On a trip to Okinawa Prefecture more than a decade ago, I ate a type of food I had never had before and was fascinated by the texture. It was umibudo -- literally, sea grapes -- also known as green caviar. Coming back to Tokyo, I searched and searched for this seaweed and finally found it at a store called Washita in Tokyo's Ginza district.
Today, online delivery allows us to easily obtain almost anything from anywhere, but discovering this Okinawan delicacy, which wasn't common nationwide back then, in Tokyo was a pleasant surprise.
Local specialty shops like Washita are known as "antenna" shops. They're run by local government bodies and other entities, and are located mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area in a bid to disseminate information about their home areas. "Antenna" is a Japanese English word originally used in the private sector to mean a shop set up to study consumer trends.
According to Chizuru Hatada of the Japan Center for Regional Development, this type of business to sell local products has existed in Tokyo since before World War II. After the bubble economy burst in the 1990s, Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures opened flagship stores in the pricey Ginza and Yurakucho areas to strategically promote their regions. They enjoyed steady business and since then, the number of antenna shops in Tokyo has kept increasing to a record 79 in fiscal 2019. Many are now located in the Ginza and Nihonbashi districts.
"The quality of the products [sold at antenna shops] is guaranteed, and some shops have their own certification system," said Hatada. Direct-from-the-farm products can be purchased at local prices, she added.
To attract foreign visitors, many shops have compiled English guidebooks, installed translation devices or employed bilingual staff. As of 2019, a total of 13 shops had resident bilingual staff. One of them, Nihonbashi Toyama, has a multilingual concierge desk to help with any matter, even inquiries unrelated to the prefecture, it said.
A key element of antenna shops -- allowing shoppers in Tokyo to taste regional delicacies and find traditional crafts without traveling -- has resonated in Europe and elsewhere.
Hatada's team invited delegates from overseas and learned antenna shops' business model to give added value to local products has sparked interest in countries like France, but not so much in North America. She said this was likely because of differences in the agricultural system, with people in the United States able to purchase anything from any state.
Shopping still is the great reason to go to antenna shops, but there are also other reasons to visit there.
Nostalgia: Those who have a special attachment to a region -- because they used to live there or grew up there -- may find antenna shops nostalgic. Here they can find local foods or items that are only available in regional supermarkets, and hear shop staff chatting in the local dialect.
Planning a trip: People can drop by for quick research on a destination. The shops have plenty of tourism pamphlets and maps (many of which are available in English), and most have a tourism corner where staff members provide travel tips. I saw visitors open maps and ask staff the best ways to get around. It's like a small library.
Souvenirs: Travelers can pack light when coming back from a trip and buy souvenirs at an antenna outlet. According to Hatada, some small-lot production items may be found there even if they were sold out during your trip. Meanwhile, at Kagoshima Yuraku Kan near Hibiya Station, premium shochu liquor brands such as Murao and Mao can be found at reasonable prices.
Donations: Antenna shops have served as communication hubs, connecting people who want to support regional areas and local suppliers. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, for example, embassies from various countries encouraged people to buy products from disaster-hit areas, Hatada said.
Ginza Kumamotokan said shoppers left money in a relief collection box at the shop and some even took large donations directly to its office upstairs after the heavy rains in July. Many customers usually have some connection with the prefecture, but recently visitors who are not from Kumamoto have been dropping by to make donations, the shop said.
Relocation: Most shops have a consultation desk for those who are thinking of moving to the antenna stores' home areas. Hibiya Shimane-Kan has a general consultation desk for people thinking of relocating to Shimane Prefecture, handling everything from helping them find jobs and a place to live, to advice on how to navigate daily life there. The number of consultations increased after the shop was refurbished this spring, especially following the outbreak of the pandemic. There were over 224 inquiries in four months by the end of August, double the number in the same period of the previous year.
Foreign nationals were among those making inquiries. One was an Irish person seeking to do business in Shimane, which used to be the home of the Greek-Irish writer Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, also known as Koizumi Yakumo. A coordinator who helped the man said he explains the pros and cons of living in rural areas. He tells visitors to take their time in making what could be a life-changing decision.
Experiences: A stylish hostel about a 13-minute walk from JR Shibuya Station featuring products from Tokushima Prefecture takes a more subtle approach to the antenna shopping experience.
Not only does hostel Turn Table sell products from the prefecture, local craftsmanship can also be found throughout the facility, such as bedsheets made from Shijira fabrics (a traditional indigo-striped textile) and interior furnishings made from Tokushima wood. Unfortunately, the hostel is currently closed because of the pandemic.
The restaurant connected to the hostel also offers dishes made with Tokushima specialties. On the day I visited, the menu included a dish containing Awa Odori -- not the famous dance of that name, but a brand of chicken.
"If we furnish our shop just like an ordinary antenna shop, our visitors may be limited to those who are interested in Tokushima," said Daisuke Sakai, Turn Table's spokesman.
Tokushima's abundant foodstuffs and culture have not been well advertised, Sakai said. "We want visitors to experience our prefecture without knowing about it first."
Yurakucho's Kotsu Kaikan building is jammed with antenna shops including those for Hokkaido and Osaka Prefecture. Among them is Oita Onsen-za, an Oita Prefecture shop that offers free foot baths with onsen powder. Oita Prefecture is home to such world-famous onsen resorts as Beppu and Yufuin, and the shop, which sells onsen powders and other beauty goods, is a good place to take a break from walking around.
Cuisine: Tasting authentic regional cuisine is another attraction at antenna shops. Restaurants offering dishes made with regional foodstuffs are often located either within or next to the shops. The building of Tau Setouchi Hiroshima is like a food court dedicated to Hiroshima delicacies, where every floor has a restaurant: Dishes on offer include soup-less tantanmen noodles, okonomiyaki pancakes, and washoku dining and Italian cuisine.
Tasting: Each prefecture has distinctive sake they are proud of, too. Nihonbashi Toyama, Cocoshiga (Shiga), Ginza Nagano (Nagano) and N'Espace (Niigata), among others, have bar counters where customers pay around 1,000 yen or less to sip a variety of sake or wine made in the prefecture.
And...: Visiting dozens of shops over several days, I became eager to "conquer" all the shops. A stamp rally event was recently held in the Nihonbashi district and I saw many people taking a stamp card to different locations. The shops are located close to each other, so it was likely a nice walk around.
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