Some semblance of normalcy crept back into parts of the country as stores and facilities either resumed operations or prepared to do so on Friday, the day after the state of emergency was lifted in 39 prefectures.
Prevention of a recurrence of an outbreak of the new coronavirus was among the first orders of business, with stores taking extra care to disinfect and ensure proper ventilation before opening the doors to customers.
Shopping malls and markets opened one after another throughout Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures, which had been designated as "special alert areas."
In Nagoya, the souvenir shop Osu Omiyage Company in the Osu Shopping District in Naka Ward reopened Friday with plastic curtains installed in front of cashiers to prevent droplet infection.
"It won't be back to how it used to be soon, but I will look at it as starting over from scratch," the shop owner said.
In Ishikawa Prefecture, Wajima Morning Market in the northern tip city of Wajima lifted its self-imposed closing. Only about 10 of the 200 or so vendors were open, and shoppers were sparse.
Even so, "It was a step forward that the emergency state was lifted," said the head of the morning market union. "It will take time, but the number of open shops will increase little by little."
A housewife from the city, who came to the market to buy fresh fish, said, "I want to see the market get back to usual as soon as possible."
Kairakuen gardens in Mito again became a place where elderly people and families could enjoy a leisurely stroll among lush greenery. It reopened on Tuesday and while visitors from Ibaraki Prefecture can enter free of charge, those from outside the prefecture are charged 300 yen. A man in his 70s from Kasama in the prefecture, who had followed the guidelines on self-restraint and limited himself to going out for just one shopping trip per week, said, "I can finally move about."
A Mito resident, 43, who visited with his two sons, said: "I'm worried about a second wave [of infections] coming. I don't really want people from outside the prefecture to come to Ibaraki."
In Fukuoka, about 30 out of about 150 vendors in the Tenjin Chikagai shopping street, known as Tenchika, resumed business. At an accessory shop, female employees were busy wiping off items on display. The shop owner in her 30s said, "I'm relieved that I could reopen the shop. I'm looking into limiting the number of customers allowed in at one time in order to help maintain social distancing."
A 65-year-old woman from Nakagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, said she used to come to the shopping street every week before the outbreak.
"I want the lively Tenjin that I know to gradually return," she said.
Akita Prefecture lifted its request for business closures across the board on Friday. The Akita Institute of Sports Science in Akita city opened its training room, setting up alcohol disinfectant at the entrance and opening windows and doors to ensure thorough ventilation. The training equipment is spaced out 2 meters apart to prevent "Three Cs" -- closed space, crowded place and close-contact setting.
"Naturally we are happy to reopen, but [the pandemic] is not over yet and we have to remain vigilant." the institute's manager said. "We have to particularly be careful not to allow the virus to be brought in."
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