Shopping for food at Depachika, Eki-biru and Ekinaka
Depachika デパ地下 is a food market in the basement at department stores in Japan. Depachika stands for Depart-chika-shokuhin-uriba デパート地下食品売り場, 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 quality foods, conveniently. At Depahcika, there are various types of booths selling groceries, delicatessen foods, breads, liquors, sweets and Bento boxed meals.
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.
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 Sushi or other perishables. Depachika turns into a paradise for bargain hunters especially business people on their way home who come to buy 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 cities, like Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ginza, Ueno, Ikebukuro and Asakusa in Tokyo. Not only department stores, railway station buildings called Eki-biru 駅ビル(Eki =Station Biru-Building) also have Depachika types of food markets.
Another type of Depachika food markets is Eki-naka 駅ナカ (Eki=Station naka=inside), located inside railway stations, where passengers can do shopping on the way to change trains without passing through a ticket gate. Ekinaka is a good place to buy Bento lunch box for travelers. For example, it takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes from Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen Hikari line, so why not enjoy Bento and scenic views on the train to your destination.
Youtube | Byendepach
Related Information
Department Store Matsuya in Ginza
https://www.matsuya.com/ginza/
Eki-biru Lumine
https://www.lumine.ne.jp/
Gransta Ekinaka at JR Tokyo station
https://www.gransta.jp/
Daimaru at Tokyo Station
https://www.daimaru.co.jp/tokyo/floor/b1f.html
Matsuya at Asakusa Station
https://www.matsuya.com/asakusa/
