It's every child's dream: you find yourself in an abandoned sweet shop and can finally wolf down(1) as many lollipops(2) and marshmallows(3) as you please.
Tokyo's all-you-can-eat "dagashi" or "cheap candy" bars make that childhood fantasy come true, giving stressed-out Japanese a chance to relive(4) the good old days when their biggest problem was deciding between fizzy sticks and sour plums.
The dagashi bar in Tokyo's trendy Ebisu neighborhood is styled like an old corner shop with dark wooden walls lined with glass jars full of Japanese childhood favorites like chewy soybean candy and pickled(5) squid on a stick.
Faded posters, a black-and-white TV and a menu that also offers pasta with ketchup evoke(6) that special 1960s "natsukashii" or nostalgic feeling.
"This is good old Japan, something I haven't even seen myself because we've passed that era," said 24-year-old Natsuko Kohashi, a consultant, as she sat with a glass of beer and a basket of sugary goodies.
"People dream about this peaceful time, 20 years after the war, when things were kind of slow but people had hope," she said. "The economy started to recover and everyone got richer, but it wasn't as aggressive as the bubble economy."
Tokyo is dotted with places catering to downtrodden(7) office workers who yearn for(8) the years before the financial bubble of the 1980s, when stock markets and property prices soared and then collapsed, leaving Japan in a slump(9) for most of the next decade.
There are cafes where waitresses dressed as maids play childish games with customers, and theme parks that recreate school cafeterias and 1960s living rooms.
At another table at Ebisu's dagashi bar, a lively group of men and women in their 20s, some wearing suits, picked at a selection of sweets.
"I used to eat this as a child," one of the men said. "Now there's all this stress. When we were children, there was no stress, so we're comforting each other."
每个孩子都有这样的梦想:你发现了一家没有主人的糖果店,棒棒糖、果浆软糖随便你往嘴里塞!
为了让压力满满的日本人能够重回童年,东京开了一家随便吃“便宜糖果”店帮助人们梦想成真,并且不必像儿时那样在跳跳糖和酸话梅之间犹豫不决。
“便宜糖果”位于东京时尚地带Ebisu附近很抢眼的路口,深色木头墙体十分古典,上面摆满一罐罐日本孩子们的最爱,如大豆牛皮糖和腌鱿鱼串。
褪色的海报、黑白电视机和番茄通心粉都能唤起人们对二十世纪六十年代的怀旧情怀。
24岁的Natsuko Kohashi喝着啤酒,桌上摆着一筐糖果说:“这里是日本的美好往昔,有些东西我都没见过,因为那段日子已经过去了。” 现在她是一位顾问。
她说:“人们怀念战后二十年的平静生活,当时的生活虽然缓慢,但是人们满怀希望。经济开始复苏,每个人越来越富有,但不像泡沫经济这样令人不安。”
东京星罗棋布着为受压抑的办公室职员准备的休闲场所。这些人怀念1980年经济泡沫以前的生活,当时股市和物价疯涨然后突然崩溃,导致日本在未来十年中处于低迷。
有些咖啡店的侍者穿着女仆的服装陪客人玩儿时游戏,有些主题公园模拟学校自助食堂和六十年代客厅。
“便宜糖果”另外一桌上的男男女女热闹非常,他们都是二十多岁,有些穿着正式的套装,正在品尝精心挑选的糖果。
其中一位男子说:“小时候我常常吃这个。现在四处都是压力。当我们还是孩子的时候,没有压力,我们彼此温暖。”