Daimaru department store entrance-Causeway Bay | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Daimaru department store entrance-Causeway Bay

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Daimaru department store entrance-Causeway Bay
Submitted by IDJ
Tags: 
Department store
Diamaru

Daimaru in the 1960s used to sell a Japanese brand of whiskey whose label proclaimed that it had been "Matured in the cellars of Buckingham Palace". I  took a few of those back to the UK as presents over the years. IDJ

Date picture taken (may be approximate): 
Saturday, February 5, 1966
Gallery: 
1960s Hong Kong
Connections: 
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Comments

Submitted by sf (not verified) on Wed, 2010-10-06 09:19.

Daimaru was indeed an icon in Causeway Bay from Day 1 until its closure. Its main entrance as seen in this picture was the most popular place to meet up with friends because everyone in HK knew where Daimaru was. I must have spent countless hours of my childhood browsing in its toy dept or just strolling through the air conditioning aisles to escape from the scourging HK summer heat outside. Fond memories.

 

Submitted by vanessa (not verified) on Wed, 2010-10-06 11:16.

a 'first' in the memory bank of several.  it was a great place to buy shoes or just sit trying them on :)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=947501&id=689768775&saved

Submitted by tngan on Wed, 2010-10-06 13:08.

Hi there,

I still remember the sales ladies of the Daimaru Supermarket perform their Japanese style gift wrapping.  Imagine you want to have a round tin can of Kjeldsens Cookies properly wrapped.  They could wrap it up with all the fancy folds and ribbons in flying colours.  As far as I could recall they could do it within minutes.

These days, if gift wrapping is concerned, none of the remaining department stores could match.

Best Regards,

T

Submitted by tngan on Wed, 2010-10-06 13:10.

Hi There,

The Daimaru Department Store is still very much alive in Japan.  If you are going that way you could always pay them a visit.

http://www.daimaru.co.jp/english/index.html

Best Regards,

T

Submitted by doug on Sun, 2012-04-01 18:10.

I was also here in '72-I well remember that entranceway in the photo-thanks to this site I'm able to pinpoint where I was that day. The person who was giving me a tour of HK stopped here,and I seem to remember I bought her something or other. She wanted to buy me something in return, and not wanting her to spend too much money, I pointed to a keychain, with a Chinese character dangling from it. The store actually had a tiny little paper bag with the Daimaru logo,maybe 2"x 4",just for that keychain! I still have it in my box of souvenirs from that trip,but until finding this site, had forgotten where I got it.

   On this day, we seemed to make stops at all the places that are long-gone now. We also saw a movie at the Hoover-I kept the ticket stubs.

Submitted by Bails on Tue, 2012-04-03 16:11.
My mother took my brother and I for 'sukiyaki' at a wonderful Japanese restaurant which I think was on the left at the top of the stairs pictured. Can anyone confirm the presence of a Japanese restaurant there?

Submitted by tngan on Tue, 2012-04-03 16:38.

Hi there,

Back in the mid to late 1960's, there was a cafe/restaurant on the second floor at the back, when Kingston Street meets Paterson Street.  I don't know if it served Japanese or Western food though.

Best Regards,

T

Submitted by moddsey on Tue, 2012-04-03 19:29.

1960s Daimaru

Submitted by Bails on Tue, 2012-04-03 21:34.
Nice one Moddsey! How do you do it? I think those windows on the left upper floor were where the Japanese restaurant was situated! I do recall being in the sports shoe department when I was about 16. There was a large model of a training shoe, hanging from the ceiling near the men's section. I overheard to young lads remark in Cantonese " look that shoe up there would probably fit that big 'gweilo' over there"! I took great pleasure in answering him - in Cantonese - that I didn't think it would be quite big enough! They got such a shock! They immediately ran out of the store! What fun it has been over the years having a basic grasp of Cantonese! Lots of similar incidents in lifts etc!!

Submitted by moddsey on Wed, 2012-04-04 11:39.

The Daimaru Department Store opened for business on 4 November 1960 and closed down in 1998.

I faintly remember there being a Japanese restaurant on the second level.  However, my family preferred to go to the Korean restaurant on Patterson Street (adjacent to Daimaru) called the "Koreana" and that was where I had my first introduction to Korean barbecue!

Submitted by tonylam on Wed, 2012-04-04 13:21.

the minibus still using Daimaru as one of the destinations

Submitted by Billa on Tue, 2013-05-14 16:46.
We visited this great store some time during 1961 and had a fantastic experience. One of our purchases was an inexpensive Owl Pendulum Clock which is still working to this day. It hangs on a wall in my house in Scotland.