I took the opportunity to ride the bus from Gunma to Tokyo for the weekend, so I could unwind a bit and also see how the city was doing five months into the COVID-19 crisis. When I visited in May, things were in a much more dire situation, with most businesses remaining closed to stop the spread of the virus, making Shinjuku a veritable ghost town. Now most businesses are open, including my Tokyo gym and my favorite watering holes in Shinjuku and Kabukicho. Here’s a visual update on the Japan Coronavirus recovery as of July 2020.
Japan was hard hit from the virus, seeing a large spike in cases in April, which was slowly brought under control thanks to social distancing and stay-at-home orders. Happily, the number of total dead still hasn’t crossed the 1,000 mark, meaning that although the disruption in people’s lives is severe, the actual loss of life has been limited compared to other countries. As you can see, there’s been an uptick over the past few days as people let their guard down. There were 240 new cases this morning.
First and most important: the use of masks when out in public in Japan is 100.00%, and I could find no one in public going without a mask while around others. As the outstanding experience of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea has shown, wearing a mask is clearly an effective way of protecting yourself and others from the virus. Please wear a mask when in public to protect yourself and others.
Here’s an article about ten benefits the Japanese get from their culture of wearing health masks.
Japan Coronavirus Recovery Update: Gym Edition
I have a membership with a large gym in Shinjuku and came to see what kinds of measures they’d put in place to allow customers to use the equipment safely. There’s alcohol everywhere for you to clean your hands and the machines…
…plus a pretty advanced thermal camera to alert the staff to anyone with a fever. Most places just use the quick skin-surface thermometer to check you before you enter, but this place is really going high-tech.
Of course every cashier in Japan is behind a plastic protective barrier.
Before I enter, I have to fill out a contact form so they can contact me if there’s a flare-up in the virus within two weeks of my visit. Other Asian countries are ahead of Japan in this area, with systems that let you just tap your phone to register that you visited such-and-such place at such-and-such time, in case they need to contact you about possible virus exposure later.
I was surprised to see the aerobics studio was open, with a reduced maximum number of people allowed in. All members were exercising while wearing masks. My hot yoga class was also open, also with a reduced room capacity and a requirement for wearing masks, and I did one of the classes. Which made for a pretty gross, dripping, sweaty mask by the end of the session.
In general, half the machines are marked “sorry, unavailable due to COVID-19” to ensure social distancing.
Also, tape laid was down to make sure people kept apart while stretching.
One reason I chose this gym is that there are large baths and a sauna to enjoy after working out, which is pretty nice to have on hand in the winter in Tokyo. Only 9 people are allowed in the sauna at one time. And no, I’m not really supposed to be taking pictures inside the bath area.
I love coming to my local Starbucks clone to work on blog posts, and I stopped off to chill for a couple hours at the local Excelsior Cafe near me.
Lots of alcohol for clean hands. I fear I am becoming addicted to the feeling of alcohol on my hands, the reassuring clean feeling it gives.
So nice to be able to go out for sushi, as long as precautions are taken.
Masks are easy to get in Japan now, but I still like using this one my mother-in-law sewed for me. She also made masks for all my family in San Diego.
The Apple Store in Shibuya was open, but you have to wait in a line as the number of people allowed inside is capped.
Business as usual inside the store.
The economy has taken a hit from COVID-19, though I’m surprised to see very few permanently closed businesses so far. This Forever 21 building is becoming an Ikea later this year, which I’m actually happy about, as all the Ikeas in Japan are in hard-to-get-to places.
Had to stop off for some Mexican food at Guzman y Gomez, an Australian chain offering semi-decent tacos and burritos. Unfortunately being an exotic offering in a place like Japan, it’s hella expensive.
Japan Coronavirus Recovery: Shinjuku and Kabukicho
I had to visit Kamurocho Kabukicho, although it’s always in the news as the source of new “clusters” of COVID-19 infections, so I didn’t stay long.
Golden Gai is mostly back to normal, though the lack of foreigners in the bars made me think it was 2013 again.
Another shot of Kabukicho. Just kidding, it’s a screencap from Weathering With You, but you believed me for a second, didn’t you?
My other favorite area around Shinjuku is Omoide Yokocho, which is more informal and has actual food in addition to drinks, and is usually about 1/2 to 1/3 the price of Golden Gai.
I stopped off at my favorite shop for a Hoppy — which is an alcohol-free beer-like hop drink that you mix with shochu, which lets you control the amount of alcohol you drink — and some oden stew. I promise I was socially distancing!
I had to stop at my regular bar to say hi to my normal drinking crew, too. It’s a little dangerous to be in a bar, but we were mostly sitting outside, and several seats had been removed to keep things more separated. In the past, our bartender would mix your lemon sour with the same spoon again and again, even for refills. Since this would be a potential source for spreading the virus, he now uses a system of mixing refills with a straw, which is disposed of after each use.
Thanks for reading this Japan coronavirus recovery update. Got any questions about how Japan is dealing with the crisis? Post them below, or ask us on Twitter!
It never rains, it pours…onaholes, that is. We’ve got a huge number of high-quality male stress toys for you to browse on the site, with everything from official hentai ero toys to high-quality toys that simulate a sweet encounter with a special girl. Browse our new adult toys here!
