On 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo G (“Live Anything”) board, users shared a stream of Mitsukoshi trivia — from the lion statue guarding the main entrance of the Nihombashi flagship store and the heavenly-maiden statue in its atrium, to its origins as the Edo-period kimono shop “Mitsui Echigoya.”
Photos of small regional branches in places like Sendai, Takamatsu, Yamagata, Iwaki, and Isesaki (Gunma) poured in too, sparking talk about the size gap between the Tokyo flagship and its regional outposts, and how they stack up against long-established local department stores.
There's a huge wooden statue in the atrium on the first floor of the Nihombashi main store's main building.
The front of the Nihombashi main store
The main entrance of the Nihombashi main store
There's a lion statue at the main entrance!
>>4
That lion's wild — it's been sitting there since the Taisho era, 100 years now, surviving both the Great Kanto Earthquake and the war.
That lion's wild — it's been sitting there since the Taisho era, 100 years now, surviving both the Great Kanto Earthquake and the war.
The heavenly-maiden statue ("Magokoro"/True Heart) in the main building's atrium
There's a Japanese restaurant on the 4th floor of the main store's main building!
By the way, I had cream anmitsu (a sweet dessert of agar jelly, fruit, and red bean paste) here!
The Nihombashi main store isn't just the main building — there's an annex too.
The main building of the flagship store is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property!
There's an information center.
There are small (satellite) branches in regional cities too!
A small Mitsukoshi branch in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture.
About a 10-minute walk from the east exit of Oyama Station (the Tohoku Shinkansen stop, on the side with Hakuoh University).
A small Mitsukoshi branch in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture.
About a 10-minute walk from the east exit of Oyama Station (the Tohoku Shinkansen stop, on the side with Hakuoh University).
An AI-generated illustration of Mabel-chan shopping at Mitsukoshi Department Store
The rabbit girl "Mabel-chan"
The rabbit girl "Mabel-chan"
>>14
Hey, Tetsugaku News (a news-aggregator site)!
Go make a roundup of this!
Hey, Tetsugaku News (a news-aggregator site)!
Go make a roundup of this!
>>14
By the way, Mabel-chan is from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, so this is probably Sendai Mitsukoshi…?
By the way, Mabel-chan is from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, so this is probably Sendai Mitsukoshi…?
· Underground exit of the Nihombashi main store
If you're coming via Tokyo Metro's Mitsukoshimae Station or JR Shin-Nihombashi Station, this is the exit you'll use.
On JR, the nearest station to the Mitsukoshi main store is Shin-Nihombashi, on the Sobu Rapid Line (Yokosuka Line)
But unlike Tokyo Metro's Mitsukoshimae Station, you actually end up walking a long way through underground passages…
Honestly it's not that different from just walking from Tokyo Station (though at least you won't get rained on, unlike walking above ground)
[Bonus]
I took the Tohoku Shinkansen from JR Utsunomiya Station to Tokyo Station, then transferred to the Sobu Rapid Line (Yokosuka Line)!
The Sobu Rapid Line (Yokosuka Line) platform is underground.
The escalator is really long too.
Got some shots of the Narita Express (N'EX) on the underground Sobu Line platform!
The station sign at Tokyo Station (underground Sobu Line platform)
I took the Tohoku Shinkansen from JR Utsunomiya Station to Tokyo Station, then transferred to the Sobu Rapid Line (Yokosuka Line)!
The Sobu Rapid Line (Yokosuka Line) platform is underground.
The escalator is really long too.
Got some shots of the Narita Express (N'EX) on the underground Sobu Line platform!
The station sign at Tokyo Station (underground Sobu Line platform)
Mitsukoshi reigns supreme within Tokyo, but in regional areas it's sometimes getting squeezed out by long-established local department stores.
Sendai Mitsukoshi
Fujisaki (a long-established department store in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture)
Sendai Mitsukoshi
Fujisaki (a long-established department store in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture)
>>23
Doesn't look like they're making money anywhere except Nihombashi and Ginza.
Doesn't look like they're making money anywhere except Nihombashi and Ginza.
Its roots go back to the Edo-period kimono shop "Mitsui Echigoya"
>>25
By the way, the founder was Takatoshi Mitsui!
By the way, the founder was Takatoshi Mitsui!
There's even a small Mitsukoshi inside Smark Isesaki (a large shopping mall in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture)!
>>33
The MITSUKOSHI at Smark Isesaki
The MITSUKOSHI at Smark Isesaki
The only thing I know about them is that KanColle (Kantai Collection) tie-in promo they did a while back.
>>36
Oh really!
Oh really!
>>36
Maybe this one!?
Maybe this one!?
There's a small Mitsukoshi in "LATOV," the station building at Iwaki Station (Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture), too.
By the way, Iwaki Station is served by Joban Line limited expresses, the Rikuu East Line, and others.
