Special feature on department store basements at "Tamori Station"

A new episode of TV Asahi's special program "Tamori Station," which is hosted by Tamori and delves into a variety of topics, will be broadcast on June 13th from 8:00 pm to 9:48 pm. The theme this time is "depachika," the trump card of the department store industry, which has been reported to be performing poorly. Through the program's original interviews, the evolution and strategy of depachika will be analyzed.

Tamori will be doing on-site research at Isetan Shinjuku (Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward), which boasts one of the largest floor space and sales in Japan, to get a glimpse into the secrets of "omotenashi" hospitality, and try his hand at selling prepared foods by weight and wrapping cans of nori seaweed.

After the experience, Tamori was impressed and said, "Selling by weight was difficult. The staff presented each and every pack in a colorful and beautiful way. It is this attention to detail that delights customers. Packaging the nori cans is very slippery, so it is difficult to stabilize, making it an extremely difficult task for an amateur. It really is the result of careful training."

The program will also cover the history of gourmet food in department store basements. Department store basements have played a key role in sparking trends, such as the classic pork cutlet sandwich, which became popular with the "Italian food" boom, and the health-conscious 30-item salad. Behind the scenes, there were clever schemes that anticipated the changing times.

After the recording, Tamori commented, "When I pass by a department store, even if I don't have anything to buy, I always stop by the basement. Just walking around is fun, and I always end up wanting to buy something." He continued, "The appeal of department store basements is a little luxury. They stimulate a sense of luxury that's just within reach. If you look at the basement of a department store, you can really see what consumption and trends are all about."

The cast members include actor Yoshino Kimura, Satoru Yamada, editor-in-chief of the industry paper "Department Store Newspaper," and Teruhiko Fukunaga, a store opening advisor. The assistant will be announcer Rui Watanabe.