Japan's Depachika

About this book

Beneath Japan's great department stores lies the country's true food capital: the depachika — the basement food hall where famous restaurants fry beside century-old sweet makers, where every prefecture flies its flag in food, and where a melon can be a formal present. This book goes counter by counter through the whole hall.

200 entries in eight parts, each in one fixed format — Origins & Story, Taste & Texture, Where & When, and Manners & Gifting — closing with the same Freshness check. Wagashi shaped by the seasons and Western pâtisserie refined into a Japanese art. Croquettes, cutlets and the small-cup grammar of the deli dinner. The famous products of every region, from Sendai's custard moon to Okinawa's purple tarts. Breads timed by the bakery's baking clock. Tea, sake and the gift bottle. Premium fruit grown one melon to a vine — and the whole culture of giving: midsummer and year-end seasons, lacquered boxes, wrapping paper and the noshi that speaks before the box is opened. Finally the fairs: ekiben gatherings, prefecture exhibitions, ramen shops in residence, and the reservation seasons of Christmas cakes and New Year feasts.

Freshness is this book's design: prices, stock, event schedules and line-ups change without notice, so none are asserted. Every entry describes the item's usual form and culture, and directs you to official information and the counter label on the day you visit. A glossary and an index by part and theme close the book.

Written and created in Japan by Japanese author Aki Wakamatsu. Published by Takikawa TOKOTOKO Kids LLC, a Japanese publisher in Hokkaido, Japan. Authentic Japanese content, carefully made in Japan — not mass-produced.