Urawa Corso

Urawa Corso (浦和コルソ, URAWA CORSO) is a commercial shopping facility located at the west exit of Urawa Station in Takasago, Urawa-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It occupies Building A of the Urawa Station west-exit redevelopment complex as a specialist-store arcade (専門店街), while Building B houses the Isetan Urawa department store. The two buildings are connected so that they function as a single structure, and because Isetan occupies more than half of the floors and is linked to Corso on every level, the complex is often what people mean when they refer to "Isetan in Urawa." A basement passage, the Nakano-shima underground walkway, connects the basement floor directly to Urawa Station. The name "Corso" was chosen by public competition and comes from the Italian word for a street or avenue. When tenant recruitment for Building A opened in August 1980, roughly 500 businesses attended the briefing for 49 available sections, and 254 applied. At opening on 22 April 1981, the arcade contained 107 shops across basement level 1 through the fourth floor above ground — 32 from land-rights holders, 27 from local Saitama City businesses, and 48 outside tenants. About 150,000 people visited on opening day. The construction cost was approximately 36.4 billion yen. Today the centre is positioned as a neighbourhood shopping centre directly beside a major JR station, mixing fashion and fashion accessories, general goods, food, restaurants and cafés, and services. Its floors are organised by category: basement 1 for food and restaurants, the first floor for women's clothing and fashion accessories, the second for women's and men's clothing and beauty treatments, the third for young fashion and general goods, the fourth for bookstores and hobbies, and the seventh for a hall, cooking school, dental clinic and travel services, with a tennis school on the roof. The Corso Hall is a multipurpose hall used for lectures and sales events. The centre also runs a shop news feed, an events calendar, seasonal fairs, and promotions tied to digital regional currencies such as "Sai Coin." Ahead of its 50th anniversary, in March 2024 the wall design of the staircase connecting the first floor and basement was renewed with geometric patterns based on the CI colours of blue and green.

The redevelopment of the area around the west exit of Urawa Station began when the then city of Urawa started planning the district in the summer of 1963. Under the Urban Area Redevelopment Act (now the Urban Renaissance Act), the city decided on the Urawa Station west-exit redevelopment plan in September 1967. To bring a city-type department store to the district, the city approached Isetan and others, and by around the end of 1969 Isetan's entry had been informally decided. However, the first oil crisis changed the city's financial situation, the redevelopment plan had to be reviewed, and negotiations with land-rights holders in the redevelopment area — expected to go smoothly — proved difficult, leaving the outlook uncertain. The city then revised the 1967 plan, shifting emphasis to restoring urban functions and integrating public facilities (Building A) with a commercial block (Building B), and again urged Isetan to enter Urawa. In 1977 progress was made on attracting Isetan to Building B; the following year, in 1978, a reworked master plan for Building A was reported, and on 6 December the first phase of construction began with underground excavation. It was 15 years after the concept was announced in 1965 that construction finally started. Tenant recruitment for Building A, the specialist-store arcade, began in August 1980. For 49 available sections, about 500 businesses crowded the briefing session, and 254 applied — a sign of strong demand. The nickname for Building A was chosen by public competition: "Corso," the Italian word for a street. From basement level 1 to the fourth floor above ground, 107 shops opened — 32 from land-rights holders, 27 from local businesses in the city, and 48 outside tenants. On opening day, 22 April 1981, about 150,000 people visited. The construction cost was approximately 36.4 billion yen. The two buildings are connected and appear as one structure; for convenience, the first floor has passages running east–west and north–south. Isetan occupies more than half of the floors (floors 5 and 6 were entirely Isetan from opening), and Corso and Isetan are connected on every floor, so "Isetan in Urawa" often refers to this building. The basement level 1 is connected to Urawa Station by the Nakano-shima underground walkway. Both buildings have seven floors above ground and three below. Building A has a site area of 5,507 m², a building area of 4,677 m², and a total floor area of 44,482 m², with a building coverage ratio of 85.00% and a floor-area ratio of 750.00%. The redevelopment district covered 2.1 hectares, with the city of Urawa as the implementing body; the project plan was approved in May 1972, construction started in December 1978, the building was completed in March 1981, and it opened on 22 April 1981. In the years since, Urawa Corso has continued to operate as a station-front shopping centre. Its main tenants and facilities have included the Konami Sports Tennis School on the roof; Corso Hall, a multipurpose hall used for lectures and sales events, on the seventh floor along with a cooking school, dental clinic and travel services; a bookstore and hobby goods on the fourth floor; young fashion and general goods on the third; women's and men's clothing and beauty treatments on the second; women's clothing and fashion accessories on the first; and food and restaurants on the basement level, with parking on basement level 2. Ahead of its 50th anniversary, in March 2024 the wall of the staircase connecting the first floor and basement was renewed with geometric patterns based on the CI colours of blue and green.

• 2024

  In March, ahead of the 50th anniversary, the staircase wall between the first floor and basement is renewed with geometric patterns in the CI colours of blue and green.

• 1981

  The building is completed in March and opens on 22 April with 107 shops; about 150,000 people visit on opening day.

• 1980

  Tenant recruitment for Building A begins in August; about 500 businesses attend the briefing for 49 sections and 254 apply.

• 1978

  A reworked master plan for Building A is reported; construction begins on 6 December with the first phase of underground excavation.

• 1977

  Progress is made on attracting Isetan to Building B.

• 1972

  The project plan is approved in May.

• 1969

  Isetan's entry into the district is informally decided around the end of the year.

• 1967

  The Urawa Station west-exit redevelopment plan is decided in September as the prefecture's first redevelopment project district (2.1 ha, implemented by Urawa City).

• 1963

  The city of Urawa begins planning the area around the west exit of Urawa Station.

A station-front community shopping centre offering specialty stores, food and services, integrated with the adjacent Isetan Urawa department store.

• Corso Hall

  A multipurpose hall on the seventh floor used for lectures and sales events.

• Konami Sports Tennis School Urawa

  A tennis school located on the rooftop.

• Basement food and restaurant floor

  Food and restaurant shops on basement level 1, with parking on basement level 2.

• Fashion and general goods floors

  Women's clothing and accessories on the first floor, women's and men's clothing and beauty on the second, young fashion and general goods on the third, and bookstore and hobbies on the fourth.

1. 1コミュニティプラザ・コルソ（浦和コルソ） | JR浦和駅すぐのショッピングセンターurawa-corso.com
2. 2Urawa Corso - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3浦和コルソ - Wikipedia (Japanese)ja.wikipedia.org