TOKYO, March 3 (Reuters) – At the almost empty \u201cWall Street\u201d bar and restaurant in Tokyo\u2019s Kayabacho financial district, three groups of patrons dine quietly at tables separated by partitions.<\/p>\n
The sedate scene is a far cry from the area\u2019s heyday 30 years ago when traders flush from big wins on the nearby Tokyo Stock Exchange routinely crowded the restaurant\u2019s bar, downing glasses of premium whiskey.<\/p>\n
Even though Japanese stocks are scaling giddy heights not seen since the asset inflation bubble of the late 1980s and early 1990s, bars and restaurants in the financial district aren\u2019t along for the ride.<\/p>\n
Kayabacho\u2019s streets are instead eerily quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the bubble era, people came here to drink a glass of Ballantine\u2019s 30-year-old (whisky) for 5,500 yen ($52), even when there\u2019s no seats available, just standing by the cash register,\u201d \u201cWall Street\u201d owner Kenichi Inoue, 62, told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Inoue opened the European style bar and restaurant in 1989, the year the Nikkei index hit a record peak, aiming to serve drinks and food at the affordable price of around $30 per person.<\/p>\n
Brokers and traders packed into the bar almost every evening, with tables at the back usually filled by workers from Yamaichi Securities, then the country\u2019s fourth largest brokerage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was easy to guess the size of the crowd for the evening,\u201d said Inoue. \u201cIf the market was up, I knew it would be busy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inoue\u2019s restaurant wasn\u2019t the only establishment to benefit during the boom. Coffee shops scattered throughout Kayabacho were filled with brokers exchanging information on the market.<\/p>\n
The \u2018Tatsumi\u2019 restaurant was popular with superstitious traders because it served tempura, or deep fried vegetables and fish. The Japanese word for \u201cdeep-fry\u201d, ageru, has the same sound as the word \u201cboost\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then brokers used to come here in a group. They gave us 100,000 yen in cash in an advance,\u201d said 62-year-old owner, Masahiko Tsuda, citing a figure equivalent to around $800 at the time. \u201cIf that was not enough, they paid the difference at the end of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The party came to an end when the stocks bubble burst in the early 1990s. Yamaichi was one of four major banks and brokerages that collapsed in 1997.<\/p>\n
Compounding the market slide, the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1999 completed a decade-long switch to electronic trading, closing the formerly bustling trading floor.<\/p>\n
The number of brokerage employees almost halved from a peak of 170,000 nationwide in 1991 to 91,000 last year, according to the Japan Securities Dealers Association.<\/p>\n
With them went much of the vibrancy of Kayabacho, a downturn that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to trading restrictions on bars and restaurants across Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Redevelopment plans for Kayabacho, which houses many small and old buildings, have been in train for several years, with attempts to rebrand the area as a fintech hub. Heiwa Real Estate , the owner of the stock exchange building, plans to open a 15-storey office tower in the area later this year.<\/p>\n
But the revamp lags the refurbishment of neighbouring districts like Marunouchi and Nihonbashi, where major property developers Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan have created hubs for global firms.<\/p>\n
Adding to Kayabacho\u2019s woes, the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a blow to the real estate market across Tokyo, as more people work from home and domestic economic growth slows.<\/p>\n
\u201cKayabacho\u2019s atmosphere is dark and gloomy,\u201d said Yoko Hattori, 52, the owner of a standing bar, New Kayaba. \u201cThe economy is bad. Many buildings here are old but renovation is not easy because it costs money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tsuda said he no longer sees people flashing lots of cash at his restaurant, while Inoue said \u201cWall Street\u201d was facing the most critical time of its history.<\/p>\n
Inoue has attempted to diversify his menu from the pasta, pizza and grilled meats that catered to mostly male stockbrokers, adding organic food and cold press juice for more health-conscious customers.<\/p>\n
He is grateful that his own business never relied too heavily on the excesses of the bubble era: \u201cIf this had been an high-end restaurant, it would have been closed a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n