All the shopping centres in Japan are dying. I was in Hakodate just a week ago and the Wako there is in the process of closing down. Then, the Daimaru in Kyoto is also prepared to close down (apparently for renovations...).
On TV, many of the big outlets like Takashimaya, Isetan and Marui have announced that they are reverting to close one day a week (they started 7-day operations in early 2000s) and shorten operating hours to cut cost. They are also holding large sales, but it's not working because Japanese are flooding overseas to spend their strong yen. The Japanese themselves also seem more stingy in Japan, less people dining at high-class restaurants and going for cheaper 'bo-nen-kai' parties instead of splurging. Japan retail is heading for meltdown, it's a matter of 'when'.
On a seperate note, I just used the Citibank ATM services today. The exchange is 1.59, no service charge.
On TV, many of the big outlets like Takashimaya, Isetan and Marui have announced that they are reverting to close one day a week (they started 7-day operations in early 2000s) and shorten operating hours to cut cost. They are also holding large sales, but it's not working because Japanese are flooding overseas to spend their strong yen. The Japanese themselves also seem more stingy in Japan, less people dining at high-class restaurants and going for cheaper 'bo-nen-kai' parties instead of splurging. Japan retail is heading for meltdown, it's a matter of 'when'.
On a seperate note, I just used the Citibank ATM services today. The exchange is 1.59, no service charge.