ITOKU Odate Shopping Center

ITOKU Odate Shopping Center (いとく大館ショッピングセンター) is a shopping center in Odate, Akita Prefecture, Japan, operated by the regional supermarket company Itoku Co., Ltd. (株式会社伊徳). It opened on October 13, 1978, on the site of the former Itoku Onaricho store, and was the company's first outlet built in the shopping-center format rather than as a small food supermarket. The center is located at 3-7-58 Onaricho, Odate, close to Odate Station, and combines a core Itoku supermarket with dozens of specialty tenants across several floors. The center was developed after an earlier plan by Ito-Yokado to enter Odate stalled in the wake of the oil shock; Itoku acquired the land and proceeded with its own shopping-center project, encouraged by the success of a similar center operated by Yamazawa in Tendo, Yamagata. The original plan had called for the local department store Shobudaka Take-mura to become a tenant, but that arrangement fell through, and the space was used for apparel instead. Over the decades the center expanded and renovated, including a major enlargement in 1993 and a phased renovation in 2012. It has faced competition from nearby large stores, notably a JUSCO Odate store that opened about 200 meters away and later closed in 2006. Today the center houses the Itoku Odate store as its core, along with around 26 specialty shops. Directly operated floors sell food, clothing and bedding, daily goods, and stationery and books. Prominent tenants have included Muji, which opened a large store on the second floor in 2023, as well as Fujiya, Hotel-ya Pharmacy, Daiso, and various service and dining outlets. The center also hosts public services: the Odate City Citizen Service Center opened inside in 2008, and part of the eat-in space has been used as a temporary early-voting venue for unified local elections since 2015. The facility provides free parking for 1,000 cars and is served by local and highway buses.

The shopping center traces its origins to Itoku's decision to build a large-scale store in Odate. In the late 1960s, when Itoku's Nagakuracho store opened in 1968, national retailers were beginning to expand into regional areas. Ito-Yokado had plans to enter Onaricho in Odate, and a local construction company secured land for the project, but the oil shock caused the plan to collapse. Itoku bought the land and decided to build a shopping center. The company was encouraged by the success of Yamazawa, then part of the same Tohoku JUSCO chain, which had opened a successful shopping center in Tendo, Yamagata, and by the positive response to its own large "Noshiro Tori-machi store" (sales floor area 2,235 m², two stories). Initially, the local department store Shobudaka Take-mura was expected to become a tenant, but the arrangement fell through. Because the application under the Large-Scale Retail Store Law had been made on the premise of Shobudaka Take-mura's participation, the vacant space was used for apparel, and the project proceeded with the planned floor area. The center opened on October 13, 1978, as Itoku's first shopping-center format store. At the time, Odate had two main commercial zones: the Omachi shopping street centered on Shobudaka Take-mura, and the Onaricho 2-chome shopping street near Odate Station. The new center was built in Onaricho 3-chome, between the two. Later, a JUSCO Odate store opened about 200 meters away, and Itoku Odate SC responded by expanding its sales floor area. In 2001 Shobudaka Take-mura closed, and in 2006 the JUSCO Odate store closed, leaving the AEON Super Center Odate store about 2 km away as the nearest competing shopping center. In May 2008, the center partnered with Odate City to open the Odate City Citizen Service Center on the first floor, providing services such as tax collection and resident certificate issuance. From the April 2015 unified local elections, part of the eat-in space has been used as a temporary early-voting venue. Major renovations occurred in 1993 (large expansion and reopening in December) and in 2012 (phased renovation of the third, first, and second floors, with new tenants such as Fujiya). In October 2013, following the abolition of the Akihoku Bus Terminal, a highway bus stop and the Itoku Odate SC Akihoku Tourist Information Center were established at the north entrance. On June 16, 2023, a Muji store opened on the second floor, occupying more than half of the second-floor sales area and offering the largest product selection in the prefecture.

• 2023

  Muji store opened on the second floor on June 16.

• 2015

  Part of eat-in space used as temporary early-voting venue from April unified local elections.

• 2013

  Highway bus stop and tourist information center established at north entrance on October 1.

• 2012

  Phased renovation of third, first, and second floors; new tenants including Fujiya.

• 2008

  Odate City Citizen Service Center opened on the first floor in May.

• 1993

  Major expansion and reopening in December.

• 1978

  Opened on October 13 as Itoku's first shopping-center format store.

Regional shopping center anchored by a local supermarket, serving Odate and surrounding areas with food, fashion, services, and public facilities.

• Itoku Odate store (core supermarket)

• Muji Itoku Odate Shopping Center

• Fujiya confectionery

• Hotel-ya Pharmacy

• Daiso 100-yen shop

• Odate City Citizen Service Center

1. 1いとく大館ショッピングセンター｜店舗・チラシ情報｜株式会社 伊徳itoku.co.jp
2. 2ITOKU Odate SC - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3いとく大館ショッピングセンター - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org