Canned beer and other alcoholic beverages are consumed in a park near JR Shinbashi Station in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Feb. 1. (Yuji Masuyama)
People in need of a few drinks in Tokyo’s Shinbashi district have found venues that are unaffected by government requests for shortened business hours under the now-prolonged state of emergency.
Like clockwork, streams of workers, students and others looking to ease their stress head to public parks in the area after 8 p.m., when bars and restaurants are supposed to close to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus infections.
The Shinbashi district, filled with countless bars and restaurants, is known as a nightlife heaven for salarymen. But the doors have shut and the lights turned off at many of these places at 8 p.m. since the COVID-19 state of emergency was declared for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures on Jan. 7.