The dark side of the nightscape: the growth of izakaya chains and the changing landscapes of evening eateries in Japanese cities

Abstract

Bars and drinking spaces constitute an essential aspect of night-time entertainment districts. Japanese bars, generally known as izakaya, served a variety of cuisines and drinks, and they have been a central part of urban nightscapes. After the bursting of the bubble economy and the decade-long recession since the 1990s, however, the cultures of izakaya have changed dramatically. Drawing from the works of geographers, this paper critically examines recent changes in drinking spaces—particularly izakaya—and discusses how their changes are impacting the transformation of the night-time entertainment districts in Japan. This paper addresses several problems that are emerging in the transformation of the izakaya industry. Specifically, it problematizes the increasing numbers of corporate izakaya chains that have been established in recent years. They tend to serve food and drinks at a much cheaper price than their competitors, such as family-run izakaya. This is possible by making use of cheap laborers and a scale economy. For this reason, many traditionally family-run izakaya are struggling, and they are gradually disappearing from today’s urban nightscape in entertainment districts. Detailed examples of several entertainment districts in Tokyo metropolitan area and izakaya chains’ impacts in homogenizing the nightscape will be discussed at length.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• drinks
• izakaya
• nightscape
• night-time economy
• Tokyo

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate Atsushi Naruse and Miyo Aramata, who graciously shared their thoughts at many izakaya we visited. They are also grateful to the reviewers for their feedback. Finally, the authors wholeheartedly thank Kelvin Low and Elaine Ho for their extraordinary patience and assistance: without their work and interests, this paper would not have materialized here. The authors are solely responsible for any errors.

Notes

1. In Japan, at izakaya where professors socialize with their students, nowadays it is not surprising to see many students’ first drinks are mixed drinks or soft drinks, and many older professors then realize the changes across generations. This is particularly true at urban colleges and in college towns.

2. Torikizoku is an izakaya chain that specializes in yakitori. Its first store was launched in Osaka, and its major operation is in Kansai region, though they are expanding eastward, including Nagoya metropolitan area and Tokyo metropolitan area.

3. For details on the diversity of the Colowide operation, see: http://www.colowide.co.jp/en_us/strategy-growth-company.html.

4. Miki Watanabe left his position as Chief Executive Officer of Watami Co. and became a member of the House of Representatives (Liberal Democratic Party) in 2013.

5. For details on the list of designated controlled district, see: http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/about_mpd/keiyaku_horei_kohyo/horei_jorei/kyaku_ku.html (in Japanese).