There's a distinct whiff of nostalgia in the air and it's coming from the general direction of the subway and JR stations. Also from the kaden ryōhanten (家電量販店 discount shops for consumer electronics) now doing excellent business with items like the senpūki (扇風機 electric fan) and nisōshiki sentakki (二層式洗濯機 old-fashioned washing machine with no tumbler dryer or other functions) in preparation for the setsuden no natsu (節電の夏 the summer of saving electricity) that's looming right around the corner.
Those of us born and bred during the Showa Era (1926-1989) are familiar with the smell, though it seems like years and years since it's been this strong.
The Showa smell is comprised of a lot of different elements but suffice to say, the notes consist of sweat and mildew, of old wood and damp corners in the house, of oshi-ire (押し入れ Japanese style closets), mothballs and ammonia-based toilet cleaning solutions. It's the smell of diesel fumes and cheap domestic brand perfume, of bad plumbing and wet concrete. And among people over 60, many say the chief smell of the Showa Period is the koyashi (肥やし fertilizer made mainly from cow, horse and human dung) that reigned supreme over the farms and fields of Japan for centuries. Apparently, the GHQ was so put out by it that they ordered the Japanese to import more flour, stop relying so much on rice, and start using chemical fertilizers by the tankload. The ploy worked and koyashi disappeared but odd, Showa-ish turns of phrase like miso mo kuso mo issho (味噌もクソも一緒 everything blends into one eventually, so distinguishing miso from excrement is often meaningless) have stuck around. In fact, a reporter from one of the domestic dailies used it to explain the state of the Japanese parliament.