How do you say business is booming—or that sales are slow—in Japanese?
Chinese has many expressions for peak season and off-season, such as 「門庭若市」and「門可羅雀」. How can you say the same ideas in Japanese?
When a shop is busy and packed with customers, you can say 「商売繁盛（しょうばいはんじょう）」or「てんてこ舞い（てんてこまい）」. 「てんてこ舞い」comes from the image of dancing to taiko drum music—comparing the lively movements of the dance to how busy the staff look.
Example: 観光客が殺到しててんてこ舞いする。（Swamped with tourists and extremely busy.）
When business is slow, you can say 「開店休業状態（かいてんきゅうぎょうじょうたい）」or「閑古鳥が鳴く（かんこどりがなく）」. 「閑古鳥が鳴く」originally described a quiet, deserted scene, and later came to mean slow business.
Example: 不景気で、店に閑古鳥が鳴いている。（Business is bad; there are no customers.）
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