The basement of the Isetan department store in Shinjuku is a temple of food. I descended the escalator at ten in the morning, as the doors opened, and was met by a wall of sound and smell: the hiss of tempura frying, the sweet aroma of freshly baked melon pan, the visual assault of a thousand perfectly arranged bento boxes. This is a depachika, a department store basement food hall, and it is one of the most intense food experiences in Japan. The Isetan depachika has over one hundred vendors, selling everything from live sea urchins to thousand-dollar melons wrapped in presentation boxes. I spent three hours there and barely covered half the floor.
What Is a Depachika
Depachika is a contraction of 'department' and 'chika,' meaning basement. Every major department store in Tokyo has one, and they are destinations in their own right. The concept dates to the post-war period, when department stores began leasing space to food vendors to attract customers. Today, the depachika is where Japan's most obsessive food culture is on full display. The vendors compete for space, and only the best survive. I saw a shop that sold only eggs, offering twenty varieties from different regions, each with a description of the chicken's diet and the yolk color. I saw a shop that sold only rice, with a sommelier who could identify the growing region by taste. I saw a shop that sold only soy sauce, with over one hundred varieties aged in cedar barrels.
What to Buy and Eat
The depachika is not cheap. A single strawberry, perfectly shaped and packaged in a foam holder, costs five dollars. A slice of wagyu beef, marbled to the point of being white, costs fifty dollars for two hundred grams. But there are affordable options too. The bento boxes, prepared fresh throughout the day, cost eight to fifteen dollars and are works of art. I bought a bento with grilled mackerel, pickled vegetables, rice, and miso soup, and ate it on a bench in Shinjuku Gyoen park. The fish had been grilled that morning, the rice was still warm, and the packaging was so elegant that I felt guilty throwing it away. I also bought a bag of freshly made senbei, rice crackers, for three dollars. They were still warm from the oven.
The Etiquette of Shopping
Depachika shopping has its own rules. Do not touch the food. Point to what you want, and the vendor will handle it. Do not eat while walking. The depachika is for buying, not consuming. If you want to eat on the spot, look for the standing counters near the entrance, where you can eat oysters, sushi, or tempura immediately after purchase. Do not take photographs of the vendors without permission. Many of them are artisans who consider their techniques proprietary. And do not bargain. Prices are fixed, and attempting to negotiate is considered rude. I watched a tourist try to bargain for a discount on a melon. The vendor smiled, bowed, and refused. The melon remained at its thousand-dollar price.
The Best Depachika in Tokyo
Isetan in Shinjuku is the most famous and the most overwhelming. Takashimaya in Nihonbashi is more refined, with a focus on traditional Japanese ingredients and fewer international vendors. Mitsukoshi in Ginza is the oldest, and its depachika has a nostalgic quality, with vendors who have been there for generations. My favorite was the Tokyu Food Show in Shibuya, which is less formal than the department store basements and has a wider range of street food. I ate takoyaki, octopus balls, at a stall that had been making them since 1978. The batter was crisp, the octopus was tender, and the sauce was applied with a brush in a motion that the vendor had perfected over forty years. It cost four dollars. It was perfect.
