Manichi: Employees Work From Hotels:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200728/p2g/00m/0bu/084000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- NEC Corp. and travel agency JTB Corp. said Tuesday they are launching a new service allowing teleworkers to book empty hotel rooms for use as remote offices, repurposing the spaces left vacant due to the coronavirus' impact on hotel occupancy rates.

The service offered by NEC Solution Innovators Ltd. and JTB will be launched on Aug. 31 in Tokyo and surrounding areas, with a plan to expand it to Nagoya and Osaka by around March next year and nationwide by March 2022.

The two firms hope to have 30 hotels participating in the initiative by the end of March next year and 50 by late March 2022 as Japanese companies increasingly encourage staff to work remotely to reduce the risk of them contracting the virus while commuting on public transport and possibly creating cluster infections at workplaces.

Ideas:

In times of challenges there will be new and innovative ideas that are brought forth. This seems like an excellent idea related to telecommuting.

It not only helps the companies who are trying to meet the government's suggestion of 70 percent of a company's workforce telework, but it might even help hotels with some kind of cash flow, if the virus situation continues.

And it might even help employees whose home might not be the best place for telecommuting work.

Who know, and whole new niche industry may evolve for the hotel industry and as such other companies might find way to provide lodging/space etc. for telework employees.

Not everyone can go to a Starbucks and do their work, if they can't do it from home.

Article:

The NEC unit will create and operate an application that will allow people and employers to search and reserve hotel rooms. It will also provide a function that hotel operators can use to register room availability and confirm reservation status.

JTB will pitch the initiative to hotels as a new source of revenue at a time when they have seen their occupancy rates fall due to the lack of travelers. The agency will also promote the service to firms that are looking to secure teleworking space for employees.

Under the system, an employee can reserve a space at a hotel via their computer or smartphone, with rates starting at 200 yen ($1.90) per 15 minutes for co-working spaces such as meeting and party rooms and from 3,000 yen for guest rooms with a minimum three-hour occupancy.

Ideas:

Toyoko Inn, for example, I think, already has a plan for short term stay during the day, or used to. So they might also be interested in the this idea.

Again at the same time, some employees might need to find places near where they work in case they have to meet other company employees who are at the company office building and again, some might not be able to work from home.

Hotels should jump on this idea as a new revenue possibility. For example, the Star Hotel in Yokohama, which went out of business in the late spring, might have been able to use this as a new revenue stream to keep itself going for a while longer.

Imagine, especially business hotel, but even any hotel, using its location and space for business employees. They can designate a certain number of room or floor for teleworking customers only without interfering their normal core business.

Article:

Hotels scheduled to offer the service include Hyatt Regency Tokyo in the Shinjuku area, Oakwood Premier Tokyo in the Marunouchi district and Ueno Terminal Hotel.

Amid the pandemic, the government is asking Japanese firms to ensure at least 70 percent of employees work outside of their office. Remote working has also been encouraged as companies adopt flexible working styles, such as staggered commuting.

Ideas:

The hotels listed above seem to be luxury type hotels, which are fine, but not all employees maybe can be in these locations or maybe the cost might be too much, even if the company is paying for it eventually.

Hotels such as Toyoko Inn, which is or was still considered a "business type" hotel might be ideal as they have locations all over Japan. And there are some Tokyo Inn hotel right now in Yokohama that are still closed because of low demand. 

One for example is located in the Kannai area, near many of the Yokohama and Kanagawa government offices that would be an idea location for work in that area.

Another in near the Shin Yokohama eki area, which again would be a prime location for telework.

Lets hope this idea and other creative innovative ideas coming into being in the future.

Have a nice day and stay safe!

Japan News: Work until 80:

https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006698274

Article:

Major home electronics retailer Nojima Corp. has introduced an employment system that allows all employees to work until the age of 80.

The company aims to make use of the expertise of its veteran employees with extensive in-store sales experience and bring about positive impact on training younger employees. It is a rare attempt by a major company to extend the employment period to this age.

Ideas:

What a great idea. This is long overdue in Japan with its advanced aging society and many workers wanting to continue to work. Why don't more companies try to do the same thing in the future?

Companies lose a lot of knowledge and experience when they don't find ways retain or allow older workers to continue. Even if its just one year contracts, and even if its just no pension benefits beyond a certain age as long as they can work and contribute to the company.

