Are you ready to start your shopping spree in Nagoya? Before you dive in, I must tell you about one of Nagoya's highlights: the underground shopping street. Now grab your wallet and get set for a shopping adventure.

Join me, an editor of Centrip Japan, who spends nearly every day in Sakae, as I guide you through the complete Sakae Shopping Street Map. I've taken care to include underground & aboveground store guides and give you the scoop on three underground streets which are known as the Underground Maze. I've even made a list of all the stores you won't want to miss and guide you through the complex underground streets.

Why are there so many underground streets in Nagoya?

Nagoya's underground streets are well-developed and are considered the birthplace of Japanese underground streets. The main reason is that Nagoya was designed as a Car City. Wide roads were introduced for cars, resulting in pedestrians taking more time to cross them. To save them the trouble, the pedestrian-only underground street was born.

The underground street is comfortable for shopping no matter the weather. It is perfect for Nagoya's winter, which is colder than other places in Japan. In addition, the Nagoya underground street connects all major department stores, and you can even shop on your way to them. The shopping starts as soon as you get off the subway!

The underground streets in Nagoya are found primarily in 2 districts, Nagoya Station and Sakae. Today, I will introduce you to the Sakae District.

Sakae Shopping Map

Before shopping at the underground street, let's take a comprehensive look at the Sakae Shopping Map.

Sakae's underground street has three areas: Sakae Chika, Central Park, and Mori no Chikagai. Each one has its own specialty.

1. Underground Street: Sakae Chika

Sakae Chika is popular among the general public, especially the younger crowd. The stores are mainly fashion shops, restaurants, and cafes. It is also the only underground path to the department stores. So they are always crowded with people. On holidays almost every restaurant is full.

Recommended stores in Sakae Chika

Lattice	¥300 accessories shop (necklaces, earrings, hair accessories, etc.)
tutu anna	Socks store 3 pairs of socks for ¥1100, cheap and cute.
Chicken Sanwa	Oyakodon, a chicken specialty restaurant A long-established restaurant of over 120 years. Their oyakodon is made using Nagoya Cochin chicken.
Shogetsu	Eel and rice specialty store

How to go to Sakae Chika?

Recommended department stores and shops

You can shop at Sakae Chika and the stores in the Yasakacho area (the south part of the map). They are both must-visit places in Sakae and can be visited one after the other.

If you follow the directions arrows, you can walk to Sakae Chika and the four major department stores in Sakae: Mitsukoshi, LACHIC, Matsuzakaya, PARCO, LOFT, Apple Store, and more. They are all in the same district. If you continue walking, you'll arrive at Osu in about 25 minutes!

What else? At Sakae Chika, you can access the Mitsukoshi Department Store and SKYLE Mall directly (refer to the picture above). There's no need to go outside. Thanks to this design, you can enjoy comfortable shopping even in rainy weather, cold winters, or hot summers!

2. Underground Street: Central Park

Central Park is the most extensive of the three underground streets, connecting Sakae Station, Hisaya Odori Park, Nagoya TV Tower, and Oasis 21. The stores here are mainly fashion shops and variety stores. The brands are more mature and high-grade, and the customer base is mainly 25-30 years old.

Here you can find clothing brands such as ROPÉ, 100-yen store Can Do, and many more. When you are tired, there are about 18 restaurants and cafes waiting for you.

Central Park recommended stores

High-quality Variety Goods & Clothing: décor

décor is a chain of stores famous for their originality, diverse patterns, and unique cultural feel. Despite being a chain, their stores are found almost entirely in Nagoya. You won't find them in Tokyo or Osaka! They offer various products, including clothing, accessories, handbags, home slippers, blankets, and even delicately wrapped foods. Everything showcases great design sense!

My favorite is the Japanese-made Three-Purpose Socks. One set comes in two pairs. One pair is a sock containing squalene, a kind of moisturizing ingredient, and the other one is translucent. The two pairs can also be worn together to create a unique Japanese fashion.

For food, there are often season-limited products. For example, in the spring there are Japanese cherry blossom petals on sale for the spring!

décor attracts customers between 20 to 80! I believe that no matter your age, you can find what you love in this tasteful store.

Popular clothing: VIS

The style of VIS is simple and light. Its customer base is women aged 20 to 40. Their prices are mid-range, with good textures, suitable for any office worker.

Other recommended stores

Charlotte by ABC-MART	A women's shoe store, with various goods, a subsidiary line of famous shoe store ABC-MART
ITS'DEMO	A makeup shop Products not carried in drugstores (like Disney's tie-ins) can be found here.

How to get to Central Park?

Recommended department stores and shops to enjoy together

We recommend you take the underground street Central Park and Mori no Chikagai, introduced next, and go aboveground for Oasis 21, Don Quijote, and Sunshine Sakae (the north side of the map). Or you can walk to the TV tower. Go to Central Park, and even arrive by Hisaya Odori subway station!

3. Underground Street: Mori no Chikagai

The main customers here are in their 40s or above. There are clothing stores, Konparu, a tea shop with Nagoya characteristics, and an Izakaya (Japanese bar) named Sakatsu-ya. If you want to experience the atmosphere of local Nagoya, Mori no Chikagai is waiting for you!

Mori no Chikagai recommended stores

KONPARU	A Nagoya cafe with more than 70 years of history. Their fried shrimp sandwich is very famous.
Sakatsu-ya	A 50-year Izakaya (Japanese bar) selling local Nagoya foods.
Suzunami	Try the Japanese seafood set.

How to get to Mori no Chikagai

After exiting the subway station, go straight to exits 4 or 5.

Summary

If you want to go shopping through the entire Sakae area, I am afraid that you will not be able to finish in one day! These three underground streets alone will take a long time. Don't forget to arrange ample time for Sakae!

Nagoya has a reputation for not being as good as Tokyo or Osaka. However, after living in all three cities at length, I can honestly say that Nagoya's advantages outweigh all the others. Nagoya has wider roads, fewer people, large shops, and many popular brand stores. It makes for a comparatively more comfortable and better place for shopping. I hope that readers of this Don't Miss the Sakae Underground Shopping Guide can also discover the benefits of Nagoya, which strikes a good balance between prosperity and quality of life.