![The entrance to the Bibigo Market in Shinbashi, Tokyo [Photo: Hong Seung-wan]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2026/03/CP-2023-0070/image-4b06c8a2-9df0-4504-85f9-43e9a7c511ed.jpeg)
In Tokyo’s Shinbashi — affectionately known as the “office worker’s sanctuary” — Mami Oka pops into the Bibigo Market on the CJ Japan building’s first floor whenever she’s craving Korean food. At weekday lunch you can grab a tteokbokki set, a seasoned chicken set, or a pancake-and-japchae combo for 800 JPY (approximately 7,500 KRW, approximately 5.36 USD). After the meal, many people reach for a Korean-style drink, like a sparkling soda made with CJ CheilJedang’s Micho fruit vinegar or a creamy Bibigo latte.
When I visited the Bibigo Market on the 20th, I found a multi-use space run by CJ Food Japan that first opened in Shinbashi in September 2024. The roughly 60-pyeong venue (about 2,135 sq ft) is split into three zones: a showroom, a grocery, and a dining area. The showroom highlights models of signature items like dumplings and tteokbokki, while the grocery shelves are packed with convenient meals such as naengmyeon, kimchi, and japchae. The dining area at the back seats around 20 people. It’s more than a store — it’s a one-stop spot to taste, sip, and shop Korean flavors.
![Bibigo Market becomes part of Japanese office workers’ daily routine [Graphic: Aju Business Daily]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2026/03/CP-2023-0070/image-0f1e5717-ae72-4dca-80cf-b450ccb90ffb.png)
The market serves lunch on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then reopens for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. In the evenings you’ll find items like churros-and-tteokbokki sets and gimbap-wrap combos priced between 1,300 and 1,500 JPY (approximately 8.71–10.05 USD), which is roughly on par with single-item dishes at local Korean restaurants and makes the place an easy go-to for busy diners.
The grocery section mixes Bibigo products with familiar Korean brands such as Shin Ramyun, Chapagetti, and Saewookkang shrimp crackers. By stocking both CJ items and other household favorites, the store does more than promote one company — it’s acting as a front line for K-food culture in Japan.
Japan, alongside the United States, is considered a core market for CJ CheilJedang’s overseas food business. That’s why Chairman Lee Jae-hyun chose Japan as his first stop for on-the-ground global management last year. At the time, Lee emphasized the need to seize the moment to spread K-trends, noting that with Bibigo and related content already in place, the company couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity.
CJ CheilJedang has also expanded production in Japan to meet rising demand for K-food. In September last year, the company opened a new dumpling factory in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, and now distributes Bibigo dumplings produced there across Japan.
As its distribution network widened, the company has posted notable gains. CJ CheilJedang says the number of retailers carrying Bibigo king dumplings has risen to about 13,800 locations — more than 1,100 additional stores compared with March of last year. From 2020 through 2024, Bibigo dumpling sales in Japan grew at an average annual rate of 14%, outpacing the company’s overall Japanese food business growth of about 8% per year over the same period.
A CJ CheilJedang spokesperson said, “In the first half of last year, our Japanese dumpling sales rose about 28% year over year, and overall food sales in Japan grew around 27% in the same period. With the Chiba plant now complete, we plan to develop Japan as a major overseas market after the United States.”
