Photo/Illutration The Shinjuku Golden Gai entertainment district in Tokyo was relatively quiet during the state of emergency in April 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Three years of COVID-19 have upended dining habits in Japan, and many restaurants are struggling to adapt to new and potentially permanent customer trends.

A number of large companies have overcome the challenge by offering delivery and takeout offerings mainly for people working from home.

But other businesses, such as “izakaya” Japanese-style pubs, are still relying on in-store customers.

Statistics show that on average the COVID-19 pandemic has deprived each of those establishments of “around 10,000 patrons annually.”

A 34-year-old worker at a consulting firm in Tokyo said he now goes to his office just once every two months. He said telecommuting allows him to enjoy homemade lunches with his wife.

Company drinking parties, he said, are now held via videoconference. And even when parties are arranged at restaurants or bars, only up to four people attend.

“I can assert that we eat out less often,” he said.

The food industry has been at the mercy of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Bars and restaurants shortened their business hours or suspended operations during states of emergency. Regulars have gone elsewhere and crowds have thinned out.

Data from restaurant booking site operator TableCheck Inc. on thousands of registered businesses nationwide showed an average daily customer number of 60 per store in 2019, before the pandemic spread.

The number plummeted to 32 in 2020 and then to 26 in 2021. Although the daily figure recovered to 35 in 2022, restaurants now are still down 25 patrons from the pre-pandemic level.

On an annual basis, the customer loss per shop from 2019 was 10,352 in 2020, 12,303 in 2021 and 9,124 in 2022.

Some companies are adjusting by taking food to customers who are reluctant to go out for meals.

McDonald’s Japan tripled its delivery-available outlets from 710 in late 2019 to 2,191 last autumn.

Marugame Seimen, an “udon” noodle chain, released an udon bento for takeout in spring 2021. It has proved a big hit, selling more than 31 million units.

Fast-food chains serving Western-style dishes, conveyor belt sushi restaurants and other takeout rice product stores are now reporting sales that are better than their pre-pandemic levels, according to the Japan Foodservice Association’s statistics.

However, izakaya and other bars were called risky venues for infections, so they took strict anti-virus measures, which drastically reduced their revenue.

Their sales had improved by November but remained as low as 60 percent of the level for 2019.

Large groups are now infrequent customers at izakaya, and fewer late-night second and third drinking parties are being organized after the initial session.

Restaurant chains are replacing their izakaya, which normally offer a variety of dishes, with specialized cuisine shops.

Watami Co. reduced its izakaya number from 340 before the pandemic to 220 in December 2022. Around 40 of them were refurbished into barbecue restaurants.

But new issues have emerged in the industry.
Prices of ingredients have soared, making it difficult for them to offer reasonable prices for customers and generate profits.

The chronic labor shortage is also a problem.

“Part-timers quit when our business hours were cut, and they have not returned,” said a representative of a leading family restaurant chain. “Because of that, we still cannot operate as long as before.”

Shigeru Ishii, managing director of the Japan Foodservice Association, said lifestyles have drastically changed during the pandemic.

“Eateries, for example, in business districts have become deserted as more individuals telework,” he said. “Life before the coronavirus crisis needs to return for restaurants to regain energy.”

The government plans to downgrade COVID-19 in May to the same severity level as seasonal influenza under the infectious disease prevention law.

“I expect the move to provide an opportunity for people to rethink their tendency to refrain from holding large parties,” Ishii said.

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