Depachika

Rakkyo, takuan, & tsukemono

If you ever go to a depachika, the bottom floors of a department store, you'll notice that samples of products are sometimes offered. One kind of sample offered is the pickled vegetables. Since I am partial to onions, I love to sample the rakkyo, which are like sweet sour pearl onions. Another favorite is takuan, made of daikon, as well as tsukemono, made of cabbages, etc. These make great side dishes for a bowl of rice and a piece of grilled meat or fish. Add a bowl of miso soup and it becomes a complete meal, fit for a hardworking samurai.

Deluxe Bento

Another feature of depachika is bento lunches. These lunches are much better than the ones you can find at convenience stores, more refined with nicely contrasting flavors. Of course they are more expensive, too, but if the occasion calls for it, I think you are getting good value. So the next time you find yourself going on a picnic, say for hanami, you might try visiting a depachika first. BTW, don't forget to bring some hot sake (atsukan) in a small thermos mug because it will still be cold during cherry blossom season. Of course, hot tea (sencha, genmai, hojicha, or oolong) would be suitable as well