The atmosphere is gloomy at the Ikebukuro Folkcraft and Antiques Hall.
"There's nothing happening," says Tokiko Furuta of Tokiwa Antiques, one of the cluster of antique shops in a large hall a few blocks from Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station. "A lot of people are looking, but not many are buying."
There was general agreement among the dealers that the antique trade is suffering from Japan's long-running recession.