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apanese and Korean-themed shopping centers in Greater Jakarta are very popular among fans of the two countries'€™ culture and entertainment, thrilling visitors with various authentic attractions from the countries.

AEON Mall in BSD City, Tangerang, opened in July. The mall lures visitors with a wide range of Japanese food options as well as a department store filled with products from Japanese popular culture, such as Pokemon and Hello Kitty merchandise. AEON itself is a major Japanese shopping mall developer and operates more than 15,000 stores worldwide. Aside from Indonesia, AEON also has malls in Malaysia and the Philippines.

One visitor, 19-year-old Indah Larasati, an avid fan of Japanese pop culture, said that she visited the mall to eat at the famous Ramen Village. Ramen Village, located on the mall'€™s third floor, showcases seven different ramen houses, all of which have different specialties for guests to choose from.

'€œI'€™m a fan of anything Japanese, so when I heard AEON Mall was opening in Tangerang, I knew I had to visit. This is my third time coming here, and each time I visit Ramen Village to try out different dishes,'€ Indah said.

Indah said that she also visited the AEON Department Store to purchase various goods. She said that she recently purchased a pillow in the shape of Pikachu, a character from the popular anime, Pokemon.

She said that she did not mind traveling all the way across the city from her home in Bekasi, West Java to visit the mall.

'€œI usually take the train or the BSD City feeder bus. AEON Mall is like a miniature Japan. I'€™ve never been to Japan before so I enjoy coming here,'€ she said.

Another visitor, Marisa Wijaya, said that the Sakura Garden at the mall caught her interest. The Sakura Garden is an outdoor attraction at the AEON Mall made of colorful lights that are on from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

'€œI saw the pictures of the Sakura Garden and it looked really good, so I wanted to come here myself and take a picture,'€ Marisa said, adding that she also wanted to try the food sold at the AEON Supermarket, such as sushi, takoyaki and okonomiyaki.

Meanwhile, Korea fans can fulfill their cultural fantasies at the Lotte Shopping Avenue in South Jakarta. Opened in 2013, the mall offers various food, fashion and beauty products all the way from Korea. Most recently, the mall hosted the Korea festival, which featured several well-known Korean celebrities.

Visitor Anggia Astarini, said that she came not only to purchase Korean beauty products but also take pictures with life-sized cardboard cutouts of Korean music groups, such as Girls'€™ Generation, Super Junior and 2PM.

She said that she also came to try the various Korean dishes, which she previously '€œonly saw on Korean dramas'€.

'€œI watch a lot of Korean dramas and I see the characters eat dishes like spicy rice cake and mixed rice, so I wanted to try,'€ Anggia said.