Have you noticed the recent changes around Yurakucho Station? As fancy new cafes and restaurants pop up one after another, the tiny old izakaya under the railroad tracks, with their red paper lanterns, are gradually disappearing.

This shift is part of the so-called Yurakucho Project sponsored by East Japan Railways. Two years ago, JR East asked its affiliated companies to come up with a makeover plan for the station area. Out of the 12 competing groups, Tetsudo Kaikan Co. won with its daring proposal -- a 900-sq.-meter Spanish bar and restaurant.

With its fresh white walls, Guino Guino, which opened in March, stands in chic contrast to the grimy Yamanote Line running overhead. It's hard to imagine that the place used to be a warehouse.

Owned by JR, the space had been lent to the Sogo department store across the street. "But when Sogo closed, it was no longer needed," says Sanae Sakita, head of Tetsudo Kaikan's development section. "That's when JR came up with the idea to utilize the large, unused warehouse."

From the start, the smart new restaurant stood out from its shabby surroundings. And surprisingly, of its daily average of 600 customers, 70 to 90 percent are female, according to Katsuhisa Ono, Guino Guino's general manager.

"This was something totally unexpected," Ono says, "since the image of this area under the railroads was of salarymen crowding into izakaya after work. We were expecting lots of men, not women."

The restaurant, however, definitely appeals to the office-lady demographic, with its broad menu, upmarket drink list and chic interior.

Sitting under a distinctive arched ceiling, customers snack on tapas or feast on paella, with a sommelier helping them choose their wine if they wish. Spanish music muffles the sound of trains overhead. In fact, just recently, Te^te Homme even held its Spring-Summer Tokyo Collection there.

Just next door is another new kid on the block: Paper Moon Cafe Cafe. Opened last month, this diminutive cafe -- a branch of its main shop in Hiroo -- is also part of the Yurakucho Project.

"We had many offers to open a second shop, but the location never seemed right, and the size was often too big," says Suzuka Ishige, a spokesperson of P.M. Factory, the company that runs the two cafes. "But, when we heard of this tiny space under the railroad in Yurakucho, we jumped at the chance."

According to Ishige, they had always wanted to open a small deli-type cafe that serves mainly takeout dishes in the center of a business district.

Open for more than 15 hours on each weekday, Paper Moon Cafe Cafe's extensive menu caters to a continuous flow of customers. At breakfast time, poached eggs and cinnamon rolls are big, quiche and sandwiches fill the displays at lunchtime and Champagne and canapes take over in the evening.

While Yurakucho Project might be injecting a bit of sophistication into the area, it comes at a cost: the longevity of old-school izakaya and restaurants, the homey haunts of countless salarymen.

These spots, which started appearing about 50 years ago, are renowned for their cheap fare and lively atmosphere, with their seats often spilling out onto the street. While some might consider them an eyesore, they've long attracted both locals and tourists who seek a taste of the real Tokyo.

One of these old-timers, tempura shop Suehiro, located directly under the Yamanote Line, has been in business for more than 30 years. Owner Mariko Tanabe (not her real name) admits that the number of customers has fallen drastically in the past couple of years.

"From the declining economy to these new fancy cafes and restaurants, we're in a no-win situation," Tanabe says. "A lot of my neighbors have closed down."

Though her shop has been hit hard, Tanabe doesn't plan to change anything.

"The people who come here like this down-to-earth atmosphere," says Tanabe. "The only change I am going to make is to strengthen the ceilings to protect us from a big earthquake."

Unfortunately, something other than an earthquake might take down these traditional eateries.

Yurakucho Project is unofficially part of JR's Station Renaissance initiative, which is aiming to revitalize the areas around old, less fashionable stations. The initiative has already spruced up Ueno and Tokyo stations, and work on Meguro and Shinagawa stations is nearing completion.

"The Yurakucho Project is just the beginning," says Sakita of Tetsudo Kaikan. "By opening more and more shops, we're hoping to change the drab image of station-area restaurants."

Will the salarymen be able to hold on to their haunts, or will they, along with Yurakucho's izakaya, have to find someplace else to go?