And then the idea of being able to train and help younger workers in the company.

If more Japanese companies did this the level of productivity of companies may actually improve.

Article:

The company revised its internal rules on July 1 for the new system.

The retirement age at Nojima is 65, but the company will continue to employ workers after that age under one-year contracts as temporary employees. The working arrangements and salary will be decided through talks between the company and workers on a case-by-case basis.

One of the company’s strengths is that it employs its own in-house sales staff rather than relying on temporary sales staff dispatched from home electronics manufacturers. Speech

Ideas:

Maybe this company can be bench marked and used as a model for other companies in the future who want to consider doing the same thing.

If companies have competent and reliable workers why would it want to just replace or get rid of them if they are good for the company.

Of course every company and or every company situation might not fit what this company is doing but is a long overdue experiment that should be replicated by other companies in Japan.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Mainichi: Changes in Living Locations.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200726/p2g/00m/0dm/060000c#cxrecs_s

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- As companies close offices in central Tokyo or encourage employees to work from home due to coronavirus pandemic worries, young people are relocating to the suburbs where rents are cheaper, space less at a premium and nature nearer the doorstep.

With Japanese work practices changing, fewer young people are inclined to live in high-rent shoebox-sized apartments near central Tokyo's business districts, rather they are prioritizing lifestyle when choosing where to reside.

Ideas:

This seems to be a long overdue idea. Actually is been around for a very long time with many cities and communities near and around Tokyo are considered bedroom communities or commuting communities and space and rent is at a premium in Tokyo.

But the virus situation, and working from home being not only a priority but a necessity, many people are choosing a different lifestyle that maybe they didn't think about a year ago.

Article:

Yutaka Kanai, chief product officer of xenodata lab, a Tokyo startup specializing in AI-based data analysis, recently moved from central Tokyo to Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, a city with stunning coastlines in which he has longed to live

"The biggest reason I moved away from Tokyo is that I didn't have to go to the office," said Kanai, who is a keen surfer. He now lives in a house right on the beach.

The IT worker is now pursuing a better work-life balance, saying he can go surfing every morning just as easily as going for a run.

Kanai's workspace has also expanded. As his company started encouraging teleworking, he was spending his days in his Tokyo apartment, working on a laptop in his living room. But he can now use three monitors in his larger home office.

"I feel less stressed since my workspace is now larger," he said.

Kanai is one of many who have started re-evaluating what "home" means to them after the Tokyo metropolitan government in late March called on residents to refrain from going outside for nonessential reasons due to the virus.

Ideas:

Many people maybe are not beginning to think more about work/life balance instead of sacrificing their life for what used to be "life-time" employment, if there is even such a thing in Japan anymore. 

More and more younger workers watched how their fathers and parents sacrificed their work/life balance for the "life-time" security of a job.

Many young workers might not be willing to commit to that kind of sacrifice, and maybe the virus situation has hastened the idea or even more of a work/life balance.

Article:

Since late March, the number of views on the real estate and housing information site Suumo, has surged. Such an increase is unusual as traffic numbers tend to fall after the January to March period when new students and workers try to find apartments before Japan's academic and fiscal years start in April.

According to the website run by Recruit Sumai Co., a Recruit Holdings Co. group company, suburban properties have been attracting attention, with the city of Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, seeing a dramatic 90 percent uptick in the number of views in May compared with just a few months earlier. Traffic to listings in Chuo Ward in the city of Chiba, east of Tokyo, doubled in May from the figure in January.

"In order to work comfortably at home, space and quiet are regarded as more important than before, and that's why newly built houses in some popular suburban areas are gaining appeal," said Yoichi Ikemoto, the chief editor of Suumo, Japan's major housing information website.

Ideas:

Again the virus situation might have increased the changed from living directly in Tokyo, but it might be assumed that it has been on the minds of young workers for a very long time due to the high rent locations in Tokyo.

The virus situation has given workers now the chance, with work at home priorities, the chance to find a better lifestyle instead of living in high rent areas of Tokyo.

If companies follow the government suggestion of 70 percent of workers working from home, the trend might continue. And of course it might help the economy in some way. But if economics there are always positives and negatives.

There is already news of conbini or convenience stores losing a lot that are near businesses with a lot of employees because they are working from home. 

But that also might mean supermarkets and conbinis near their homes might be benefiting from workers working from home now.  

