William Every city in Japan has its signature department store: Fukuoka = Daimaru; Osaka = Hankyu; Kyoto =Takashimaya; Tokyo = Mitsukoshi (this is all according to my daughter, whom you do not want to argue with). And, of course, Kumamoto = Tsuruya. Established in 1951 as a joint investment by Chiebuya Kimono Store and Furusho Honten, it opened its present location in 1952 with three floors above ground and one below, and has expanded since. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%B6%B4%E5%B1%8B%E7%99%BE%E8%B2%A8%E5%BA%97 A thing about Tsuruya is their paper bags. It is de rigueur when giving a gift in Kumamoto to enclose it in a Tsuruya paper shopping bag, no matter where the gift was purchased. A problem is that customers would accrue as many bags as possible on each visit, costing the company money and creating potential waste (though the bags tend to be reused multiple times). In an attempt to reign in cost and waste, the company has announced that it will now be charging for paper shopping bags under the attached schedule. They’re still cheap and probably worth it, particularly if you’re giving a gift. https://www.tsuruya-dept.co.jp/information/info/bag.html