Ebisu Bowl Bites The Dust

[Mulboyne]

Another storied piece of Tokyo real estate is up for redevelopment. The 5-floor Ebisu Grand Bowl, opened in 1972, closed its doors at the end of March. The 34-lane bowling alley was built on the site of an old saw mill in a prime location next to Ebisu station at the height of the "bowling boom". Demolition will take place over the next six months but no new plans for the site have yet been unveiled. Commercial rents in Tokyo are on their way up again. Mitsubishi Estate's new Shin-Marunouchi will charge 60,000 yen a tsubo which is 20% more than the company's Maru Biru across the street and a level not seen since the bubble burst. At this rate, Tokyo is on course to overtake London as the most expensive city for office space. It is thought that the massive redevelopment of Tokyo is a factor behind the Yamaguchi-gumi's aggressive move into the area. There is evidence that rival Kanto gangs have been tooling up for a possible confrontation to protect their turf.

[kamome]

I remember Ebisu Bowl. Fairly close to where I used to live. I can't believe they're destroying it.

[Mulboyne]

The average life of commercial buildings isn't a lot longer than residential in Japan. Most 1970's properties were just a bit too new for redevelopment in the bubble and landowners didn't have the funds or the opportunity to to do anything during the 90's. As some have already noted on the board, it has become a lot easier even for FGs to get a mortgage so you can imagine what funding is now available for commercial landlords. You can expect more "landmark" buildings to disappear over the next few years if conditions remain benign. Captain Japan says he noticed a whole area of small shops and offices near Nakameguro has been quietly closing which is usually a prelude to a major rebuild. There are still prime areas like Ginza which date back to the 60's Tokyo Olympic building boom which could be up too depending on negotiation.

[Mulboyne]

One of the other buildings rumoured for redevelopment is, apparently, Nobu Tokyo.It's only been there a little over seven years but Soho's have been moving a few of their restaurants around lately - Roy's Aoyama is now in Roppongi Hills - which might mean it opens elsewhere.

[Kuang_Grade]

On a similar note (although I don't know what they are planning for the space or what triggered the closing), the Transportation Museum at the southern end of Akihabara is closing on May 14th.

http://www.kouhaku.or.jp/english/index.html

According to wikipedia, they are splitting up the collection and shifting the trains from transportation museum to a new railway museum under construction in Saitama due to open in 2007.

http://www.railway-museum.jp/top.html

[Mulboyne]

This from today's Asahi:

Buildings in Ichigaya-Yakuoji-machi, in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, stand no higher than around 10 stories. So residents were stunned to learn, in the fall of 2004, about plans to build a towering 44-floor condominium building in their relatively quiet neighborhood...They managed to get the plans changed slightly: a six-story reduction, from 44 floors to 38. But it was a very minor victory, in a much greater war. The truth is, Tokyo is enjoying a skyscraper construction boom...As of March 2005, there were 216 separate plans to build high-rises of 20 floors or taller in the 23 wards of Tokyo alone, according to Real Estate Economic Institute Co. When all the skyscrapers planned around Japan are included, the number soars to 450...With eager customers as rabid as they are, it is no wonder. In Tokyo last December, 98 percent of the condominium units in high-rise buildings were sold...
...Many residents are fighting back to preserve their old neighborhoods...This trend received a form of judicial backing recently when the Supreme Court ruled that residents have the right to benefit from a decent skyline, even while dismissing a lawsuit seeking the removal of the upper floors of a high-rise apartment complex...Sapporo is witnessing tower blocks going up left and right. The city government has stepped in to rein in disorderly construction and preserve the city's feel...The Sapporo Chamber of Commerce and Industry is opposed, arguing that the restrictions will harm economic recovery...more...

[Mulboyne]

Togawa Shoten across the road from Ebisu Bowl also closed its doors last week. The shop had been open for over 50 years, dealing in rare and antique books. It was one of the best in Tokyo outside Jimbocho. It seems, though, that Togawa-san is planning to re-open in a smaller location on the other side of the station after a month off. The antique book market has picked up recently but a lot of it has moved online so there is less need to keep stock in expensive city centre sites.

