Tokyo and tech through the eyes of a split pea

Ikea hits Japan, 2005

From Terrie.com:

Ikea International, the Swedish furniture retailer, has announced that it will open its first store on the old SSAWS indoor ski drome site, in September of 2005. Ikea will buy the 42,500 sq. m. of land from Mitsui Fudosan, and build a massive store on the site. The location, just down the road from Costco, will have parking for 2,000 cars, and the company expects to attract 5m+ customers a year. ***Ed: Many of you will remember the SSAWS facility, easily visible from the freeway out to the airport. This bubble- era indoor ski field was an amazing technical feat, but in the long run was just too expensive to operate. Attempts to sell the building to a buy-out group have come to naught, and so the ski drome comes down.** (Source: TT commentary from nikkei.co.jp, Sep 19, 2003)

This is interesting — first Costco, then Dean & Deluca, and now Ikea. I wonder if it’s the increasing foreigner population that is appealing to these massive stores, or if it’s somehow testament to certain regulations being eased.