The Least Useful Guide to Fukuoka

As the replacement of the Hawks Town Mall, a local shopping mall which died miserably a few years ago (Here is my previous post about it), Mark Is opened in the end of last year with flashy advertisement.

I secretly had high hopes for the new shopping mall as it was developed by Mitsubishi Estate, one of the most prestigious real estate developers in Japan. I thought the new mall would be quite different in positive ways from Aeon malls or local developers’ malls. 

About one hour after entering its gate, however, I realised that I expected too much. Mark Is was just another mall focusing on young families who love shopping in a highly sanitized and artificial (in a way, decadently) environment, and foreign tourists who love “made in Japan” items. The tenants were all something you can find in any other cities or airport housing Uniqlo, of course, GU, Starbucks, 100-yen shop—you name it, and it housed it. I wonder why it doesn’t have Muji and RIghton.

Its service was, by my standards, rather sad. Coin lockers are fee-charging (300 yen). So I had to trudge around this rather big mall with 10 books I borrowed from the nearby library. I know I should have visited there hand-free. But it is also true they do not care how it could be awkward to walk with bulky and heavy bag. I wish there would be a simple trolley so that I could shop around more freely. And you cannot pay by your debit card (not credit-card linked). Lots of shops offer coffee for take away but there was no seat to sit and have a rest. Cafes are overly expensive and have a long waiting queues.

One thing I very much looked forward to was grocery store the mall would host. For Mitsubishi the almighty, it could be an easy task to introduce any upmarket grocers, whichever Kinokuniya, Maidiya or Seijo Ishii…or Makii. But in reality, it was Halloday…No, Halloday is nothing wrong. It is a good “local” grocery store. But very different from what I was hoping for.

If you ask me to describe this three-story mall:

Ground floor; the hall of something you can live without, anchored by Uniqlo,

First floor; a place full of a bit more expensive something you can live without, anchored by Tsutaya,

Second floor; a no-go area if you are over forty without children or unless you are peckish and wish a little fatty food at the food court.

Everything has been calculated and sanitized in predictable ways. I think Marinoa City, an outlet mall just a few kilometres away from this spick and span mall, is a bit more exciting place to go because at least there is still some possibilities for a bargain…however small the possibilities might be.