As if it didn't have enough problems, Hokuei faces a major new challenge from the influx of foreign superstores such as the French Carrefour and the US Costco, which have opened in Makuhari, some 20km away, over the last two years.
Others are seen likely to follow after Japan in March abolished its Large-Scale Retail Store Law, which restricted the opening of large retail stores through red tape that kept foreign applicants at bay for a year or longer before they could enter.
Analysts, however, said it may still be too early to write an obituary for the mom-and-pop stores.
"It's not a given that the smaller places are doomed," said Toru Takahashi, a researcher at the Dentsu Institute for Human Studies. "There are special things only they can provide."
Shibata, for example, emphasises service -- giving customers detailed explanations of their appliances, and sending out repairmen as soon as he gets a call about trouble.
"If you go to one of those big stores, they just hand over the appliances and tell you to do it yourself," he said.
Others have carved themselves a niche. Bessho's futon store is the last in the area where all the quilts are made by hand.
"In the large stores they sell futon along with everything else," she said. "People who look for quality come here."
Indeed, that very comprehensiveness could prove a liability for some of the Japanese supermarkets, Jacobs said, noting that their emphasis on offering a wide range of products without specialising in anything is not always a benefit.
Several, in fact, have problems. Although Daiei Inc did return to the black for the business year that ended on February 28, it is wrestling with a mountain of debt. And group operating profit for Ito-Yokado Co Ltd, Japan's second-largest supermarket chain, fell seven percent in the same business year.
But that is little consolation for people like Kinichi Shibata, who fear they see the writing on the wall.
"In an era where even banks and big companies fail, it's inevitable that small stores like ours will go under," he said.
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