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Tokyo is Japan's showcase. The crazy clothing styles, obscure electronics, and new games found here are capable of setting trends for the rest of the country—and perhaps the rest of Asia, and even Europe and America.
Part of the Tokyo shopping experience is simply to observe, and on Saturday especially, in districts like the Ginza and Shinjuku, you will notice that the Japanese approach to shopping can be nothing short of feverish. You’ll probably want to resist the urge to join in the fray, especially since many of the wildly trendy clothes and accessories for sale will already be "uncool" by the time you get home. But shopping in Tokyo can also be an exercise in elegance and refinement, especially if you shop for items that are Japanese-made for Japanese people and sold in stores that don't cater to tourists. With brilliantly applied color, balance of form, and superb workmanship, crafts items can be exquisite and well worth the price you'll pay—and some can be quite expensive.
Note the care taken with items after you purchase them, especially in department stores and boutiques. Goods will be wrapped, wrapped again, bagged, and sealed. Sure, the packaging can be excessive—does anybody really need three plastic bags for one croissant?—but such a focus on presentation has deep roots in Japanese culture.
This focus on presentation also influences salespeople who are invariably helpful and polite. In the larger stores they greet you with a bow when you arrive, and many of them speak at least enough English to help you find what you're looking for. There's a saying in Japan: o-kyaku-sama wa kami-sama, "the customer is a god"—and since the competition for your business is fierce, people do take it to heart.
Horror stories abound about prices in Japan—and some of them are true. Yes, European labels can cost a fortune here, but did you really travel all the way to Tokyo to buy an outfit that would be cheaper in the designer mall at home? True, a gift-wrapped melon from a department-store gourmet counter can cost $150. But you can enjoy gawking even if you don’t want to spend like that. And if you shop around, you can find plenty of gifts and souvenirs at fair prices.
Japan has finally embraced the use of credit cards, although some smaller mom-and-pop shops may still take cash only. So when you go souvenir hunting, be prepared with a decent amount of cash; Tokyo's low crime rates make this a low-risk proposition. The dishonor associated with theft is so strong, in fact, that it's considered bad form to conspicuously count change in front of cashiers.
Japan has an across-the-board 8% value-added tax (V.A.T.) imposed on luxury goods. This tax can be avoided at some duty-free shops in the city (don't forget to bring your passport). It's also waived in the duty-free shops at the international airports, but because these places tend to have higher profit margins, your tax savings there are likely to be offset by the higher markups.
Stores in Tokyo generally open at 10 or 11 am and close at 8 or 9 pm.
The area's latest ultra-sleek urban complex opened in late 2023. Like Tokyo Midtown and Roppongi Hills, it mixes office spaces with cafés, restaurants, a luxury hotel, art galleries, and plenty of high-end shops—all spread across two skyscrapers and a cluster of smaller buildings and plazas. Shop-wise, it's known for it's brand-name boutiques, such as Bulgari, Cartier, Celine, and Dior. The most notable art venue is the digital teamLab gallery, although there's also a small manga museum and the contemporary art-focused Azabudai Hills Gallery.
Shopping at Beams ensures that you or your kids will be properly stocked with the city's coolest wares. Indeed, there's such a variety of merchandise—ranging from street wear to high-end imports—that it won't fit into just one store. In Harajuku, you'll find a cluster of shops, including Beams T for T-shirts, Beams Plus for casual wear, a record store, a funky "from Tokyo" souvenir shop that sells anime figurines, and more.
Sinuous low walls snake through Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo's flagship store, a minimalist labyrinth that is one of Tokyo's funkiest retail spaces. Here you can shop for the designer's signature clothes, as well as shoes and accessories.
This is a calming respite, complete with a leafy garden, a trendy terrace eatery, a gallery, and, of course, the main business—a shop selling books, music, and videos with a focus on art and design. One of the lounges has 30,000 books and a large selection of foreign magazines you can read there with a drink. There's also a pet boutique, so some locals bring their designer-dud-clad dogs with them to enjoy the on-site amenities.
Overlooking the harbor, this six-story complex of shops, restaurants, and boardwalks is really two connected malls: Island Mall and Seaside Mall. For kids (or nostalgic adults), check out the LEGO Discovery Center, Joypolis mega-arcade, Trick Art Museum, and Madame Tussauds Tokyo. At the Seaside Mall, a table by the window in any of the restaurants looks out over the harbor, a view that's particularly delightful at sunset, when the yakatabune (traditional-roofed pleasure boats) drift down the Sumida-gawa from Yanagibashi and Ryogoku.
Music lovers rejoice: the Shinjuku flagship of this chain has floors devoted to different genres of music, selling vinyl and more from around the world. Other branches even specialize in just one type of music, so if you have a preference—be it Latin, rock, indie, jazz, or something else—grab a store flyer that lists all the outlets.
This multistory fashion playhouse is a shrine to exclusives, one-offs, and other hard-to-find pieces from luxury brands all over the world. Curated by Comme des Garçons, the selection may leave all but the most dedicated fashion fans scratching their heads, but the unique interior sculptures alone warrant a visit.
This two-story boutique sells an incredible range of chopsticks, from those with traditional to pop motifs to wooden or crystal-encrusted sticks that can be personalized. The kid-focused second floor is a must-see no matter your age.
Founded elsewhere in 1806, but now located in this sleek, modern grey cube just off Chuo-dori in Nihonbashi, Haibara specializes in gorgeous notebooks, letter sets, fans, and traditional washi paper. Among the examples of the latter, look for gampi, an artisanal paper known for its delicate appearance yet high durability.
