Memories of Tamagotchi Department Store Harajuku
The news shocked tamagotchi fans all over the world; Our beloved Tamagotchi Department Store Harajuku (Tama Depa) closed at 19:00 on 26 February, 2017. After the closure, we will buy tamagotchi items from Bandai’s online shop.
Contents
Tama Depa Photo Album for Memories
First of all, I’d like to keep the precious photos of Tama Depa in this article FOREVER.
Tamagotchi Department Store Harajuku was an official shop of Tamagotchi run in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan.
Mametchi had the welcoming board for us. Memetchi and Kuchipatchi were on the floor, and they were sometimes wearing seasonal costumes like Santa hats.
The newest version of tamagotchi was fronting the customers coming in.
The store was full of tamagotchi items. What’s important is that most of them were limited items available only here.
Tama Depa was not just a shop, but also a center of tamagotchis. Behind the cash register, there was the Tamagotchi History display that used to be Tamagotchi Store Tokyo (also called Tama Sto).
Tamagotchi History was also on the pillars.
There were 2 Tamagotchi mix Stations for us. Personally, I was happy to have a chair to use it. In the generation of Tamagotchi 4U, there were “Touch Spots” instead.
Being in Tama Depa was really like traveling in Tamagotchi Planet.
We were able to learn how Tamagotchi Department Store in Tamagotchi Planet is like from the picture over Kuromametchi.
We looked for “Hidden Mametchi” on the floor. On the ceiling, Tamagotchi Planet was seeing us.
What cannot be missed in Tama Depa was the Tamagotchi Donuts. There were 2 types of sets; Mame-Love Set and Mame-Kuchi Set.
We needed to wait for 15 to 20 minutes to eat the cute donuts, so I often went shopping in Takechita Street with the them in my hand.
I remember I had Mame & Kuchi donuts with viewing fully blooming cherry blossoms (sakura) in Yoyogi Park.
Also, it is my sweet memory that I sat down on a bench in Omotesando Avenue, which is “Champs Elysees in Japan”, and opened the pack.
The donuts were not just cute but also organic, so they always made us smile.
Why Closing?
Second, I’d like to talk about the reasons for this sad closure.
Bandai doesn’t provide any reason why they close the store, so what I can is guessing it by myself. But I don’t think my idea is pointless – Tama Depa was in too good a place.
The location of Tama Depa Harajuku is just in front of Harajuku Station.
Moreover, it’s LESS THAN a one minute walk from Takeshita Street.
Can you see what I’m talking about? Takeshita Street is the coolest street in Japan, so Tama Depa Harajuku was in the best of best places IN JAPAN.
Remembering Tamagotchi Store Tokyo which sadly closed in June, 2016, it used to be in Tokyo Station. It’s the very central station among the 142 JR stations, 285 subway stations and some more stations of private railways inside Tokyo!
If you run a store in a super popular place, you need to sell much to pay for the high rent. I’m sure that Tamagotchi is a very important brand for Bandai because they display Mametchi on the logo at the entrance of their headquarters. However, I guess it was hard for them to run stores in such places just for pride.
The point is that I don’t think at all that Tama Depa is the only store that couldn’t have enough sales in Takeshita Street. I have seen many other shops that left soon after their opening. For example, a shop related to idol singers opened near Tama Depa some years ago, but it has gone. The idols were so popular that anyone knew them in Japan at that time, but I doubt the shop lasted for a year. Takeshita Street is basically a place for fashion, so it is NOT rare nor shameful that shops of pop culture or food leave there.
What I Want to Say to Tama Fans in the World
In conclusion, I’d like to emphasize I do not accept the news so negatively from the viewpoint of a Tokyo local.
Although it’s so sad that we can no longer enter the real wonderland nor have the cute donuts, we have another future. Did you know that a new tamagotchi movie was on-air in the same spring? I believe Tamagotchi is still doing well.
Leave your love to Tamagotchi on the comment!
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