"Doutonbori disappears from the earth" Fight against the dying Corona of the city April 21 11:47

"If you don't completely and completely change the image of the city, Dotonbori will disappear from the earth ... The city is just about to be a fluttering moment."

Infection spread rapidly, 3 Osaka requested the government to issue the second "state of emergency".

At the center of this, Dotonbori in Minami, Osaka, which is the most downtown area in Kansai, has withdrawn 13 stores, which is 10% of the shops in the past year, and is about to be further chased.

Can you protect Dotonbori, the city of Cui-daore where a huge crab signboard dances?

Now, in Dotonbori, the owners of restaurants are gathering together, involving the surrounding shopping streets, and they are seriously working on "infection control" of the store with a unique feeling.

If you do not thoroughly implement "infection control", you will not have a town or a store anymore

"Disinfection is always on the flow line that customers pass through! Children never reach. Alcohol is a figurine, it's not a magic. Equipment is not like this!"

In late March, a study session was held in a corner of Minami, Osaka.

The theme is to create a store so that you can enjoy your meal in Minami with peace of mind.

We will invite an infection control expert to learn in detail one by one, such as the height and spacing at which the acrylic board is installed, and the location of the disinfectant solution.

Furthermore, under the supervision of an expert, a manual consisting of 26 items such as "alcohol concentration of 70% or more" and "installation of CO2 sensor" was produced.

We are also planning an activity to regularly check the infection countermeasures of restaurants in collaboration with neighboring shops and to certify stores that meet the standards as "passed stores".

Until now, each restaurant has taken measures to prevent infection at restaurants by imitating what they see.

However, in order to have Minami's restaurants in the downtown area visit with peace of mind, we thought that we would not have a store anymore unless we took the lead and took measures against infection that would serve as a model for the surroundings. is.

Fifty restaurant owners gathered.

The expressions are all serious.

Mr. Kayo, a snack manager,

"I've been self-taught, but I found that the partition height wasn't enough. I want to go buy something with the specified height immediately."

One of the organizers of this study session was Minoru Kitatsuji, the secretary general of the Dotonbori Shotenkai.

With a strong sense of crisis about the current situation in Minami, we called for participation in this initiative.

Dotonbori and its surroundings are accelerating the movement of closures and closures, and if it is not possible to make Minami a city where you can visit with peace of mind, the historic downtown area that has continued since the Edo period will be drunk by the corona sword and will be in its history I thought it could bring the curtain down.

Mr. Minoru Kitatsuji, Secretary General of Dotonbori Shotenkai

"If you do not completely and perfectly control the infection and change the image of the city cleanly, Dotonbori will disappear from the earth after the corona ... The city is just barely fluttering. "The critical moment"

In a city where both inbound and bustle have disappeared

Over the past year, Minami people, including Mr. Kitatsuji, have witnessed a completely different appearance of Dotonbori, which is visited by a large number of 10 million inbound tourists a year.

The first state of emergency declared last April.

People disappeared from the city like a lie.

In the past, few tourists passed by the over-the-counter sales of the famous takoyaki restaurant, which had long lines.

It is the flagship store of the okonomiyaki chain, which has a building on the main street of Dotonbori, one of the stores that was particularly influenced.

This building offers okonomiyaki on all floors from the 1st floor to the 6th floor.

In the past, this one building alone had annual sales of 500 million yen.

However, in the first state of emergency, all stores were decided to be closed.

At that time, I put up a poster with the following on the shutter of the closed store.

"Don't lose! Absolutely upside down!"

Yoshiaki Koyama, an okonomiyaki chain employee,

"I'm lonely when only posters informing me of" holidays "are lined up in the city. Osaka is a" city of food and laughter. " I wanted to appeal to you. "

The circle of "Lose!" That started with one poster gradually spread throughout the city.

A lot of wit-rich Minami-like messages were gathered, such as the local beer company "Keep (Corona) defeated and toast!" And the yakiniku restaurant "Moo a little gaman lose!"

"With a sad look, just looking down makes Dotonbori's name. No matter how painful it may be, it turns into" laughter. "

That was the true value of Dotonbori, the city of Cui-daore, and Dotonbori, the city of food and entertainment.

Now is the time to return to the origin of Dotonbori, the city of food and entertainment

After the first state of emergency was lifted, many stores were reopened in Dotonbori, but there were still days when no customers came.

At the meeting of the store association held the following month, the chairman's mouth uttered devilish words.

Mr. Katsuya Ueyama, Chairman of Dotonbori Shotenkai

"400 years have passed since the Dotonbori shopping street started. Isn't it 100 years since the damage was so bad except during the war? Dotonbori is very tough. After all, we should be aware of this Dotonbori shopping street and do our best. "

Under these circumstances, there were people who were thinking of trying to revive the city and make new gimmicks.

