8 best depachika food markets in Tokyo

Connected to the east exit of Shibuya Station, the sprawling Shibuya Tokyu Foodshow in the Tokyu Department Store is a regular haunt for the Shibuya gourmet crowd. After an extensive revamp in 2021, the depachika is now the largest food hall in Shibuya. For easy navigation, the depachika is split into three different zones: a sweets zone on the first floor, a grocery area offering fresh produce, and a gourmet zone with ready meals that’s directly connected to the station. 

Unlike most depachika, Shibuya Tokyu Foodshow also has a designated area for you to enjoy the food you’ve purchased. You’ll find a few standing counters at the Shibuya Stand area in the basement gourmet zone – there's even shelves to place your bags. 

Don’t miss... Bricolage Bread & Co., a takeaway outpost of the popular Roppongi café and bakery which specialises in incredible bread and pastries made with locally sourced ingredients from around Japan. You can’t go wrong with a classic croissant, pain au chocolat, anko-filled Viennese or Bricolage Bread made with whole wheat grains.

You’ll really get an old school vibe while walking around this depachika. The iconic Takashimaya Nihombashi is set in one of Tokyo’s most historic neighbourhoods and its locale is reflected in the store’s classic interior design. For one, you’ll see that they still have attendants, complete with uniform and gloves, working each of their antique elevators. Once you get downstairs, you can shop for all your typical depachika finds, but the attentive service here really sets it apart from the competition.

Drool over Fauchon’s display of delectable baked goods, work out the courage to consume fugu (blowfish) at eat-in counter Shunpanro, or browse the fresh food section for picture-perfect produce, including luscious seasonal fruits, approximately 20 types of tomatoes and some of the freshest seafood in town.

Don’t miss... The annex area will lead you next door to Takashimaya SC where there is another basement level of hip eateries and takeaway shops serving up Japanese and international cuisines.

Conveniently attached to the bustling Tokyo Station, Daimaru is understandably one of the busiest depachika in the city as it sees constant foot traffic from peckish commuters. Heading out of town on the shinkansen? Stop by to pick up a bento for the journey. You’ll have no shortage of options to pick from since Daimaru’s Bento Street offers a staggering selection of approximately 1,000 types of bento.

What’s more, most of the food stations here actually have onsite kitchens behind the shop counters, so you know you’re getting the freshest bento possible. Oh, just be wary of long queues – you’ve got a train to catch.

Don’t miss... ‘Depachika’ is actually a portmanteau of ‘depato’ for department store and ‘chika’ meaning basement, but Daimaru is the first depachika with a ground floor level. Here, you’ll find a selection of perfectly packaged sweets and gifts including the overwhelmingly popular NYC Sand cookies, and nutty treats from Noix, which can only be found at this particular store.

Taking over both the B2 and B3 levels of this flashy Ginza department store, Mitsukoshi features an entire floor dedicated to ready-made food, Japanese and Western sweets and baked goods. B3, on the other hand, features the in-house supermarket, where among the regulars of ingredients, wine and liquor, you’ll find one of the city’s most impressive cheese counters and flawless Japanese fruit with prices to make your eyes water.

In a neat touch, Ginza Mitsukoshi has refrigerated coin lockers – so you can store all your perishable goods while you continue to shop around the department store above.

Don’t miss... Jean-Paul Hévin. This French chocolatier is contained inside a temperature-controlled glass cube on B2 to make sure all its chocolates are kept at the right centigrade for optimum taste and quality.

Located in the flagship Isetan Shinjuku, this basement food market is well-organised and easy to navigate: you can clearly see where one section ends and another begins. It is one of Tokyo’s posher depachika and home to Café Prunier Paris, where you can rest your feet while savouring fine caviar and champagne. The fresh market area features tasting counters for you to try everything from ham and sausages to Japanese oden.

Don’t miss... The Kitchen Stage is a dedicated area featuring guest chefs from restaurants around Tokyo; there are the occasional food demonstrations here, too. Aside from the open kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work, they have comfortable seating where you can enjoy the wonders of their creation.

The glitzy Ginza Six is relatively new compared to the rest of Ginza’s department stores, but it’s got a depachika that’s equally drool-worthy. While you can purchase numerous sweets, gifts and bento meals, this food hall also houses shops where you can sit and enjoy coffee, tea or even a cocktail.

Coffee lovers will appreciate the modern Blue Bottle Coffee space while whisky aficionados can sip rare spirits at Jule's Whisky Collection. 

Don’t miss… Ginza Six is also home to an outpost of Daifuku Benzaiten, the popular confectionery shop that makes gorgeous daifuku sweets by wrapping fresh fruit in chewy mochi. 

It’s not very often you come across great food options inside the paid area of Tokyo’s busy stations. That’s why Newoman Shinjuku Ekinaka has got to be one of Tokyo’s most convenient and welcoming food halls. Part of the Newoman Shinjuku shopping centre, the ekinaka, meaning ‘inside the station’, is inside the ticket gates at JR Shinjuku Station, near the south exit. While it might not be the biggest depachika, the selection here is top notch, giving you plenty of options for sweet souvenirs and hearty bentos. 

Have your pick from picture-perfect fruit sandwiches, onigiri rice balls, kaisendon (seafood bowls) and fresh salads. If that’s not enough, there are also gorgeous cakes, pairfaits, vegan muffins, beautifully packaged cookies and wagashi shaped like Mt Fuji.

Don’t miss… Made in Pierre Hermé. The standalone shop inside Newoman Ekinaka features speciality food products sourced from around Japan and selected by Pierre Hermé himself. There are also original Pierre Hermé sweets that would make perfect gifts including macarons, chocolates and cookies. 

The biggest depachika in Tokyo, Ikebukuro Tobu’s food hall sure makes an impact with more than 200 outlets (that’s on top of the department store’s staggering 60 restaurants and cafés). You’ll want to set aside some time to make your way through the food hall which is divided into two floors: the first basement floor is home to tea and liquor shops, chocolatiers, bakeries and fancy packaged desserts, whereas the second basement floor sports the fresh food section, a deli and inviting eat-in counters.

Don’t miss... The tendon (tempura rice bowl) at Ginza Tenichi. Located on the second basement level, this eat-in counter is an offshoot of the popular restaurant known for their tempura dishes since the 1930s.