Before I begin, a bit of backstory. The Japanese do nothing in half-measures, especially when it comes to shopping. Visit Tokyo or Japan in general and you will see shopping streets, little shrine kiosks, restaurants, gift shops in the basements of subways and whole buildings dedicated to Hello Kitty merchandise. Even so, one place in Japan, and Tokyo in particular epitomizes the pinnacle of shopping the Japanese way. That place is Ginza.
Say what you will about the price of living in Japan, about how expensive it is to travel there, that is nothing compared to the cost of average land in Ginza, which estimates 29.6 million yen per square meter. Now imagine that land, an entire section of city 215 acres is devoted entirely to the best of the best department stores, shops and retail in Tokyo. Yes, in Ginza, shopping is king, and the champions of Ginza are the big name Japanese department stores. You may know their names: Wako, Matsuya, and Matsuzakaya, and Mitsukoshi.
Mitsukoshi sits across the street from the landmark Wako Department Store, with its clock tower, as the internationally recognized symbol of the district. While more modern in comparison, Mitsukoshi is no less oppulent and beautiful on the inside by comparison to its pre-war art-deco neighbor. It is not just the shopping that makes Ginza the epitome of retail however, it is the people and the service, but more on that later - This is Ginza, Gliza and Gluttony.
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| Rain Upon Ginza |
A light misting of rain settled over the city of Tokyo, coating the glass and steel of buildings in a sheen that caught what faded light filtered through the clouds. Amid the drizzle, my parents and I stood beneath an umbrella staring sideways and longways at a map of Ginza trying to find their way.
"Excuse me, are you lost?" A Japanese man asked said people, a half-folded newspaper under his arm.
I turned to him and smiled. "Hai, excuse me. We are looking for Ito-ya, Ito-ya department store." I pointed to a symbol and an address I'd jostled down on the mound of papers I carried.
"Ah, yes, it is this way, follow me." he replies.
We follow along and I catch a glance back to my Mom as she whispers to me, "This is so nice of him, he's probably on the way to work." she says.
I nod, but inside I'm thinking as much of our destination as I am the kind gentleman as he starts chatting us up about the United States. He stops just a block away, and bids us goodbye as I see the symbol of a red paperclip on the side of a building. No, this isn't Staples. This is Ito-ya, a 12 level department store wedged between to larger stores, and its dedicated just to stationary. The Japanese take stationary very seriously, moreso than any other country frankly. I had promised my Mom that this was the store to go to for beautiful paper, pencils, pens, envelopes, arts and craft supplies - because it is. Mom loves that sort of stuff, so this was first on my agenda.
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| Ito-ya - Wall of Colors |
Right away Ito-ya breaks conventional wisdom of a department store, as its a very small building but quite tall. Each floor of the 12 or so levels is dedicated to one thing, be it arts, crafts, paper (wrapping and otherwise) pencils and pens, a restaurant, a hydroponics lab (yes really they grow their own lettuce and some food for the restaurant here.) A whole separate building out back is just for pens, and arranged like a jewelry store, but more on that later. We spent a good two to three hours browsing rooms with walls that had color swatches like a paint store, but the swatches were for different colors of paper for journals, scrapbooks and other such things. Just imagine a high end staples, without the terrible made in China goods and you have Ito-ya. Oh yes, everything here is made in Japan. Big surprise.
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Ito-ya - Hydroponics
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One can spend an hour alone just on the first level, which has tons of postcards and postage, all beautifully crafted. Of course, that is not the end of it. Just out back and kitty corner in an older building is the "Pen Department." Just two levels, one enters this smaller, nondescript building and sees hundreds upon hundeds of pens all displayed like jewelry in cases. They come in every variety, shape, detail and fine tip. We aren't talking Bic pens here, these are high class, beautiful pens that use special ink (Which is sold at the store in beautiful glass cases that look like perfume bottles.)
I think my Mom was in heaven, but a little overwhelmed. She wanted to find a beautiful Japanese pen but it is hard to decide sometimes. The people who work at the store are as courteous and prompt as anywhere else in Japan. They snapped right to work when I bought some beautiful wrapping paper with cranes and turtles on it (I later framed it because, good God it was too beautiful to use for wrapping paper.) They will even ship and mail your goods, put them in special boxes, it is a full service stop.
Of course, Ito-ya wasn't our only destination. As we finished up, it was about lunch and our other reason to visit Ginza came clear as a dinner bell. Delicious food...
More on Ito-ya can be found
here .
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| Ito-ya - Pens as Jewelry |
I talked about Ginza and Mitsukoshi above as a preface to what lies in store. In Japan, shopping isn't just about buying clothes or goods, its about food. Enter almost any store in any part of the city and you will find shopping in the basement with food on display in cases. This ranges from bento boxes to sushi to full on prepared meals - such basement levels are a combination of supermarket, costco and high end restaurant.