Article:

Up until now, splitting time between locations in central Tokyo and the suburbs or countryside was mainly for older people, but it is becoming more common among those in their 30's with annual incomes in the four to six million yen range, he added.

Given the current climate, a service that allows long-term stays in houses located in suburban areas or the countryside is also attracting attention.

The number of newly registered members of "ADDress," a service through which members can use more than 50 properties nationwide for 44,000 yen ($415) per month, has increased sharply since January.

There are many applications from office workers in their 20s and 30s living in Tokyo, and houses in the city of Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, where it is easy to commute to Tokyo in cases of emergency, have been flooded with reservations, according to the Tokyo-based ADDress.

Ideas:

Again, while it might seem a temporary situation, the idea of working from home might become a major trend in Osaka and Tokyo if companies feel it improves productivity and even more, if they feel they have no choice.

We might even see the Japanese government providing subsidies, if not already, to ensure the safety of workers related to the virus situation.

Housing subsidies and or subsidies to companies to help their employees.

This easily could be the future in the "new normal" in Japan.

Article:

Although the state of emergency declared over the coronavirus crisis was lifted in May and the economy is beginning to recover, Ikemoto expects some people who have become more accustomed to working from home will consider moving to make the most of their more laid-back life.

But the vast majority, he believes, will remain city dwellers.

"More people will choose reasonable detached houses...in the suburbs rich in nature or those with commercial facilities," Ikemoto said. "However, I don't think there will be a great migration to the suburbs from central Tokyo, which has many fashionable shops, commercial complexes and educational options."

Ideas:

Yes it might not be a great migration to the outer areas of Tokyo and Osaka but there might be a significant number that it becomes viable and doable for many in the future and young workers are looking for a better work/life balance instead of being stuck in the high rent areas of Tokyo and Osaka.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Mainichi: Robots and Stores:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200724/p2a/00m/0bu/053000c

Article:

TOKYO -- The move to introduce robots to help with customer service and stocking shelves is increasing among restaurants and convenience stores in Japan, with the aim to support people who find it difficult to work outside and help solve the serious labor shortage in the service industry.

The use of robots is also raising hopes as a protective measure against the novel coronavirus and is drawing attention over whether they can make full-scale expansions into eateries and retail shops.

Ideas:

The use of robots in Japan has been a long time coming. But the virus situation has increased the possible need and use of robots in the future.

Of course the so-called on going labor shortage in conbinis or convenience stores has also maybe accelerated the idea of using robots in the future.

For whatever reason, related to the so-called labor shortage, Japanese college students just don't want to work at conbinis it seems. It could be related to the hours offered for part-time work, the low pay that conbinis are only able to afford or any number of understandable reasons. 

Whenever I visit a conbini in Yokohama, for example, the person or persons working are either the elderly or international foreign exchange students, as you can see their name tags. 

The same if I go to Mos Burger or even McDonald's where I usually only see the elderly working there. 

Article:

Mos Food Services Inc. revealed to the media on July 21 a robot serving customers at the register at Mos Burger's Osaki store in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The robot called "OriHime," measuring about 23 centimeters in height, was developed by a start-up company. It is remotely controlled by an employee using devices including a laptop. Customers can be seen through a camera built into OriHime, and employees can communicate with customers using a microphone and speaker. The order, when typed into the laptop, is communicated to workers in the kitchen and customers can pay their bill at the register.

The Osaki store will perform a test-run of the system for about a month from July 27. A 19-year-old man in the western Japan prefecture of Osaka, who has an intractable disease and has difficulty going outside, controlled the robot at the Tokyo store on July 21.

Mos Food Services has had automated registers at some outlets since 2019. Executive Officer Yasuaki Kaneda said, "We wanted to provide warm service to customers instead of just using the devices. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we would also like to offer services that do not require direct contact." The company is considering implementing the system at several of its stores and using the robot to also serve at tables as well as for drive-through services.

Ideas:

I can understand the need for safety during the virus situation.So  what Mos Burger is doing hopefully is good for the company and at the same time good for customers too. 

Customers, for the most part, still think customer service is very important, especially in Japan. They most likely still want the feel of a human that they can have some kind of contact with, especially the elderly, who might go to a conbini, post office, supermarket, hair shop etc. just to see a human and or talk to a human during the day.

