Living in Japan | Daily life in Tokyo
Depachika - Food Courts in Japan
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Have you ever been to a Depachika?
Depachika is the food court and market in the basement at department stores in Japan. Depachika stands for Depart-chika-shokuhin-uriba, which means, "A food-floor in the basement of a department store" in English. That name is quite long and is shorten to the Depachika which is now familiar to most Japanese people.
This food floor has been called Depachika for some time now and it is well known as a unique place where you can buy very high quality, fresh foods in downtown Tokyo, conveniently. At Depahcika, there are various type of booths selling groceries, delicatessen foods, liquors and spirts, deserts and sweets.
Many of these booths are famous long-established department stores brands in Japan. And people do come from all parts of Japan to visit depachika. Therefore, Depachika is a convenient way to buy various special local foods and it is quite fun just walk around the booths.
But the best time of the day at a Depachika is around 6:30 PM, when a few booths start discounting their foods as they want to sell foods that have limited shelf life like raw fish or other perishables. Depachika turns into a paradise for bargain hunters especially business people on their way home and need to by food for their dinner
You can find Depachika at these major department stores, Mitsukoshi, Matsuzakaya and Matsuya. These department stores are located in major areas of Tokyo, like Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ginza, Ueno, Ikebukuro and Asakusa.
Depachika acts like a rural food market with very fresh produce in a modern building setting in the most urban areas of Tokyo and is worth visiting for the experience!
All Travel to Japan articles were written by staff of digi-escape.
