Bell City
Bell City (ベルシティ), or simply just Bell if you want to sound like a local, is a major shopping mall in Suzuka run by Æon. Thought it opened in 1996, it has had a number of extensions added on throughout the years and is now the biggest shopping center in Mie.
Contents
Facilities
Altogether there are 150 shops/restaurants in Bell City. Here's a list of some of the more notable ones
Shops
- Jusco
- Muji
- Huge selection of "unmarked name brand goods", sold cheaper than they would be otherwise
- Eiden
- Electronics
- Tower Records
- Lots of CDs, both foreign and domestic. Has DVDs now too.
- Village Vanguard
- Crazy stuff, like the "Spencer's Gifts" of Japan
- Sporting Goods
- A giant mega-shop near one of the entrances, with a few more smaller ones scattered throughout the mall
- Giant Book-off
- Selling way more than the usual books and games, has lots of clothes and even sporting equipment
- Book shop (未来屋書店 Miraiya Shoten)
- Fairly big with a small English section. New stationary section as well.
- Pet Clothing shop
- Giant Daiso
- 100 yen shop
- Clothing
- Shoes, pants, shirts, skirts, whatever you want it's all here and there's lots of it
- Purses
- Probably too many purse shops
- King's Road
- Only the most ridiculously cool guys in Japan shop here. If you want to join their ranks, pick up some of the huge skull-themed bling available at this shop. Workers are always decked out in the wares and are truly a sight to behold as far as exaggerated Japanese fashion is concerned.
Restaurants
Bell City has lots of tastiness and some of its restaurants are worth a trip all by itself
- Starbucks
- Often plenty of room to sit and hangout
- Subway - in picnic court
- Only one in Mie
- Maison de Buffet
- "French" (read European-ish) buffet with a chocolate fountain. Tasty. About ¥1600
- Mugi no Ka (麦の香)
- Bread buffet. Pick a dish and get served various bread throughout your meal.
- Capricciosa
- Italian. Pasta is great, pizza is good. Most dishes are right about ¥1000, unless you get the "half" portion.
- Zaboten (ざぼてん)
- Tonkatsu. Good fillet-katsu and the "choice set" (選べる定食) for ¥1500 is a nice big meal, with smaller sets available starting at ¥1100. Free refills on rice, miso, and cabbage
- Suzuki Fishery (鈴木水産 Suzuki Suisan)
- A "gourmet" conveyor-belt sushi. Slightly more expensive (and tastier) than the ¥105 variety
- Saizeriya
- Closes earlier than most - at 10pm with the mall
- Men no Shō (麺の匠) - in picnic court
- Self-service udon
- McDonald's - in picnic court and food court (yes, there are two of them)
- Baskin Robbins aka 31 - in picnic court
- Ringer Hut - in picnic court
- Nagasaki Champon
- Takoyaki - in picnic court
- Bibimba - in picnic court
- Pepper Lunch - in picnic court
- Steak-ish stuff
Entertainment
- Movie Theater
- 10 screens, located on the second floor. Check link above for schedule and discounts
- Arcade
- Not bad, standard arcade fare - but put to shame by the Loc Town arcade next door.
- Bowling
- At nearby Loc Town, in the arcade
- Onsen
- Amazing commercial onsen, also at Loc Town.
Nearby
- Loc Town
- Bell City's younger brother, often overlooked. Has a giant Uniqlo and giant arcade.
- Honda Factory
- Suzuka's humongous and legendary Honda research and production facility is right next to Bell City.
Map
Directions
By Train
Get yourself to Hiratachō (平田町) Station which is on the Kintetsu Suzuka Line.
To do that, first get yourself to Ise-Wakamatsu (伊勢若松) Station (Kintetsu Nagoya Line). It's an express (急行 kyūkō) stop between Yokkaichi and Shiroko, but it's not a limited express (特急 tokkyū) stop. Once you're at Ise-Wakamatsu, transfer to the Suzuka Line - all trains are bound for Hiratachō. Ride it all the way to the end of the line (a mere four stations), and your train journey is complete. From Hiratachō Station, it's about a 10-15 minute walk west on Suzuka's main street (Chūō Dōro).
Leave the station, walk straight out and there will be a small eki-mae area with a few restaurants leading to a major road. Head to that major road and turn right onto it and walk straight on the sidewalk for about 10 minutes (maybe 15-20 minutes if you're moving slow) until you see a giant shopping center with a huge parking lot. It will be on the left side of the road and the "ÆON" and "Jusco" signs should give it away.
Alternatively, you can also catch a bus right in front of the Hirata-chō - take any bus that is bound for Shiroko Station (白子駅) and Bell City and either the second or third stops will see you at Bell City. The time advantage isn't generally worth it though.
By Car
At the west end of Route 54 (Suzuka Chūō Dōro). Easily accessible from Route 1 and Route 23, follow signs for ÆON Bell City (イオン・ベルシティ)
