on Japan’s food culture

"Depachika" -- A window on Japan’s food culture

　　Department store food floors are a fun and relatively cheap way to experience Japan’s food culture, and foreign ones as well. Depachika is short for "depaato-chika shokuhin uriba," (department store basement food-selling place) but don’t let the name fool you -- these are not bargain basements, nor are they an afterthought stuck in some spare space, as you might find back home. They commonly bring in a quarter or more of the store’s revenue, and are a major attraction bringing customers to the store. Some big department stores have two depachika floors, one for packaged goods, the other for fresh foods.(百货商店食物地板是经历日本的食物文化的一种乐趣和比较便宜的方法，和外国的那些相似。 Depachika对“depaato-chika shokuhin uriba，”(百货商店地下室食物出售的地方)名称是短小的，你可能随时找到，但不是一种交易的地下室。这些，他们也不是被粘贴在某种备用的空间中的一个aftrthought。 他们一般带进四分之一或者更多存储的岁收，而是把客户带来到商店的一种主要的吸引。 某种大的百货商店有两块depachika地板，一个是带包装的食物，其它是新鲜的食物。)

　　The displays are set up in islands, like a shopping street, rather than aisles like a supermarket, and many of the islands feature top gourmet brands -- Godiva chocolates, Toruya-yokan (famous sweets from Kyoto) and Queen Alice cakes.（显示在岛上被建立，像一条购物街道一样，而非像一个超级商场一样的过道，和许多岛特性最高的美食家商标Godiva巧克力，Toruya-yokan (来自京都)的著名的糖和女王Alice蛋糕。）

　　There’s always a lot of activity at a depachika, imparting a festive air to the shopping experience. The workers in the fish section shout a welcoming "Irrasshae!" -- often there are two or more stalls competing with each other on volume and aggression, giving the place the air of a traditional rural market. Someone is always making something -- rolling out dough for "soba" (buckwheat) noodles,
grilling "taiyaki" (fish-shaped buns filled with "anko" sweet-bean paste), "takoyaki" (fried octopus dough balls), yakisoba (pan-fried soba noodles with veggies, meat and other goodies), okonomiyaki (Kansai-style pancakes), and Western-style decorated cakes. Many depachika rotate these artisans, so they have a different one each week; some have permanent workspaces for them.（在depachika总有许多活动，把一种节日的气氛通知购物经验。 在鱼部分里的那些工人高声欢迎"Irrasshae"！ --经常有在量和侵略上彼此竞争的两个或更多货摊，给地方一个传统的乡村的市场的空气。 有人总是做某些事情 -- 为"soba"(荞麦)面条转出面团， 烤(鱼形成的充满"anko"甜豆的小圆甜面包粘贴)的"taiyaki"， "takoyaki"(油煎的章鱼面团球)， yakisoba(与大脑受过损伤的人，肉和其他好吃的东西的泛油煎的soba面条)，okonomiyaki(Kansai式薄煎饼)，和西式装饰蛋糕。 很多depachika旋转这些手艺人，因此每周有不同的风味； 一些有永久的它们的工作区。 ）

　　Most depachika contain an excellent bakery, serving up superior baguettes, pastries and home-grown favorites, like melon-pan (big floury buns with green sort-of-melon-flavored topping -- a little disgusting for first-timers, but a childhood favorite for most Japanese). Top hotels set up bakeries there, as well as soup and cake corners.（大多数depachika包含一个极好的面包房，为较高的baguettes，糕点和家庭成长的特别喜爱服务，像瓜平锅(带有的大的floury buns绿色的种类瓜调味的高耸--小令人作呕对于首先定时器，但是大多数日本人)的一童年特别喜爱一样。 最高的旅馆在那里建立面包房，还有汤和蛋糕角。）

　　Exotic foods have pride of place in the depachika -- German sausages, gourmet sandwiches, and umpteen kinds of sushi, some of them quite exotic, like "kaki-zushi" (sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves) and "masu-zushi" (trout sushi from Ishikawa).（外来的食物有depachika德国的香肠，美食家三明治，和umpteen若干种类的sushi，这些都是这类地方的骄傲，他们中的一些exotic，像“kaki-zushi”(在柿中被包裹的sushi)和“masu-zushi”(从Ishikawa )的鲑属鱼类鱼sushi一样。）

　　For a good introduction to the various regions’ food cultures, the depachika "bussanten" can’t be beat. The regional authorities are invited to bring local food makers to the depachika to build awareness of their area’s specialties, so one week it will feature a Tohoku bussanten with sake, "shio-ika" (extremely salty pickled squid in a jar), "konnyaku" (springy gel-like stuff made from potatoes) and various kinds of seafood from northern Honshu; the next a Kyoto bussanten with exquisite "wagashi" (Japanese-style sweets); and the next maybe an Okinawa bussanten with pickled pigs’ ears, goya tea, "saa-taa agi" (specialty donuts) and "kurozato" (black sugar). （从各种各样地区食品文化的介绍来说，depachika"bussanten"不能被用。 地区当局被吸引带本地食品制造者到depachika建造他们的地区的特色意识， 因此一周它将用缘故以Tohoku bussanten为特色，"shio-ika"(在一个罐子内的极其咸的腌制的鱿鱼)，“konnyaku”(由土豆)制造的有弹性的成冻胶素材从本州北部的“和各种各样的种类的海味相似； 下一带有精巧的“wagashi”(日本人风格糖)的一京都bussanten； 同时，下一也许带有腌制的猪耳朵，goya茶，“saa-taa agi”(专业donuts )和“kurozato”(黑色的食糖)的一冲绳bussanten。）

　　The better depachika have "eating corners" run by famous restaurants, where customers can sample gourmet French cuisine, top-of-the-line pasta, superb "wagyu" (Japanese-style beef) and the very best soba noodles, for example. Most have a "bento" section or two, selling box lunches from all over, such as "ikkura-don" (salmon roe on rice) and "uni-don" (sea urchin on rice) from Hokkaido.（较好的depachika由著名的餐馆“吃角”管理，在其中客户能抽样美食家法国的烹饪，顶端线pasta，宏伟“wagyu”(日本人风格牛肉)和十分最好soba面条，例如。 大多数有一“bento”二段，从出售盒子午餐处处，诸如北海道的“ikkura”(稻米)上的鲑鱼鱼卵和“uni”(稻米)上的海顽童。）

Another valuable little secret to know about depachika: in the evening, just before closing time (usually 5:00), you can cruise through an

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