Shunichi Nagao (57), Vice Chairman of the Shotenkai.

After graduating from university, he opened a small takoyaki restaurant in this town and is now the famous president of Dotonbori, which has a chain of 50 stores nationwide.

Mr. Nagao launched a summer event betting on a comeback.

We set up a cafe table in Dotonbori where people can enjoy eating and drinking outdoors, and invited artists and performers who lost their place due to the corona disaster to enjoy entertainment on the street without worrying about the density. We want you to enjoy the taste of Dotonbori.

This event, named "Entertainment Street Cafe," aimed to return to the origin of Dotonbori, the "city of food and entertainment."

Dotonbori was originally a historic downtown area with five theaters lined up during the Edo period.

The world itself that is being broadcast in the morning serial TV novel "Ochoyan".

Eat delicious food on the way home from watching the play.

"Dohtonbori, a city of food and entertainment" is actually the essence of a city with a history of 400 years.

However, this situation suddenly changes.

From around 2015, such humanity and enthusiasm have been appealing to foreigners, and inbound tourists have increased rapidly.

Many people felt that the city was overheating as a tourist destination and that the original goodness of the city was about to be lost.

Some managers said, "To be honest, I danced to the inbound bubble."

Now is the time to return to the starting point.

A major project has begun to revive "Doutonbori, the city of food and entertainment."

July 1.

Two sets of performers were called in and the shavings were removed.

It was the bright news for the city after a long time, and Mr. Nagao felt a response.

Mr. Shunichi Nagao, Vice Chairman of Dotonbori Shotenkai

"I will return to the origin of the town itself once again with Corona and add new charms to the city. I wonder if this city has developed in this way."

The city that sank due to a "name-name" leave request ...

However, Dotonbori, who swore to revive with the store association, is exposed to further challenges.

Due to the "second wave" of infection, it spread rapidly in Osaka, mainly among young people.

It was the downtown area of ​​Minami that was pointed out by Governor Yoshimura as "especially prominent."

At Dotonbori, which was "named", requests for closure and shortening of working hours began, and the entire city sank again.

Last fall, when the request for leave was over, people who wanted to save the crisis in Dotonbori appeared one after another.

A group that has been promoting tourism in Dotonbori on a three-legged race plans a farmer's market along the banks of the Dotonbori River.

We held a stall market called "Doutonbori Night Market" to sell ingredients from restaurants that were overly influenced by Corona.

In addition, a collaboration with the movie "Entotsumachi Pupel" has also been realized.

I drew an illustration in the play on the shutter of a store that is closed or closed.

In the illustration, a message related to the movie was sung, "Believe through" and "If you believe, the world will change."

Some have said that such warm support from those around them has helped them to survive the predicament.

Dotonbori of "4th wave" Anyway, thorough infection control

However, Osaka is now hit by the “fourth wave” of infection, and the number of infected people continues to exceed 1,000 people a day, making it an unprecedentedly difficult situation.

Osaka Prefecture is requesting the government to issue a state of emergency for the third time.

Dotonbori in such a situation.

The sound of Cui-daore Taro's drums echoes in the city.

There is still no crowd of people there.

This week, on such a lonely street, the secretary general of the store association, Minoru Kitatsuji and several other store owners went to check the infection countermeasures of restaurants in the city.

About 10 cases a day.

According to the manual we made, we will check the position of the ventilation fan, the temperature measurement system, and the measures against infection in the toilet in detail.

Since each store has a different form, not everything goes according to the manual, but in such a case, ask an expert to find out how to deal with it and how to deal with it. According to Mr. Kitatsuji, we are planning to aim for "complete and perfect infection control".

Mr. Minoru Kitatsuji, Secretary General of Dotonbori Shotenkai

"It's a flashy town, Dotonbori, but I have no choice but to do the work of solidifying myself in the hope of after-corona. Yana "

On the other hand, because it is a flashy city, Dotonbori, it is not enough to just "solidify".

Of course, we also think about the time when the number of infected people in Osaka will reach its peak and then fall, and people will be able to come and go again.

Every summer, 1300 lanterns are displayed alongside the river, which is a tradition of Minami, "Doutonbori River Mando Matsuri".

This year, we are planning to recruit not only the locals but also the characters to be written on the lanterns through open recruitment.

And we are also calling for support for the city through crowdfunding.

Mr. Katsuya Ueyama, Chairman of Dotonbori Shotenkai

"If you fall, you won't get up for free. After all, Minami is a city that energizes people. You can't just be depressed. Osaka won't get well. If Osaka doesn't get well, Japan won't get well. I'm doing it every day thinking that way. Absolutely, I'll lose! "

Tokuji Iesaka,

Director of Osaka-based Broadcasting Station

Joined in 2017.

Covering the influence of the new corona, mainly in restaurants in Osaka