JR East Group's Railway Hall will open the "GRANROOF" shopping complex at the Yaesu Exit of Tokyo Station on September 20th. Also on the same day, Kirapika Street on the first basement floor of Yaesu will be renamed "GRANROOF FRONT." Both facilities were unveiled to the press on the 18th. The floor structure spans three basement floors. Each floor is divided into zones, housing 15 stores, primarily restaurants. The total sales floor area is approximately 1,900 square meters. Based on the concept of "Yaesu Sensational Scene," the facility aims to revitalize the local area by providing a place for people to meet, gather, and share information. The basement floor is the "Travel" zone, featuring a selection of food from various regions. It is divided into a fish zone featuring restaurants like Tsukiji Sushi Sei and Yamagata Sakanaichi, and a meat zone featuring restaurants like Date no Gyutan Honpo and Asakusa Imahan. The first to mezzanine floors are the "Culture Zone," housing two stores: "Tokyo Rice BARU Takewaka," which promotes Japanese food culture through rice, and "R.L WAFFLE CAFE," which serves waffles of international origin.
The "Health" zone, from the second floor to the third floor, is home to "VOLPUTAS OLVEOIL DINING TOKYO," a Western-style cafe restaurant offering drinking olive oil and other beverages. On the third floor, Kyoto's long-established Fukujuen Saryo, a new business venture, offers a menu featuring a French take on chakaiseki cuisine, as well as various courses such as tea ceremony experiences. The second-floor deck connecting the Gran Tokyo South Tower on the south side and the Daimaru Tokyo store on the north side is called the "ICT Terrace" and is home to three stores: the "docomo Shop," the "MOBILE accessory Premiumcafe," and the "docomo M2M Square." In addition to selling devices, the docomo Shop stocks approximately 50 tablets and smartphones, transmitting information about the area around the station. The tablets broadcast the "Grand Channel," featuring content such as 3D navigation, railway-related information, and tourist information for Tokyo Station. To attract more customers, JR East has also released the Android app "Tokyo Station Sky Panorama," which uses geofencing technology to respond only to the terrace. Visitors to the area can take commemorative photos of tourist spots like Mount Fuji, Tokyo Skytree, and Amsterdam Central Station. Masahiko Yamada, manager of the SC Sales Group at the Railway Hall Sales Department, who was in charge of developing the facility, said, "While the Marunouchi entrance has a historical and traditional image, with the old station building restored, the Yaesu entrance emphasizes modernity and cutting edge technology. We've mainly attracted restaurants to cater to dining needs outside the ticket gates. As there are few establishments serving breakfast in the area, some of the stores open from 7am. We've also expanded our take-out menu. In the future, we plan to hold events that can only be experienced here, using ICT as a theme, on the deck space on the second floor. Our target sales for the year is 4 billion yen." GranRoof is part of the "Tokyo Station City" development project being promoted at the same site by the JR East Group. The project will be completed in the fall of 2014 with the completion of the station plaza.
