realistic” (American tourist).

Why do they come to this Shibuya Yokocho despite their negative opinions?

I am not particular about the food because I am not here for the gourmet food. I wanted to mainly enjoy sightseeing, not food, on this trip, so I came here anyway. We could have gone to a convenience store, but this place was empty, so we ate here.”

A Chinese man in his 40s who was visiting with a group was also critical of the prices.

He said, “Other restaurants were much cheaper. All the dishes served at Japanese izakaya are delicious and there is a wide variety. If that is the case, I would rather eat at a cheaper place. It’s a shame that prices are so high in Japan, because there is so much to love about cheap, delicious food.”

Perhaps Shibuya Yokocho is out of step with the needs of foreign tourists who want to “experience Japan’s original culture” and “enjoy it at a reasonable price.

Facilities like Shibuya Yokocho, which aim to attract inbound tourists by incorporating entertainment elements, are generally well received by foreign tourists. However, many Japanese people have expressed their unwillingness to repeat their visit due to the “high price,” “quality of customer service,” and “quality of food. Perhaps it would be better to simply dismiss the facilities as being for inbound tourists, but there is a part of them that cannot be dismissed.