Daimaru Department Store

You're at Tokyo station, about to hop on the Shinkansen or maybe the Narita Express, and you've just realized that you forgot to pick up some obligatory souvenirs (in Japan, the omiyage industry is huge and usually takes the form of food, as in cookies or snacks), or maybe you forgot to pick up a bento (single-portion boxed lunch) for the long train ride. You've always had access to a reasonable selection at the station itself, but now things just got a bit better. Accompanying the newly opened GranTokyo North Tower shopping/office complex is the opening last week of a new branch of the Daimaru department store (B1F to 14F). Daimaru is a Kansai institution -- Tokyo is ruled by Tobu and Seibu -- but the convenient new location just outside the ticket gates to the Shinkansen tracks offers up a ground floor and basement level filled to the brim with souvenir options, as well as more bento choices that you can reasonably deal with. I'm a big fan of picking up a bento before I board the train, and now I'm looking forward to a trip just to sample some of the Daimaru offerings.

Daimaru [Official site]

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