For the first time in over 40 years, escalator girls reappeared at the Odakyu department store in Shinjuku.

Escalator girls were once a fixture in Japanese department stores in the 1960s until the 1970s.  When escalators were new and first began appearing in department stores, customers were apprehensive in using them.  The concept of the escalator girl was established to present a friendly reassuring face and to assist customers getting off and on.

As escalators became more commonplace and their reliability known, the job of the escalator girl quickly became obsolete and it soon faded and disappeared.

From Wednesday (October 22) to Sunday (October 26) between noon and 8pm, the nostalgic sight and greetings can be re-lived at Odakyu in Shinjuku.