Ginza Food Garden – home to more than 120 food shops

The Ginza Food Garden at Mitsukoshi Ginza is just like a theme park. You can find all sorts of food produce, tea from heritage brands, hot sweets from famous stores, fresh ingredients from all over Japan and colourful ready-made dishes.

Ginza Food Garden at Mitsukoshi Ginza is on the second and third floors of the basement level and has around 120 shop-in-shops.

Every store has a rich product line and you might find it difficult to find what you want during your first visit because of the area size.

To help you during your visit, there is a food floor guide near the escalator on the second floor of the basement level. Here you’ll find our food concierge Mr Ishikawa, who has lived in Taiwan (China) for eight years and is fluent in many languages, including Mandarin.

Mr Ishikawa was previously a hotel concierge and has been working as a food concierge for a year. Today, he is the face of the Ginza Food Garden, with his gentle tone, trustworthy personality and the product know-how he’s cultivated from being a hotel concierge.

His commitment as a food concierge is apparent from his many notebooks, filled in just one year with questions often asked by customers.

Mr Ishikawa tells us that, in the beginning, there were many things he did not know, as customers who visit Ginza Food Garden tend to be very particular and knowledgeable about what they are looking for.

He trained himself by continually taking notes about what customers asked him and researching the answers at home.

Although this kind of effort may not be seen by many people, his notes are useful not only to him, but also for instructing new food concierges.

The delicate, elegant flavours of Japanese tea and sake are popular among international travellers.

Food concierges try their best to meet customers’ requests and may even accompany them to the stores to offer guidance.

Mr Ishikawa tells us that there are many occasions on which he learns useful lessons from foreign customers. Recently, for example, there have been many customers looking for ayu gyosho, an ayu fish sauce which is not yet popular in Japan.

Gyosho is a type of sauce made by pickling fish with salt and fermenting it. As the sauce has a unique smell, some find it hard to eat. As ayu gyosho is made from river fish, the scent is mild and it is rich in flavour.

Ayu gyosho started to be used as a secret seasoning by chefs around the world and in first-class restaurants in France and Italy. It quickly gained interest and is becoming a seasoning that is attracting global attention.

This kind of story contains local information and can only be acquired by Mr Ishikawa by interacting with customers.

There are times when a product that a customer is looking for is not available from stores at Mitsukoshi Ginza. When this happens, Mr Ishikawa tells customers where they can find it, even if it is at a competitor’s store.

The way he looks after his customers conveys true hospitality which goes beyond mere customer service.

Concierge is a French word that originally meant the gatekeeper of a building.

Based on this, concierges in modern Japan are regarded as comprehensive care staff who respond to requests customers may have and serve in various facilities.