You are learning depachika and konbini: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (retail navigation vocabulary), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Japan's two most distinctive food retail environments: the depachika (department store basement) — Japan's ultimate food hall — and the konbini (convenience store) — one of the world's great food institutions.
Isetan Shinjuku's basement is widely considered the finest depachika in Japan — six floors of food, but the basement is the heart. The confectionery section alone spans two hundred meters: Toraya yokan (red bean paste), Baumkuchen by Juchheim, Tokyo Banana, wagashi in the shape of seasonal flowers.
The stranger is buying gifts for the colleagues he'll see tomorrow. At the Toraya stall he stops. A woman in a white uniform presents a tiny sample of yokan on a wooden stick. 「試食できますか？」 — she is already handing him one. The flavor: dark red bean, just sweet enough, with a clean finish.
「これをください。贈り物用に包んでもらえますか。」 The attendant lifts the box, rotates it into position, and begins folding paper with the speed and precision of origami. Three minutes. Perfect box. Ribbon. Seal. 「お待たせしました。」