Companies need to find a way to keep that human contact, as much as possible, but at the same time find ways to be safe and of course the all important idea of reducing cost as much as possible, but not at the cost of reducing valuable and needed human contact and or customer service.

Article:

Meanwhile, convenience store giants Family Mart Co. and Lawson Inc. also aim to save labor by introducing human-shaped robots developed by robot maker Telexistence Inc. Family Mart and Lawson will respectively perform a test-run of the system at one of their stores in Tokyo in late July and mid-September.

The robot will be remotely controlled and will be in charge of stocking beverages from the back of the shelves first. The number of tasks will be gradually increased with the aim for the robot to automatically stock all products on the shelves, as well as making fried chicken and other foodstuff and displaying them in the future.

However, there are many technical difficulties in terms of how robots can smoothly carry out detailed tasks at a store where customers are walking around. Products need to be placed in order of their expiration dates, and the two major convenience store chains will carefully examine the accuracy of the robots' work.

A representative of Family Mart explained, "We would like to introduce the robots at more stores after examining their work efficiency and reductions in labor costs." The company plans to implement the system at up to 20 stores by 2022.

Ideas:

I think the idea here is maybe, if robots are going to be used for stocking shelves, maybe the task should be done when there are no customers around, especially if the robots have to be on the floor. 

But again, even in a conbini, customer service is still very important. Have a real live person at the check out area, and use the robots for stocking shelves and maybe not so much used for customer service.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Mainichi: BOJ Economy Concerns:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200727/p2g/00m/0bu/060000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's economy is on course to make a recovery, but it is likely to be slow in coming due to the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic, a summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan released Monday showed.

"Even in fiscal 2022 (through March 2023), the economy is unlikely to return to the level reached before the outbreak of COVID-19," the respiratory disease caused by the virus, one of the nine Policy Board members said at the July 14-15 policy meeting.

The member said, "it will take time for a structural change (to be achieved) through which the economy can overcome the impact of COVID-19."

The central bank released its quarterly economic and inflation outlook report following the two-day policy meeting, saying the country's economy is expected to shrink 4.7 percent in fiscal 2020 but grow 3.3 percent in fiscal 2021.

Ideas:

Most economies around the world will most likely begin to see some kind of recovery in the 3rd quarter, but most likely not as much as hoped for or expected because of a lingering or near second wave of the virus.

Most economies are going to be in a "new normal" meaning economies are restructuring and adjusting to how to deal with the virus situation. 

Some industries are not going to be the same, meaning, a complete change, some might just need to weather the storm until some kind of increased economic activity begins to increase.

One example might be the airline industry. If you see the departures and arrivals you see that Haneda airport there are more than 50 percent or more departures and the same with arrivals. 50 percent is not a lot but maybe, for a while, its the new normal. 

But the problem is just how full are the flights, 10, 20, 30, 50 percent of capacity?

Again this might be the new normal for a while until more travelers begin to feel safe traveling and or feel safe spending their money going to different places.

Article:

However, another policymaker expressed caution, warning that another wave of the pandemic would further damage the economy.

"We cannot be optimistic about the timing of an economic recovery since it will be delayed further if COVID-19 spreads again," the member added.

A policymaker pointed out that if the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic linger for an extended time, it would further damage company and household finances.

"As time passes, the solvency problems of households and firms could materialize, employed persons not at work may become unemployed, and a vicious cycle from unemployment to less income and spending would emerge," the member said.

Ideas:

Yes, while I try to be very optimistic and try to find the positive in all things, if this virus situation continues governments and companies, for the good or society and all, need to find creative way to keep it going and survive. 

Not all workers are able to work at home. Not all companies have the resources to have employees work at home. 

Its quite possible Keynesian economics may need to be implemented now more than ever. Meaning governments will need to put people to work to keep the economy moving along. Government type jobs related to improvement of infrastructure, construction, health care, subsidizing companies etc. and putting more money into the economy, whatever it takes to keep the economy moving.

Article:

As for the inflation outlook, many policymakers shared the view that the consumer price will not pick up immediately due to the impact of the pandemic, although the BOJ has maintained its 2 percent inflation target.

"With the pace of economic recovery being moderate, it is unlikely that prices will regain the momentum toward 2 percent inflation within the projection period" through fiscal 2022, one member said.

