'Shitamachi' communities need to catch up with fast-rising Sky Tree
TOKYO —
For Henry Killackey, a well-traveled tourist from Los Angeles, Tokyo Sky Tree was the first place he wanted to visit upon arriving in Tokyo for the New Year’s holidays.
Once at the foot of the modern architectural feat, which is on track to reach 634 meters in March to be the world’s tallest stand-alone communications tower, Killackey and his wife Liz found little to do but take pictures of the gigantic steel structure in the cold wind.
‘‘We couldn’t even find souvenirs,’’ the 50-year-old said on his way back to the hotel.
While several stores sell souvenirs in the area, the dearth of establishments catering to the growing number of tourists from across the country and even from overseas, is a common complaint heard in the area.
The shitamachi district, where small merchants, craftsmen and artisans have thrived for decades by plying their trade, is facing the need to adapt to the new environment, and do so quickly.
Built at a cost of about 65 billion yen, the new tower is slated to open commercially in the spring of 2012, with a cone-shaped observatory providing sky-high revelers with a 360-degree view of the landscape below, and the requisite dining experiences.
An adjacent commercial complex, which is to open at the foot of the tower, is expected to have about 300 shops and restaurants, plus an aquarium and a planetarium. It will also boast direct access to local trains connecting to Haneda and Narita airports, the nation’s two main gateways for air travelers.
The stakes are high for local communities.
Tobu Tower Skytree Co, the tower operator, predicts that 5.4 million people will visit the tower in the first year of its opening, and a total of 25 million people visit the complex every year.
Tourism and other activities associated with the project would generate economic benefits worth 47.3 billion yen annually for areas such as Sumida and Taito wards, according to research published in 2006.
But the money is likely to be generated after the tower opens commercially, said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute, who wrote the research paper.
‘‘What I had not anticipated when I did the projections,’’ he said, ‘‘is that people would flock to the tower well before it is completed.’‘
The growing presence of visitors eager to see the tower has led some local merchants to put souvenirs in their storefront and others to open restaurants and cafes in the area to cash in on the new business opportunities.
Check In, a restaurant bar that opened in July, is one of them. It offers an original brandy-based cocktail called The Sky Tree and 634-millimeter-long fried cakes, the latter priced at 634 yen each.
‘‘The sweets have been selling well,’’ said Kota Kuramochi, the 26-year-old bar manager.
Other local establishments have also come up with foods that conjure up images of the tower, such as 634-mm parfaits and tempura rice bowls with stacked-up shrimp fries.
Some locals are worried, however, that their communities are changing too slowly to attract future visitors from the tower complex and to spend time in their neighborhoods.
They are particularly concerned about one scenario: While many tourists flock to the tower, they just come and go on tour buses, satisfying all their sight-seeing needs at the complex.
‘‘We only have one more year to go. We must open up to attract tourists, both international and Japanese,’’ said Koji Imagawa, who sells souvenirs at his apparel company minutes from the tower. ‘‘If we miss this opportunity, we will all be shuttered once and for all.’‘
This is a point well taken by the tower operator’s side.
Killackey, the American tourist, says the tower has big potential because it is being built within a walking distance from Asakusa—a well-known tourist spot about 1.5 kilometers west.
‘‘This place would be the No. 1 tourist place in five years,’’ he said, ‘‘depending on how they do it.’’
2011 Kyodo News
Source: www.japantoday.com
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