On Monday, the Tokyo metropolitan government will move into phase two of its roadmap for gradually easing requests for businesses to close to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
This will allow a wide range of facilities to resume operations, including gyms, movie theaters and cram schools. Business owners and others who have endured lost wages due to the closures are rushing to prepare to reopen.
Spa Shirokane, a sports gym in the Shirokanedai district of Minato Ward, has been closed since the day after the state of emergency was declared. On Saturday, about 20 employees were disinfecting training equipment and doing other work so parts of the gym could reopen Monday.
Clusters of infection occurred in gyms in Chiba and Aichi prefectures. In response, Spa Shirokane hired a specialist firm to thoroughly disinfect and clean its facilities.
In addition to disinfecting the gym, employees performed a final check of the instructions they would give to users.
Manager Masato Kawaguchi, 58, said the gym spent tens of millions of yen in maintenance and other costs during the closure, which has exhausted its reserves.
"I'm relieved. We'll be thorough about hygiene management for the safety and security of our users," he said.
Theater Pole-Pole Higashi-Nakano in Nakano Ward is also planning to reopen Monday.
The small theater is beloved for its retro feel, but in late March its customer numbers dropped to about 10 percent of the normal level. The theater has been closed since the day after the emergency was declared.
It has continued to sell original T-shirts, shoulder bags and other items via mail order to get some income.
The entire theater is being disinfected before reopening. Red tape has been placed on the stairs to prevent customers from getting too close to one another.
For now the theater is only allowing 36 of its 96 seats to be used and has implemented other infection control measures as well, such as creating an online reservation system.
"The reopening day is a big step in returning to a new normal," said manager Takahiro Otsuki, 53, who said he is looking forward to seeing images return to the screen.
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