Tokyo, April 15:

Elegant ladies are no longer the only residents of Ginza — the luxury shopping area in Tokyo. Now there are also 30,000 bees.

The bees were imported from the southern island of Okinawa to produce honey on top of an 11-storey commercial building for use in cocktails in neighbourhood bars and sweets, an industrial association that has offices in the building said.

The bees collect nectar from the nearby government quarter and the imperial palace. Members of the Ginza Honey Project, a group that is engaged in the ‘culture and cuisine’ of Ginza, are collecting the honey. Since the beginning of the month, they had harvested about 13 kg of honey, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported.