Supermarket chain Ito-Yokado on Sunday closed its store in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, that was known as the model for the “Sato-Kokonokado” store that appears in the popular anime series “Crayon Shin-chan.”
Many customers and fans gathered and gave applause and words of gratitude when the store was closed.
“Sato-Kokonokado is still operating in the anime,” the studio that makes “Crayon Shin-chan,” said in a statement.
The closure was part of efforts by Ito-Yokado’s parent, Seven & I Holdings, to restructure its struggling supermarket operations.
The Kasukabe store opened in 1972 and moved to the current location in 1996.
“I came to the store to say goodbye,” said a 53-year-old woman from Noda, Chiba Prefecture, who is a native of Kasukabe and said she had shopped at the store even before its relocation.
“The store appears in the anime. I didn’t want (the operator) to shut it down,” said a 26-year-old man from the city of Akishima in western Tokyo.
Seven & I Holdings last month announced a restructuring plan that focuses the company on its convenience store operations in an effort to counter an acquisition offer from Canadian convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard. The Japanese company is also considering a management buyout.