As you might expect, the long-awaited end of the boom also brought out a flurry of last-minute profit-takers.

First among them was the Government of Australia. The Australians own one of Tokyo's most stately embassies - in Mita, an upscale neighborhood near the nightlife scene in Roppongi. Recently the Australians decided that, to refurbish their embassy and pay for needier projects at home, they could part with about 54,000 square feet of its land, including part of one of the most beautiful gardens in the city.

When the fierce bidding ended a few months ago, the winner was C. Itoh, the big Japanese trading house. The price agreed upon was 57.53 billion yen, equivalent to about $425 million. Japan said it was too much. ''They asked us to reduce the price, and we understood,'' said Howard Debenham, a counselor at the embassy. No one is saying exactly how much it was shaved, but the figure appears to be around $25 million. ''We still did O.K.,'' Mr. Debenham said.

Now Argentina is putting some of its land on the block, and Peru and Malaysia said they will follow suit.

The situation is acute enough that the Japanese Foreign Ministry is at work on a plan to build modest embassy space to be shared by many nations, a sort of public housing project for diplomats.

No such relief is available for Tokyo's middle class, though, especially those unlucky enough not to have bought a house shortly after the American occupation following World War II.

In a land where it is virtually impossible to be evicted legally, and where space is severely limited by geography, renters in recent years have faced speculators who have been known to resort even to assault to clear out housing for landlords trying to tear down buildings.