At the latest meeting, the central bank decided to maintain its corporate support measures totaling 110 trillion yen ($1 trillion) including interest-free loan programs for companies and corporate bond and commercial paper purchases.

The summary of opinions is compiled by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and does not attribute comments to individual members.

Ideas:

The 2 percent inflation idea or goal has been around for about five years. Yet is hasn't happened yet. And it may never happen. That doesn't mean the Japanese economy can't function well. 

The Japanese economy at times seems to defy normal standards of economic growth, and has a mind of its own compared to the global economy or economic growth standards, as we've seen the last 20 plus years. 

The so-called lost decade in the 90's was really now a lost decade if see that there was consistent 1 percent growth throughout the decade.

It just ushered in the the term "low growth" meaning the Japanese economy was not growing like it was before in the 60's, 70's and 80's.

Japan had become a "mature" economy and and such was in a mature low growth phase instead of a high growth phase has before.

But has been seen, even in a low growth phase the amount of economy activity is extremely high.

Economies are very complicated organisms. Meaning not all parts or sectors of an economy are the same. There are always going to be some positive areas and some negatives areas.

Of course the virus situation might be causing more negatives than positives, but some areas/sectors/industries will begin to make a comeback sooner than other areas.

But the economy is still about people.You can talk about the overall economy all day but in the end its about people how how they are affected in an individual way.

So the idea that the economy is beginning to slowly recover is very good, but what about the number of families and individuals and how many of them are beginning to feel better about their lives?

Have a nice day and be safe!

Manichi: Japan Jan./March Spending.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200727/p2g/00m/0bu/034000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Capital spending by Japanese companies rose 0.1 percent in the January-March quarter from a year earlier, revised downward from an earlier result of 4.3 percent growth, the government said Monday.

Ideas:

Revisions are always a part of the process. As the initial stats come out they always have clause related to future revisions due to changes in the initial numbers.

Article: 

Investment by all non financial sectors for purposes such as building factories and adding equipment totaled 15.69 trillion yen ($148 billion), according to the Finance Ministry.

The preliminary report released June 1 said investment stood at 16.35 trillion yen, while the spread of the coronavirus was clouding prospects for the economy.

Ideas:

The idea of capital investments always need to taken with a grain of salt, and and the same time, understand that not all companies maintain the same level of capital investments each quarter. Yes there is a general trend or bench mark that is mostly likely used to determine the companies are investing in capital structures but that all companies don't invest each quarter that the same rate.

Its kind of like buying a new car. Not all consumers are going to buy a new car at the exact same time. As such the stats also have a benchmark number to check if consumers are buying new cars in sufficient numbers. 

Article:

The ministry released the revised figures after collecting data from companies that were unable to reply in time when the preliminary report was being compiled. The initial response rate was found to have dropped over 10 points from the previous quarter, apparently due to the virus pandemic.

Ideas:

Most likely there are going to be a lot of figures that are going to be revised in the future. Sometimes its related to governments being a little to optimistic and sometimes it is related delayed reports.

For a while, in the early parts of 2020, there were those who still felt the economy was going to be fine. And at that time maybe with good reason, as no one felt or could see how much things would change in Japan and globally.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Mainichi: Japan Summer Spending:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200721/p2g/00m/0na/102000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese adults are planning to spend 65,157 yen ($600) on average during their summer holidays, down 2,914 yen from a year earlier and the lowest level on record, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a private survey showed Tuesday.

The amount was the lowest since Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. started conducting the survey in 2006, in yet another indication of sluggish personal spending in the world's third-largest economy.

Ideas:

The project spending of 65,157 yen compared to 68,071 yen from a year earlier doesn't seem like much. What is needed is a more accurate look at the actual numbers of how many actually just spend that much. And what is the dispersion of difference from the mean, which might be a more accurate measure.

What might be more telling is to look at the demographics of who is actually spending how much. For example, most likely the rich in Japan, as anywhere in the world, are probably not much affected, as as such, will still take their summer vacations to the EU and or Hawaii.

While the average family most likely are the ones that are going to reduce their summer trips, or no trips at all and just spend some on locations near where they live. 

It will be interesting to see how much Tokyo Disneyland is affected and much extra spending do families do besides just the cost of general admission tickets.

Article:

According to the survey, 45.6 percent of respondents said they would spend less this summer than the previous year, with 63.0 percent saying their spending would be curtailed as they would refrain from going out due to the pandemic.

