Considering its small population, Toyooka surprisingly has a fairly wide range of shops. Since I moved here, the city has been rapidly expanding with all sorts of new shops! Almost everything one needs for a comfortable life can be found right here. (My God, the city government should pay me for such great PR!)
The "Main Street" of Toyooka is undoubtedly Daikai-doori, pictured right. (It's sometimes also referred to as "Eki-doori," or "Shouten-gai"). Over a kilometer long, and lined with small shops and restaurants, Daikai-doori stretches from the train station at its west end, to the Toyooka Hospital at its east end. [Also on Daikai-doori, midway between the two endpoints, is the City Hall. The mayor's office, the Board of Education, and TIA, among other things, are located here.]
Across the street from the train station, and at the west end of Daikai-doori, is Aity. Aity is basically what you would get if you cross-bred a department store with a shopping mall. Only a few years old, it is a shopper's heaven, complete with a grocery store, bakery, clothing stores, sportswear, bookstore, music store, amusement center (video arcade), pet store, toy store, stationery, home electronics, restaurants and food court, and is home to Toyooka's radio station, FM Jungle.
Another department store / shopping mall hybrid is the Co-op, located right next to the apartment! It's been my own personal savior. Similar to Aity, the Co-op has a grocery store, bakery, photo developers, clothing, sportswear, stationery, drug store, toy store, music store, restaurants and a food court. In addition, it features McDonald's; Mr. Donut; an amusement center complete with arcade games, pool tables, and bowling; and a bookstore with a small section of books in English! The top floor of the Co-op is home to an international cultural center, which offers English classes taught by freelance teachers (such as Tania).
Near the Co-op is another street, Route 178 (a.k.a., the "Bypass"), with some good shops. The Bypass is home to, among other things, Seiden (an excellent electronics store), Stock (a houseware, hardware, furniture and gardening store), and KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).
Of course, there's more, but I don't want to overwhelm you any more than I already have!!
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