I honed in on Mitsukoshi because of its reputation, and also because I had read it has no less than THREE whole levels dedicated to food - one in the basement and two restaurant levels in the main building.
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| Okonomiyaki Restaurant |
Enter into Mitsukoshi, one enters into what looks like a typical, high end department store (with the obligatory perfume department conspicuously missing at the front door to assault your senses -kudos.) Wind up through the levels one finds floors dedicated to mens, womens, kids, kimonos, house goods, and such, but the two restaurant levels are clearly labeled. There are no less than 12 stores on each level selling everything from yakkotori to sushi to American, Chinese, French and other cuisines. The one that caught my attention though was the little hole-in the wall looking joint that was selling the Japanese savory pancakes known as Okonomiyaki.
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| Okonomiyaki - more like Okonomiyummy |
I learned about Okonomiyaki in researching for our trip to Japan, and from the moment I saw it, i knew I wanted to try it. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake that starts with batter, then cabbage, then sauce, then noodles, then bacon, then more sauce, then bonito flakes, more sauce, eggs, and more batter topped with sauce. You are probably imagining a dagwood sandwich but its actually quite compact and the taste is extraordinary. The people running the restaurant were prompt, friendly and we sat there watching them create these dishes like clockwork. During the course of our meal, a woman next to us nudged my dad and asked if I could finish her own okonomiyaki. It is just another example of the friendliness of the Japanese.
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| Looking out at Ginza |
We wandered around Mitsukoshi for an hour or so, letting my Mom browse different things. I cannot speak to the clothes and goods on display myself as I am not one for shopping for such things. I will say, all the displays were very well done, and spread out so nothing seemed cluttered. The store itself is clean and the people who work there are polite and deferential to the point you feel like royalty. This is something unique to Japanese shopping in such a store. There is customer service, then there is Japanese customer service. I call it "full service customer service." Anything that can be done to help a customer will be done, to the point that the good people will go out of their way to find a way to help you, even if it means taking more of their own time or sending you to a rival store just so you can find something they don't have.
Its an extraordinary thing, and something that sets Ginza apart from shopping in other stores like I've done in the US. Eventually we wandered down to the basement, and there we found the most extraordinary sight.
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| Ready to Eat |
The Japanese take food seriously. It has to be fresh, look good, and you are served it with courtesy and promptness. Nowhere else is this best on display than in the basement of department stores. Imagine a space the size of a costco, with displays of the freshest most beautiful food you've ever seen. Everything from sushi to skewered meat to bento boxes and sweets. Mitsukoshi has a whole floor dedicated to nothing but sweets. It is incredibly easy to buy food, take it on home or on trips and the good people will pack it for you with ice and other things to keep it fresh. Here's some pictures of different things I saw, though I admit I had to do a bit of covert camerawork. You are technically not supposed to take pictures down there.
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| Basement of Mitsukoshi |
Anthony Bourdain coined the term, "food porn". Go to to the basement of a department store, and you will be full on into xxx rated deliciousness.
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| Skewered Goodness |
Such delicious displays aren't relegated just to department stores. I mentioned finding a similar display in the basement of a business building by Tokyo Station, but this was much more expansive.
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| Nothing but Bento |
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| Cakes |
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| So real you could eat it. |
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| Sugar Perfection |
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| Sushi Jewels |
We bought some sweets from the basement and went back upstairs to where the department store has a rooftop garden with tables and benches to sit on. Here, with little sparrows chirping in the trees, we opened our package and found the most extraordinary looking sweets I have seen in my life. Of course, the things are wrapped in parcels like a splendid gift waiting to be open. Nothing is out of place, there isn't even a smudge to the cake frosting like one would expect from being jostled around into the box.
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| Boxed Surprise |
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| Care in packing |
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| Sweet Satisfaction |
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| Just look at it... |
Looking at this now, my mouth still waters recalling it. This is a combination of mugwart, green matcha and horse chesnut. Note the slight godl fillagree at the top, the lovely sponge layers. The greatest surprise of course was that it wasnt too sweet, just sweet enough to enjoy. This is something I think sorely missing in the US. We tend to add sugar flavored, sugar coated, frosted pieces of sugar to everything we make. With our treats unboxed, we sat back to enjoy it in the tranquility of the garten. The rooftop included little shrines of course, as man rooftop gardens in Japanese Department stores do. Its a very civilized, quiet place far removed from the hustle and bustle downstairs.
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| Rooftop shrines |
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| Rooftop Garden |
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| Friendly Sparrows |
We left Mitsukoshi amid a drizzle of rain, just in time to hear the Wako department store clock chime. On the whole, I could have stayed the whole day wandering the different stores, and it worked out well with the rain. The next day would bring a new adventure however, as we would venture to a place few people who visit Japan have ever heard of. Next time, Mount Nokogirigama.
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| Wako Department Store - Symbol of Ginza |
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| Wako Chime Movie |
