The immense and usually bustling entryway of the luxurious Imperial Hotel in the heart of Tokyo is now dimly lit and nearly empty, save for 15 staff waiting to greet guests who are unlikely to arrive.
Tokyo's hotels have emptied since Japan's quake-tsunami disaster, with some forced to shut down as foreigners flee, locals stay home and businesses scrap meetings and conferences under the shadow of an uncertain nuclear threat.
"Since March 11, everything has changed: seminars, banquets and reservations have been cancelled en masse, especially bookings by foreigners," Uko Komatsuzaki, head of public relations for the Imperial Hotel, told AFP.
"We are usually 80 percent booked at this time of year but right now our occupancy rate is about half that," he said.
"Foreigners are afraid of radioactive fallout; for the Japanese, at least at first, they were afraid of aftershocks, problems travelling to Tokyo and family fears."
The nuclear emergency at the Fukushima power station, 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo, and the discovery of radioactive particles in the city's tap water have spooked foreign travellers.
The disaster struck weeks before Japan's famed cherry blossom season, usually a tourist draw for those looking to savour a party atmosphere under the pink billows of flowering trees in parks and world heritage sites.
As for local guests, the quake and tsunami -- which have left more than 25,000 dead or missing -- have erased any thoughts of merry-maki
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