>>41
Mitsukoshi Iwaki
Mitsukoshi Iwaki
>>41
They call it "small" but it's actually pretty big — though lately the tenants inside have thinned out and it feels kind of sad.
The upper floors have public facilities, like a library.
In the evenings it's swarming with high schoolers waiting for the bus or train home from school.
They call it "small" but it's actually pretty big — though lately the tenants inside have thinned out and it feels kind of sad.
The upper floors have public facilities, like a library.
In the evenings it's swarming with high schoolers waiting for the bus or train home from school.
Takamatsu in Kagawa has its own Takamatsu Mitsukoshi too — the only one in the area
though it's surrounded by such a big shopping arcade that the building itself doesn't really stand out lol
though it's surrounded by such a big shopping arcade that the building itself doesn't really stand out lol
>>52
Well, it is one of the biggest cities in Shikoku, after all…
Unlike Matsuyama, it's also close to Okayama Prefecture and the Kansai region.
Well, it is one of the biggest cities in Shikoku, after all…
Unlike Matsuyama, it's also close to Okayama Prefecture and the Kansai region.
>>56
But Matsuyama has both Takashimaya and Mitsukoshi too, right?
That whole city's got a strong orange vibe going on
Guess that tracks for Mikan Inu (the local mandarin-orange mascot dog).
But Matsuyama has both Takashimaya and Mitsukoshi too, right?
That whole city's got a strong orange vibe going on
Guess that tracks for Mikan Inu (the local mandarin-orange mascot dog).
>>49
I see
So it's more of a mixed-use building than a station building then…?
By the way, Iwaki Station is the strongest station in the Hamadori region, but there's still a huge gap compared to Koriyama Station (Tohoku Shinkansen, etc.), the biggest in Fukushima Prefecture, right…?
Sorry if that's a rude question.
I see
So it's more of a mixed-use building than a station building then…?
By the way, Iwaki Station is the strongest station in the Hamadori region, but there's still a huge gap compared to Koriyama Station (Tohoku Shinkansen, etc.), the biggest in Fukushima Prefecture, right…?
Sorry if that's a rude question.
>>53
Regional areas often team up with local governments to build these commercial buildings.
Kawaramachi FLAG in Takamatsu has a library and stuff on its upper floors too.
Regional areas often team up with local governments to build these commercial buildings.
Kawaramachi FLAG in Takamatsu has a library and stuff on its upper floors too.
I had the image that they used to be all over the country.
Yokohama's turned into a Yodobashi, Shinjuku into a Bic Camera, other kinds of stores taking over.
Apparently the Mitsukoshi group (or someone) still owns the building for the latter, though.
Yokohama's turned into a Yodobashi, Shinjuku into a Bic Camera, other kinds of stores taking over.
Apparently the Mitsukoshi group (or someone) still owns the building for the latter, though.
>>76
Yodobashi and Bic Camera are becoming the go-to fixture in front of regional city stations.
Utsunomiya, Kashiwa, Koriyama, Iwaki, Sendai — they're everywhere.
They've even moved into the space above Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, so I guess that's just how it's going to go.
Yodobashi and Bic Camera are becoming the go-to fixture in front of regional city stations.
Utsunomiya, Kashiwa, Koriyama, Iwaki, Sendai — they're everywhere.
They've even moved into the space above Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, so I guess that's just how it's going to go.
>>85
That Yodobashi Camera is in Tonarie (formerly LalaSquare) at the west exit of JR Utsunomiya Station!
By the way, it used to be a Robinson's department store.
That Yodobashi Camera is in Tonarie (formerly LalaSquare) at the west exit of JR Utsunomiya Station!
By the way, it used to be a Robinson's department store.
>>101
Looking at the alley on the left of the photo from a sign-nerd's perspective —
the "no entry" supplementary sign has a car icon, below that there's a "no parking" sign, and to top it off the stop line is cut off halfway
— I feel like that's just packed with quintessential Tochigi elements.
Looking at the alley on the left of the photo from a sign-nerd's perspective —
the "no entry" supplementary sign has a car icon, below that there's a "no parking" sign, and to top it off the stop line is cut off halfway
— I feel like that's just packed with quintessential Tochigi elements.
>>72
Iyotetsu Railway 🍊
Iyotetsu Railway 🍊
>>92
The Iyo Bus runs there too, so yeah, strong orange energy lol
The Iyo Bus runs there too, so yeah, strong orange energy lol
There's a small Mitsukoshi in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture too
It's inside the Yamagata Kotsu (Yamagata Transportation) building
Maybe a 5-minute walk from Yamagata Station (Yamagata Shinkansen, etc.)
>>116
By the way, Yamagata City used to have a long-established department store called Onuma
It's gone now though.
By the way, Yamagata City used to have a long-established department store called Onuma
It's gone now though.
This article has been excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[The Ultimate Department Store] What I Know About Mitsukoshi Department Store [Nihombashi].”
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