Discover a Tokyo Basement Food Hall

Matcha Pastries
Matcha Pastries

You may not think about a visit to the basement floor of a department store as a must-do on your Tokyo travel list, but you might want to reconsider. Depachika, a combination of depato, meaning department store, and chika, meaning basement, are great places to soak in Tokyo’s diversity of foods. So, if you like free samples, you’re in luck. 

Enjoying the culinary choices
Enjoying the culinary choices

On my visit to Ginza Six, a luxury shopping complex located in the Ginza area of Tokyo, there’s a fabulous and popular depachika. Locals lined up, some waiting an hour or more to enter this fairyland of food on my visit. We filmed inside to show you some of what’s offered, from mochi to matcha everything, French pastries, and sweets galore. We discovered a dizzying array of culinary choices, including gift items.

Many Tokyo department stores are located next to subway stations, and Ginza Six is no exception. It is located just a two-minute walk from the Ginza station. So, take a dive into Tokyo’s food halls. Trust me, you won’t leave hungry.