Streets in Tokyo usually teeming with people stood nearly empty on Saturday, in response to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's request for the Japanese capital's residents to refrain from unnecessary outings this weekend in the fight against the coronavirus.

The Shibuya and Harajuku districts, where a throng of young people gather on a typical weekend, the Sugamo district, usually brimming with elderly people, and the bustling Asakusa tourist district were all uncharacteristically quiet. 

Few people were out and about around midday near the statue of the faithful Akita dog Hachiko, a landmark of Shibuya located in front of Shibuya Station.

On a Shibuya street full of popular eateries and shops, including bubble tea stores, a shop employee was seen gazing outside wearing a bored expression.

"Shibuya is a district of entertainment," Atsuo Sasaki, 49, manager of a cafe that has been around for 30 years, said.

"Since the coronavirus has wiped out the entertainment events, nobody comes to eat," he grumbled in the half-empty store.

The crowd on the iconic Takeshita Street in Harajuku was smaller than usual.

Noting that many stores and art museums in Harajuku were closed, Julie Garnier, 27, from France complained that there was nowhere to go.

A major street in Sugamo, known as the mecca for the elderly, was also quiet, with clothes and hardware stores standing empty.

Akiko Kobayashi, 52, who saw the sales of her underwear store in Sugamo plunge by more than two-thirds from February, said, "Sometimes you have to give up."

She added that she will close her shop on Sunday as she thinks shopping for underwear will not be counted as a necessary outing.

In Asakusa, Fujio Torizuka, 77, a taxi driver who was waiting for passengers in front of the district's landmark, Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) at Sensoji temple, said, "While I've been based here for over 20 years, it is the first time for me to face this sort of situation."

JIJI Press