Department Store Basements

Whenever I have friends or family visit me in Japan, I take them to the basement of a big department store somewhere in Tokyo.

It is perhaps the best way to get introduced to a wide variety of delectable Japanese foods in a short period of time.

( ↑ This photo was taken from this article, which has the best selection of department store basement photos I was able to find.)

Even if you don't buy anything, just walking around is awesome.

The Japanese word for these fantastic food emporiums is デパ地下 (デパちか).

デパ is an abbreviation of デパート, which is an abbreviation of デパートメントストア, "department store."

地下 (ちか) means "underground." That's why the 地下鉄 (ちかてつ), literally "ground-under-railway" is the "subway." (If we're being technical, 鉄 actually means "iron.")

So デパ地下 (デパちか) means "department store basement."


I haven't actually bought anything at a デパ地下 in a long time.

I think the last time I got something was a couple of years ago when I went to the basement of Lazona, a large shopping mall attached to Kawasaki Station, to buy Rei a roll cake that she'd been dying to try:

It was delicious. I don't know why, but the cakes in Japan seem to taste better than the cakes I've had anywhere else in the world.

I talked about my favorite cake in Japan back in this lesson: [NDL #356] - Christmas, Chicken, & Cakes.


Which department store is the best?!

I don't know. Looking online, most of the English articles about department store basements seem to just be copying one another and listing the same places.

My advice would be to just go into any giant department store you see and check if the basement is cool.

One problem you will run into is that most of these places have nowhere to sit!

...so if you have a big department store with an awesome デパ地下 near wherever you happen to be staying, then maybe go there, then take the food back to your room.

It seems a lot of people also like to go to the basement of Isetan in Shinjuku, then eat the food they buy at Shinjuku Gyoen, which is one of my favorite gardens in Tokyo.

Shinjuku Gyoen is also pretty close to the Shinjuku Takashimaya, which has another well-known デパ地下. If I'm not mistaken, you can eat your food on the rooftop terrace there.

Shinjuku Gyoen is also a cool place to see cherry blossoms, by the way. I took this a few years back:

If you've ever seen that anime The Garden of Words, a lot of it takes place in this park:

The last time I played tour guide for some friends in Japan, we went to the basement of the Tokyu department store that's attached to Shibuya station, then we ate while watching people skateboard at Miyashita Skate Park. Would have been a perfect lunch, but it was the middle of July and about 8,000 degrees outside. Luckily, I had grabbed a beer at a nearby convenience store for some much-needed refreshment.

Some YouTube videos and articles about デパ地下:

- Video: ISETAN Shinjuku Food Hall - Japanese Sashimi & Bento Picnic in Tokyo, Japan!
- Video: Food Halls in Tokyo: Takashimaya in Shinjuku, Tokyo
- Video: HUGE Japanese Department Store Basement Food Hall - Takashimaya Japan
- Depachika | Tokyo's Basement Gourmet Food Emporiums
- For the Best Food in Tokyo, Go Underground
- Tokyo's Department Stores Are the Ultimate Food Destination
- Is Japan Cool? Department Store Basements
- A Spree Through Tokyo’s Department-Store Food Halls
- For Tokyo's Best Food, Go Downstairs


Some Useful Japanese:


あれ一つください。
あれ ひとつ ください。
One of those, please.
Literally: “that (over there) + one (thing) + please.”


お箸もらえますか?
おはし もらえます か?
Could I get some chopsticks?
Literally: “chopsticks + can receive + か?”


すいません、新宿御苑にはどう行けばいいですか?
すいません、 しんじゅく ぎょえん に は どう いけば いい です か?
Excuse me, how can I get to Shinjuku Gyoen?
Literally: “excuse me, + Shinjuku Gyoen + に + は + how + should go (=if [I] go + good) + です + か?”

Complete and Continue  
Discussion

0 comments