By: Ikumi

Without so much as a glance I paid no attention to, “Information on the outbreak of coronavirus in China” that spread in the news in the winter of 2019. I headed to work daily in the morning.

In 2020 things instantly intensified around the world.
“You’ll be fine if you wash your hands, gargle, and wear a mask”.
“It’s the same thing as the flu”.
At that time, I paid no attention to coronavirus just like those around me.

However, every January through February (Lunar New Year) is a time crowded with Chinese tourists (New Years in Japan) and this year I felt the flow of people was much less.

I work at a tourist attraction in Kyoto and am therefore sensitive to the flow of people. Since it is a business with tourists who may never visit the city again,  I treasure guiding each traveler as a once-in-a-life time encounter while experiencing the scene from season to season. 

As expected, I intuitively felt, “maybe there is a crisis!”.

After that, the days of anxiety continued with, “How long will business be suspended?” or “Not only will other employees be infected, I might be infected too”.

Since that time, the number of people coming to tourist attractions decreased. Finally, in March only the locals came there.

There’s fear of being infected, fear of going to work, and of course the stress of having to go because of not being paid when you take time off.

On April 7, the Kansai region was the target area for a state of emergency declaration.

At the end of the day there was a call for self-discipline, and we spent day after day self-isolating.

Wages are currently being covered, but I think that it is the lowest amount. Of course, it’s much lower than the monthly amount.

I appreciate it because it is a small business with many employees.

May 21^st. My company took advantage of the declared state of emergency being lifted and resumed operations on the 23^rd. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the guests are returning like before, and the number of people reporting for work is limited. And the reality is that no manpower is needed. For this reason, returning to work and any plans after this are undecided.

Ikumi’s Bio