‘Cult of convenience’: how Tokyo’s retro shotengai arcades are falling victim to gentrification

‘Cult of convenience’: how Tokyo’s retro shotengai arcades are falling victim to gentrification

Across Japan covered shopping arcades are in a losing battle against property developers, depopulation and consumer cultureTsutomu Nishiwaki raises the shutters of his store, the rattle marking the start of a new day at a shopping arcade in Tokyo. He wheels a display case into the foreground and stands behind the counter, framed by a sign proclaiming that this is a family-run noodle store.It is a ritual Nishiwaki has been performing almost daily…