ginza lunch/dinner

Ginza INZ – department store with personality

Ginza INZ is a department store on the edge of Ginza close to Yurakuchō. It was opened in 1958 and hosts about 90 shops and restaurants. It was built right under the elevated Tokyo Expressway and is divided in 3 separate buildings (Ginza INZ 1, 2 and 3). What makes it special is the gaudy decoration of luna park-style lights and low ceilings (especially the basement and second floor) that makes this department store next to a shopping trip also a historic experience.

If you think Ginza is all about luxurious brands, then visiting this department store will bring you back to reality. This department store has plenty of regular brands for regular people. Whenever I go to Ginza I come from the Yurakuchō side, so I pass right through this department store. I started to enjoy the laidback atmosphere of this place. Even on weekends it is usually not that crowded.


Fish artwork over the entrance of B1F Ginza INZ 1

Ginza INZ started out as the Yurakucho Food Center. As part of the reconstruction towards the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, one of the outer moats of Edo Castle was transformed into an elevated express way with underneath 3 storeys of shops. The place was renovated and renamed to Ginza INZ in 1990, a lot of the decoration that you can see now indeed feels very late 1980s, especially the neon style multicolored metallic arches and lunar park-style lights.


One of the restaurants in Ginza INZ

The ground floor has many stores for women’s clothing, make-up and miscellaneous goods with common brands such as Fruit Gathering and The Body Shop directed towards women. However, the beauty of this department store lies in the restaurants, the origin of this department store. Food that was popular during a previous time period has lingered in this place, often also referred to as Shōwa-style food (Shōwa period in Japan: 1926-1989, named after the Shōwa emperor). These restaurants are mainly in the basement floor (B1F) and second floor (2F). These floors can be reached through dedicated staircases at each end of the building or a fancy staircase in the middle of each building (no elevators). Many of these restaurants date from the 1950s and 1960s and many of them have a lot of personality. Be careful though, there are also a number of chain restaurant that are quite generic.

Due to the lack of English information about these restaurants, I made a list to help you along. Information from September 2018.

NameName JPTypeLocationComment
Sazen左膳Tempura/Soba chainINZ 1 B1F
IchiniisanいちにいさんPork Shabu Shabu and tonkatsu chainINZ 1 B1F
Sutekian素敵庵Steak&Beer (from Kagoshima)INZ 1 B1FOnly 3 restaurants, 2 in Kagoshima and 1 in Tokyo
Tokyo Ginza Cafetaria東京銀座食堂Japanese and Western diningINZ 1 B1FPart of a large restaurant group
Cafe Izumiカフェ・イズミBistro Cafe with pasta dishes etcINZ 1 1F
KFCケンタッキーフライドチキンAmerican Fast FoodINZ 1 1F
Ginza Cozy Corner銀座コージーコーナーBistro chainINZ 1 1F
ballo ballo Ginzaballo ballo 銀座Bistro chainINZ 1 2F
Kawara CafeKawara CafeBistro chainINZ 1 2F
Kissho吉祥ChineseINZ 1 2F
GustoガストFamily Restaurant ChainINZ 1 2F
SaizeriyaサイゼリヤFamily Restaurant Chain (focus on Italian)INZ 1 2F
Ginza Itsuki銀座いつきTempura (tendon)INZ 1 2F
BulldogブルドッグBeer cafeINZ 1 2F
Rakuzo楽蔵Izakaya chain (general)INZ 1 2F
Kyomachi Shizuku京町しずくIzakaya chain (Kyoto food)INZ 1 2F
Senya Ichiya鮮や一夜Izakaya chain (seafood)INZ 1 2F
Hatahata Yashikiハタハタ屋敷Izakaya (Akita food)INZ 2 B1FRestaurant part of bigger group with brands such as Warayakiya
Katamari塊 ミートバルIzakaya (steak)INZ 2 B1FRestaurant owned by the group that has Kawara Cafe
Sekiya鮨処 せきやSushiINZ 2 B1F
KandaかんだTempuraINZ 2 B1F
ChaotaiチャオタイThaiINZ 2 B1F
Ginza In Okinawa銀座IN沖縄Izakaya (Okinawa food)INZ 2 B1F
Pekinぎょうざ本舗 北京GyozaINZ 2 B1FOpen since early 1980s
Sakanaya魚やIzakaya chain (fish)INZ 2 B1F
Budoya葡萄屋Yakitori and other chicken dishesINZ 2 B1FOne of 2 restaurants, main one here in Ginza
Hanふるさと三昧 藩Izakaya chain (general)INZ 2 B1F
Noahビアレストラン 創作居酒屋 ノアBeer restaurantINZ 2 2F
Aka Chouchin赤ちょうちんTaiwanINZ 2 2F
Toraya鮪屋―とろやーIzakaya (focus on tuna)INZ 2 2F
Ginza Sakana ya Shun銀座魚や旬All types of fishINZ 2 2F
Bangera's Kitchenバンゲラズ キッチンIndianINZ 2 2F
Ginza Roshutei銀座芦州亭Shabu ShabuINZ 2 2F
MichinokuみちのくIzakaya (traditional Japanese focus nothern Honshu)INZ 2 2F
Ginza Swing銀座スウィングJazz clubINZ 2 2F
Olive Oil KitchenオリーブオイルキッチンItalianINZ 2 2F
Hakobune日本酒スローフード 方舟Izakaya chain (regional Japanese food and sake)INZ 2 2F
Ginza Lion銀座ライオンIzakaya chain (focus on beer and western finger food)INZ 2 2F
Champonteiちゃんぽん亭総本家Champon chain (type of noodles from Nagasaki)INZ 2 2F
McDonald'sマクドナルドAmerican Fast FoodINZ 3 1F
JaponeジャポネSpaghetti and curryINZ 3 1FVery showa restaurant started in 1980
Renoir CoffeeCafe 瑠之亜珈琲Coffee chainINZ 3 1F
NameName JPTypeLocationComment


One of the fancy staircases


Entrance of Ginza INZ 3

In practice

Address: 2-2 Ginza Nishi, Chou-ku, Tokyo

Web: http://www.ginza-inz.co.jp/

Names in Japanese: 銀座inz