These spots below department stores are a great place to get gifts for your hosts, but PRICEY. If you want to score some snacks for the hotel, some of the larger subway stations have grocery stores on the concourse level with less fabulously-packaged goods but still great fun and wonderful selection.

I have! Loved it and makes the food court in American malls pale in comparison.

Some photos from our trip a few years ago:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ollie_lizard/53193220/in/set-1153289/

These are such great places.
So many choices, beautifully made and thoughtfully packaged. I especially like that it is always so clean! Japan is wonderful this way.

Well, living in Tokyo it can seem like a food paradise but the truth is it only is if you are interested in Japanese food or favorites to the Japanese palette. Finding decent Mexican, Middle Eastern/Greek (Kebab aside), and other ethnic foods is tough. Beer is another hard one. A tasty IPA is hard to find due to high taxes (less breweries). I was spoiled living in the US when I did. Coming back here left me craving things from the states.

*Not that above items are impossible, just difficult/rare (like less than 10 restaurants in the whole city, Yokohama/Kawasaki included)

Agreed that these places are a lovely feast for the senses, but very pricey compared to other options. I didn't shop in them much in my two years in Japan.

Oh, also on the subject of the food Kiosks under department stores/ in Tokyu. Best time to go is the evening, if you wanna get some cheap goods and plan to eat them quickly. Often have "Time Service" discounts.

Department store basements do have some tasty finds, but less expensive are the ekibiru (department store adjoined to train stations) bentos and food offerings. In my experience, they're less expensive than high-end department stores, but still offer a wide selection of really great food.

Besides, it's Japan. It's hard to go wrong when it comes to food.

yes!! I just loved admiring all of the food, including insanely large piles of seaweed (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bronhoffer/537011612/in/set-72157600284847060/), $90 melons, and the like.

I've been to the basement of department stores many, many times (lived in Tokyo for 20 years and still there) and, though everything looks great, these places are far too expensive. In fact, the problem is that they are meaninglessly expensive. Essentially, you're paying for the gift boxing and artful arrangement of food (and the quality of the food isn't always very good) and those ultra clean-looking, nicely-arranged spaces.

While people who have never lived in Japan glorify its shops over those in the U.S., the reality is that they have hole in the wall, cheap, grubby places, too, but no one writes posts about them on blogs or sings their praises. Showing places like this is like only showing Macy's best stores as a representative of America's department store culture.

Frankly, the best thing about the Japanese department stores are the free samples they sometimes give away. You wouldn't want to waste your money actually buying stuff in them.

You're a bit lucky to get away with taking photos in a depachika (and supermarkets). They're not allowed.

Lived in Japan for a year, shopped at the depachika only for a.) samples b.) sales c.) gifts.

Hated all that excess wrapping. Peaches do not need to be in plastic containers wrapped with styrofoam mesh.

There are underground food halls in other countries too- like David Jones in Melbourne.

We found these underground food heavens in Osaka too. What a treat for foodies. Everything was beautifully presented and packaged. We ended up buying these amazing chocolate cream filled donut things.

I get the feeling that I'd only really buy the food from the places as a gift or a very special treat. Otherwise, why would you need all the fancy packaging?

Re: Buda's comment:

Trust me, the fancy over packaging goes much further than the expensive food at Department stores. Plastic wrapped single bananas, Kitkats in a box that contains two individually wrapped chocolates, Box of 20 cookies and each is individually wrapped, single tomato on a plastic/Styrofoam board that is triple plastic wrapped, etc. I love the stance Japan now has on the whole "I do eco" thing, but really eliminating some of the packaging would be much more eco than me simply walking/taking the train everywhere and using a reusable grocery sack.

Oh, and to anyone visiting my fair city (actually I am a Kawasakian, not a Tokyoite, but can literally see Tokyo from my apartment) this summer the Pepsi flavor is Shiso. I strongly suggest trying it. Its like an herbal blast when you first open it. Entry is sweet, followed by a very sharp shiso flavor.

Ah yes! I visited these in Tokyo, and again in Kanazawa. They are wonderful, if not pricey!

I grew up in Japan and definitely thought that the packaging was bordering on obsessive but I recently read something about why cookies and senbeis were often wrapped individually. Crackers, cookies and senbeis would lose their crunch from the humidity so the individual packaging helps prevent this after the bag is opened.

Oh and we used to go the depa chika because many "foreign" items not available at regular stores were available there. This was in the 70s and 80s.

The best thing I did the first few months we lived in Tokyo was to attend an English language tour of the food floor at ISETAN in Shinjuku.

At that time--2001--the tour was offered in the Autumn. There were only a few people on the tour, and the very kind guide taught us so much about Japanese food. It was a wonderful introduction to Japanese food. The tour, plus samples and gifts, was free.

I highly recommend membership in Iseten's "I Club" for anyone moving to Tokyo. membership includes a 5% discount, help with shopping, and a monthly English language newsletter containing information about special promotional sales (held in a special area, not the basement) see this months fair at
http://www.isetan.co.jp/icm2/jsp/store/shinjuku/info/iclub/pdf/englishJuly.pdf)

Sorry my previous link did not work--please click on "News" here:
http://www.isetan.co.jp/icm2/jsp/store/shinjuku/info/iclub/index.jsp