The survey also showed that 32.9 percent would save money and that 26.2 percent have less income.

Asked how they would spend their summer holidays, 60.6 percent of the respondents said they will relax at home, up from 56.2 percent in 2019.

Only 8.5 percent said they plan to visit their hometowns to meet parents or relatives, down from 14.6 percent.

Meanwhile, 7.1 percent plan to travel in Japan, down from 13.4 percent, and only 0.5 percent plan to travel abroad, down from 3.6 percent in 2019.

Ideas:

It looks like the general trend is to spend less and not travel too far from home. Most likely this is the general trend globally.

The challenge, in Japan and globally, is the importance of continuing to wear masks and be vigilante, when you go out and remember the 3 C's. 

People are scared they are worried, as no one in recent memory has seen anything like. And to be somewhat fair and honest, most governments had no idea how to deal with the situation other than a lockdown and the wearing of masks. And that might still, for now, be the only real alternatives.

However, as has been written about a lot, economies have been, well "destroyed" because of a lockdown. 

Japan, it seemed for a while, had a very good and sensible plan with no real lockdown other than "suggesting" citizens stay away from large groups etc. 

But now things seem to be, not so good. So maybe Japan needs to go back to a more of a semi-lockdown for a while.

Article:

Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, said the results were not surprising because many companies had cut summer bonuses.

"We are watching whether the Go To Travel Campaign can curb a further deterioration in consumer sentiment," Kodama said, referring to the government's travel subsidy initiative.

Under the 1.35 trillion yen program to spur domestic tourism, the government will subsidize up to half of travel expenses, including accommodation and transport fees.

But economists cast doubt over its effectiveness after the government decided to exclude trips to and from Tokyo as well as residents of the capital from the initiative amid concern that the planned nationwide campaign could add to a resurgence of virus infections in Japan.

The online survey, conducted between June 15 and 18, received responses from 1,120 men and women aged between 20 and 59.

Ideas:

The Japanese government's plan to revitalize domestic tourism and spending is a good idea that might not work. Consumers from other parts of Japan are not going to travel to the Tokyo area as long as the virus cases continue to rise, and other prefectures and areas don't want tourists/consumers from the Tokyo or even Osaka area from traveling to their area because of the spike in the virus numbers.

Japan has to find an way to keep the economy open but at the same time ensure the safety of consumers, tourists and workers, who still need to go to work.

The idea of 70 percent of companies employees working from home might be a good start. And the companies rotate employees working from the company headquarters.

Have a nice day and be safe!

BBC Article:

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/gallery/20200609-the-life-long-exercise-that-keeps-japan-moving

Ideas:

I've been traveling to Yokohama Japan for the past 22 years. In the mornings I run at Yamashita Park, koen, and there is always a group around 6:30 or 7:00 that begin to meet and they do their morning exercises to the music.

It seems I've run so much in the park, when they are there, they still still remember me, as I run by and around them as they do their morning exercise.

I then see some of them head to the McDonalds on the other end of the park, walking past the famous Yokohama Hotel New Grand, famous for their Napolitana pasta. 

Its seems almost any hour of the day there, or used to be, before the virus, there were walkers, joggers, runners everywhere in the park.

Of course I've seen recent pictures of no one in the park and police tape up everywhere to keep people out.

But as Yokohama and other cities are now opening I'm sure the morning exercisers are back at the park.

Lets talk business and economics. There are some businesses that operate at the park, such at the famous ship anchored there along with some a few dinner cruise companies. I'm sure they are not doing too good now because of the virus situation, but hopefully, as people/customers/consumers begin to feel better about things, they will begin to return.

And then there was the recent Star Hotel, across the street from Yamashita Park, that announced they were going out of business because of the virus situation.

There are still three or four hotels still across the street from the park and near Yokohama China town. And there is also the Motomachi shopping area at the end of the park, not far away.

Both Motomachi and Chinatown depend a lot on domestic and international tourists.

Domestic tourists are beginning to return, but of course the country is not open yet for international tourists. 

Lets have hope that this summer begins to get back to some kind of new normal, meaning some return to more consumer activity and not just being wary of going out and spending and doing things. 

We we are in a new normal but that doesn't mean the end of economic or consumer activity. 

Have a Nice Day and Be Safe!