Ginza – a land of deals if you know where to look
At least once, likely more times each week, Ginza serves as the backdrop to evening news stories, people being questioned in the street or just to depict ‘typical’ Tokyo life carrying on as normal behind a newscaster trying to make a point.
Ironically Ginza in many ways is not typical Tokyo, but the idealised version of all things Tokyo, all things Japan.
Several years ago, during the late 1980s in a period now referred to as The Bubble, the main streets through Ginza were the site of the most expensive real estate on the planet. The equivalent of millions of dollars would pass from one part to another – per square meter – just to be able to purchase a small slice of the action in this part of the city.
Today, prices are still sky high, and with the global economy far more shaky and less active than it once was, it may come as a shock to most that life in Ginza continues as it always has – seemingly untouched. But that – is merely on the surface.
Company layoffs and increased numbers of sales in the excusive outlets all over Ginza are perhaps the benchmark of a Japanese icon experiencing its toughest time in decades.
The shoppers still throng the sidewalks and the department stores oggling the goodies on sale, but fewer and fewer are returning home having secured a purchase meaning that the ‘surface’ is as it always has been, but a little deeper down things are not quite as smooth. In the early 21st century, the window shoppers really are that – window shoppers.
Still, that makes it better for those looking for bargains – keep your eyes (and if you understand Japanese) ears peeled and you will find that a walk around Ginza now is far more cost effective, far better for those out for a cheap deal – but still worth saving the pennies for.
