Get Your Shop on! Hiroshima’s Shopping Spots

Apr 26, 2021

Get Your Shop on! Hiroshima’s Shopping Spots

Back in the height of the ‘bubble era,’ Japan had won a reputation for a consumer society so rampant that second-hand stores overflowed with designer brand clothing, and the streets were littered with discarded year-old electrical appliances. Of course, things have slowed down considerably since then, however, a consumer culture remains steadfast, meaning that Japan is an excellent place to go shopping.

Whatever you want, you can find it in Hiroshima, and below are a few of the most popular places to shop.

Hiroshima Parco

Parco is a chain of department stores that originated in Tokyo’s fashionable Ikebukuro, and today you can find branches in all of Japan’s big cities. The Parco in Hiroshima, near Hondori Shotengai (more of which later), is one of the largest fashion stores in the Chugoku-Shikoku area and counts amongst its 170 shops only the most fashionable brands as well as cosmetics, sports equipment, and various miscellaneous goods.

Where: 10-1 Hondori, Naka Ward, Hiroshima (map)
Website: hiroshima.parco.jp

Tenmaya Hatchobori Building

If you’re more interested in picking up some electronic goods than clothing, then the Tenmaya Hatchobori Building is the stop for you as the first five of its seven floors are taken over by Yamada-Denki Labi. Here you can pick up pretty much anything with a current, from large home electronics to tiny headphones and everything in between. If you want some cheap (and western-sized) clothing, Uniqlo is on the floor above, while bookworms will want to check out Maruzen on the top two floors.

Where: 5-22, Ebisucho, Naka-Ku, Hiroshima (map)
Website: tenmaya.co.jp

Hiroshima Hondori Shopping District

Hondori Shotengai, locally called ‘Hondori,’ is a shopping arcade that bisects central Kamiyacho with the exit of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park at one end and the aforementioned Parco the other. Like most shotengai [covered shopping streets], you can find a wild variety of stores, shops, and restaurants to pique your fancy, ranging from ‘mom and pop’ retailers to well-known brand stores. There’s Sofmap if you’re interested in electronic goods, a Daiso 100 yen store, a Jump Shop dealing in items connected to the popular manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump, and all kinds of interesting shops dealing in unusual and second-hand apparel, CDs, and books. At the end of the street is Sun Mall, which targets a younger, more fashionable clientele.

Where: 8 Hondori, Naka Ward, Hiroshima (map)
Website: hondori.or.jp

Kamiyacho Shareo

Kamiyacho Shareo is Hiroshima’s first ‘underground city’ and sprawls 225 meters north to south and 370 meters east to west beneath the intersection at Kamiyacho. There are 82 shops and restaurants, the former of which includes both foreign and domestic fashion brands and general merchandise. Particularly well represented are sweets shops and clothing targeted towards young women, as well as a few coffee shops for when you need to take a break from all the spending.

Where: 100-11 Kamiyacho, Naka Ward, Hiroshima (map)
Website: shareo.net

Hiroshima Marina Hop

Marina Hop is the largest outlet mall in the Chugoku/Shikoku Region, but it is more than that. Its bright, pastel colors are modeled on a 1950s Art Deco Miami theme, and it is a great place to pick up domestic and international brand clothing at bargain prices. But on top of that, the Marina Circus has attractions and rides, a small aquarium, a marina, and restaurants. As their tagline has it: “Shop! Eat! Have Fun!”

Where: 4 Chome-14-35 Kanonshinmachi, Nishi Ward, Hiroshima (map)
Website: marinahop.com

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Image: By Nicolas R. via flickr.com [CC BY 2.0]
Image: By Richard Cassan via flickr.com [CC BY 2.0]
Image: via http://www.marinahop.com/point/index.html

Image Sun Mall courtesy Jason L Gatewood  (own work)