The new Aeon Mall in Matsumoto opened its doors to local residents yesterday (Sep. 16), calling it a “soft open” before the official grand opening on Sep. 21. The mall is sprawled across three separate buildings: the “Sky Garden” (空庭) which consists of a movie theater and shops selling local goods, the “Wind Garden” (風庭) which is apparently one of Nagano’s largest food courts, and the “Sun Garden” (晴庭) which is the main section that includes all the typical kinds of stores you would expect to find in a mall like apparel, accessories, toy stores, and even a huge grocery store.

It seems like Aeon Mall put a lot of thought into trying to give the place a local feel, as you’ll find they incorporate little pieces Matsumoto-inspired design all over the mall. I particularly enjoyed the unique the hanging temari decorations (temari are a traditonal craft from Matsumoto) in the food court area and the huge daruma doll in the Sky Garden area.

Overall, I think the mall has something that everyone will enjoy, even if you don’t like all parts of it. If you have kids, there are toy stores and fun shops like a candy shop modeled after old-fashioned Japanese candy stores, a model train shop with a moving, interactive model train, and an arcade. Besides your typical clothes & accessory stores, there is a large book store, an electronics store, a sporting goods shop, Kaldi – the import food/wine and coffee retailer, a big wine and liquor section where you can buy wine ranging from table wine to high quality bottles, and more. The mall also has large retailers like Muji and H&M.

Personally, I’m extra excited about the new theater, Aeon Cinema. The theater has eight screens including a 4K digital projector screen. The base price for a movie is 1,800 yen but they offer some great discounts like matinee shows, late show discounts, and 1,100 yen tickets every Monday for all movie goers!

The mall is located about a 20 minute walk from the station, but you can easily take the Town Sneaker bus or a bicycle, too (there is ample bicycle parking). The theater is open from 10:00 – Midnight, and the main mall from 9 AM – 10 PM (* On 9/21 and 9/22, it opens at 10 AM).

Aean Mall website (Japanese): http://matsumoto-aeonmall.com/
Aeon Cinema Matsumoto website (Japanese): http://www.aeoncinema.com/cinema/matsumoto/