One real estate analyst is on record forecasting that Tokyo will be virtually remade in the next seven years. A friend of mine noticed that a lot of residential properties have been emptied between the Russian Embassy and Shiroyama Hills which could be the prelude to a major development there also.

[kamome]

One real estate analyst is on record forecasting that Tokyo will be virtually remade in the next seven years. A friend of mine noticed that a lot of residential properties have been emptied between the Russian Embassy and Shiroyama Hills which could be the prelude to a major development there also.

Where in relation to Shiroyama Hills is the Russian Embassy? Is it near the Spanish and Swedish embassies between Okura and Ark Hills?

[Mulboyne]

The Russian Embassy is next to the Tokyo American Club. You might know the place better by the famous SM love hotel

[kamome]

The Russian Embassy is next to the Tokyo American Club. You might know the place better by the famous SM love hotel

Actually, since I limited my love hotel expeditions to Dogenzaka, I only know the place because of the TAC. There was a love hotel near the Russian embassy? Damn, I missed out on an interesting experience!

[GomiGirl]

I was there only just this morning!! Damn it takes ages to get a Russian visa!!!!

The police were there ready with the barracades and the armoured vans in case the anti-communists visited but it was all kinda quiet today.

[Blah Pete]

Damn it takes ages to get a Russian visa!!!!

Well, if you would have taken him over to the love hotel next door you would have got it faster. They didn't the hotel in that location for nothing.

[Mulboyne]

...The truth is, Tokyo is enjoying a skyscraper construction boom...more...

Asahi: Osaka condo to win height bragging rights in August

The nation's tallest condominium will be completed in Osaka in August. At 200 meters, the 54-story X-Tower Osaka Bay [Cross Tower] in Minato Ward surpasses the 185-meter Elsa Tower 55 in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture. The 55-story high-rise has held the title of the nation's tallest condominium for eight years. Almost all the apartments in X-Tower Osaka Bay have been sold, including a 162-square-meter unit on the top floor, which went for about 165 million yen, developers said. It takes only about one minute from the ground floor to the top by a high-speed elevator. The rooftop has a panoramic view of Osaka Bay and central Osaka...more...

[Mulboyne]

Ebisu Ramen, which as been in business for thirty years, closed on the 31st July. Owner Yuko Takebayashi started the business as a yatai when she was only 20 and moved to a permanent site in 1989. She was pioneer of "Tokyo ramen" in the era of the ramen boom. It is apparently not the end of Ebisu Ramen, though. In an interesting twist, Takebayashi is planning to open a shop in a high class hotel...in Shanghai.

[Captain Japan]

Captain Japan says he noticed a whole area of small shops and offices near Nakameguro has been quietly closing which is usually a prelude to a major rebuild. There are still prime areas like Ginza which date back to the 60's Tokyo Olympic building boom which could be up too depending on negotiation.

Between Yamate-dori and the river, most of the shops and restaurants under the tracks have now been boarded up. In truth this should have happened long ago because the majority were rickety dumps. (I remember very clearly smashing a cockroach with the bottom of my beer glass in one yakitori-ya just around the corner from the pachinko parlor that is across the street from the ticket gate.) What is a bit strange is that each establishment now has an anti-boryokudan poster posted on its outside. There's a phone number to call, too.

[Behan]

[Mulboyne]

This small project in Ebisu bucks the usual development trend by consciously going for a retro-feel. The site, near the station's east exit, is the Yamashita Shopping Centre which was a market primarily serving the old local barracks. The shops inside were gradually closing down one by one so a design team was brought in to give the place a revamp. It has reopened now under the name Ebisu Yokocho which is probably an attempt to evoke the image of Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho and Shibuya's Nonbei Yokocho. There are thirteen restaurants and bars in total and most are no bigger than 3 or 4 tsubo. Development in Tokyo is usually one long story of these kinds of places disappearing so it's interesting that Ebisu is going the other way. It is a popular belief among Tokyo bar and restaurant owners that if you can make a success of a place in Ebisu then you can can probably do well anywhere in the city so this project will be watched closely.

[Mulboyne]

The Sankei has a short piece on the new development.

[Mulboyne]

The Japan Times restaurant reviewer has a piece on the Ebisu development.