Rising Credit Card Usage Giving Headaches To Japan's Merchants

Above, Shibuya Crossing in Shibuya's shopping district. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan is generally known as a cash-only country. Credit cards have historically been rarely used.

However, since there is now a tourism boom of foreigners to Japan, credit card usage has been rising. Along with that, they come with a few headaches for merchants.

During my eight trips to Japan, I have never used a credit card. I strictly used cash obtained from the foreign exchange window at Narita Airport.

Nikkei Asia reported:

TOKYO -- As international visitors flock to Japan, their shopping and dining have put such a strain on credit card companies here that some are considering charging higher fees for foreign-issued cards.

When a foreign-issued credit card is used in Japan, the Japanese card company that processes transactions for the merchant must pay fees to both the overseas issuer and the international brand holder, such as Visa or MasterCard.

These payments can outweigh the merchant fees they collect in Japan, leaving losses that are expected to top 30 billion yen ($205 million) this year, about 50% more than in 2023.

Seven out of eight major Japanese credit card companies surveyed by Nikkei say their losses have grown from last year. Of these, six said they were considering or already had begun applying different fees to overseas cards.

To read more, go here. 

Whatever Became of...Ohrbach's?

Above, Ohrbach's at Del Amo Fashion Center. 

The first time that I can remember ever hearing of Ohrbach's department stores was seeing it listed in the end credits of the 1966-1971 gothic soap-opera, Dark Shadows. It stated that the show's fashions were supplied by Ohrbach's.

A few years later, I only stepped into the Del Amo Fashion Center Orhbach's in Torrance, Califonria as an ex-girlfriend worked at that Orhbach's.

Today, Ohrbach's is only a name in department store history.

According to Wikipedia:

Ohrbach's was a moderate-priced department store with a merchandising focus primarily on clothing and accessories. From its modest start in 1923 until the chain's demise in 1987, Ohrbach's expanded dramatically after World War II, and opened numerous branch locations in the metro areas of New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles. Its original flagship store was located on Union Square in New York City, and they maintained home and administrative offices in Newark as well as in Los Angeles. The retailer would eventually close the Newark offices in the 1970s. Paul László designed the Union Square store as well as many of their other stores.

On December 31, 1986, the Los Angeles Times reported:

NEW YORK —  Ohrbach’s, the Dutch-owned department store chain hurt by Americans’ preference for brand-name clothing, has closed four of its six Southern California stores but continues to operate two others as it negotiates with prospective buyers. 

The 63-year-old chain, which previously said it would discontinue operations in Southern California, Sunday closed stores at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, at Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos and at Topanga Plaza in Canoga Park, according to Margaret Tan, manager of the Cerritos store. The Ohrbach’s store in Panorama City was sold in September to developer Gary Leff, who has since leased it to an operator of indoor swap meets. 

Ohrbach’s stores continue to operate at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance and at Glendale Galleria.

Eventually, even those stores closed down.

To read more, go here.

Plenty, Scarce or Non-Existent In New Mexico

Above, the Black Bear Diner in Tarzana. There are no Black
 Bear Diners in New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Many restaurant chains, stores and banks that I've taken for granted in California are either plenty, scarce or non-existent in New Mexico, I've found.

Chase Bank is nowhere to be found in Albuquerque. The nearest one to Gallup, New Mexico is about 135 miles away in Show Low, Arizona.

The nearest Macy's department store is in Albuquerque. It is the only Macy's in New Mexico.

There are at least two R.E.I. stores in Albuquerque.

There's a Wells Fargo Bank in Gallup.

There seems to be a good sushi restaurant (from the reviews I've seen) in Gallup. It is called Zen Sushi & Steak.

There's two Denny's restaurants in Gallup as is one Cracker Barrel restaurant.

There's a Safeway supermarket in Gallup, but no Von's, Ralphs or Kroger's. There's also an Albertsons.

There's no Black Bear Diner restaurants in New Mexico. There's some in Arizona, but not along the Interstate 40 corridor.

In 'N Out Burger has locations in Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. It has not begun to plan to locate to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the near future because current expansion is focused on Texas.

There are no Tommy's Hamburgers in New Mexico.

There is a La Mesa RV dealership in Albuquerque. This works well for me since I bought The Beast at their dealership in San Diego.

There's McDonalds, Arby's, Carl's Jr., Long John Silver's, Taco Bell and Wendy's restaurants in Gallup.

There's several Subway restaurants in New Mexico, including one in Jamestown.

Thankfully, there are three movie theaters in Gallup.

The nearest airport with actual airlines to Gallup is in Albuquerque.

There is a minor league team in Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Pacific Coast League, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.