The otherworldly creations of internationally renowned brand Issey Miyake are on display at his Tokyo flagship store, which carries the full Paris line. Just a stone's throw away are other Miyake stores, among them Issey Miyake Men, Pleats Please, and Reality Lab. The latter showcases Miyake's most experimental creations including incredible origami-like clothing and BaoBao totes.
Specializing in handcrafted knives and kitchen utensils, this elegant store first opened in 1908 in Asakusa's Kappabashi (Kitchen Town). It now occupies two neighboring buildings, one selling more than 80 varieties of knives made by leading makers around Japan, the other focusing on high-grade items like Nambu cast ironware. Allow extra time to have your knives engraved with Japanese symbols or your name at no extra cost.
Considered by many to be Tokyo's best toy store, this Omotesando landmark carries the cutest and kitschiest of items, including some character-themed wares that are being test-marketed. The store can become quite crowded and the atmosphere chaotic, but that's part of the experience of shopping for toys that are unique, new, or both.
This tiny store in charming Kagurasaka sells scarves, wraps, and linens made of all kinds of fabrics—sometimes even vintage textiles—from different regions of Japan.
Established in 1908, this family-run shop near the base of the staircase on the traditional Yanaka Ginza shopping street, offers the wares of three generations of bamboo artists. Look for insect cages (with bamboo bugs), flower baskets, chopsticks, cups, lotus-root coasters, and lunchboxes.
Since 1893, Kokichi Mikimoto has been associated with the best quality cultured pearls in the industry, and this flagship store is devoted to them. The building, like the pearls it holds, dazzles shoppers with a facade decorated with 40,000 small glass plates. A few streets away, the exterior design of the sister branch, Mikimoto Ginza 2, is even more striking: it resembles a block of Swiss cheese.
Founded in 1673 as a dry-goods store, Mitsukoshi later played one of the leading roles in introducing Western merchandise to Japan. It has retained its image of quality and excellence, with a particularly strong representation of Western fashion designers. The store also stocks fine traditional Japanese goods and, in the basement, has excellent deli counters and prepared foods—if the weather is good, take your bento to the rooftop garden. With its own subway stop, bronze lions at the entrance, and an atrium sculpture of the Japanese goddess Magokoro, this flagship store merits a visit even if you're not planning on buying anything.
The global flagship store of this minimalist, design-focused interiors and clothing brand is home to a large selection of furniture, appliances, bedding, and clothes for the whole family. The store also houses a café–bakery, a diner, and a sleek hotel.
You might not expect to find classic crafts in the vicinity of trendy Harajuku, but this charming boutique specializes in traditional furoshiki cloths—beautifully decorated squares used to wrap anything and everything. You'll find up to 500 options here made from a variety of fabrics and featuring traditional, seasonal, and modern designs. The store also offers workshops on the various ways to use the cloths.
This shop, which was opened in 1653, has one of the largest washi showrooms in the city and its own gallery of antique papers and calligraphy. It also offers a variety of cultural classes each day (see the website for times), including a washi paper workshop for ¥800.
This fashion landmark, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, is one of the city's most buzzed-about architectural wonders in the city. Its facade is a mosaic of green glass "bubble" windows with alternating convex and concave panels that create distorted reflections of the surrounding area. Many world-renowned, nearby boutiques have tried to replicate the significant impact the Prada building has had on the area, but none have been unable to match this tower. Don't miss the cavelike entrance that leads into the basement shoe floor.
Almost ubiquitous at Tokyo's major stations and easily recognized by its giant O|O| logo, Marui burst onto the retail scene in the 1980s, when it was one of the first department stores in Japan to offer an in-store credit card. With four buildings—Marui Honkan, Marui Annex, Marui One, and Marui Mens—this branch is by far the area's largest department store, and the variety on offer makes each building worth a visit. Of course, as with all Tokyo shopping adventures, there are also dining options.
This chain carries a wide and varied assortment of goods, including hobby and crafts materials, art supplies, and knitting and sewing materials, as well as jewelry, household goods, stationery, even cosmetics. There is also the related Hands Do within the store that hosts events on how to make things. It's not unusual for local hobbyists to spend an entire afternoon browsing in here.
With a spacious, airy layout and lovely lacquerware goods, this fashionable shop is a must for anyone who appreciates fine design. Rice bowls, sushi trays, bento lunch boxes, hashioki (chopstick rests), and jewelry cases come in traditional blacks and reds, as well as patterns both subtle and bold. Prices are fair—many items cost less than ¥10,000—but these are the kinds of goods for which devotees of Japanese craftsmanship would be willing to pay a lot.
Located in a renovated area under the train tracks just north of Akihabara Station, this hip collection of 50 some artisanal shops is a great place to hunt for high-end gifts made by local artists and designers. Most shops have a single specialty: paper, ceramics, leather bags, even umbrellas combining traditional techniques with modern design. On weekends some of the shops offer workshops, demonstrations, and other events.
Kawaii (cute) Harajuku fashion lives on at this pastel, dollhouse-like shop on the second floor of a nondescript building. Browsing the colorful items and glittery accessories—part of a style called "kawaii anarchy"—might be one of Tokyo's most unique shopping experiences. Even the shop clerks dress the part.
The most interesting of a pair of two shops that are about a minute away from one another is a great place to browse for, say, one of those aprons worn at an izakaya, an old tool box, or maybe an antique sake container. All kinds of knickknacks fill the tiny space and spill out onto the street. If you want to hunt for still more treasure, make a right as you walk out of the store and then another right at the corner; up on your left, you'll see the original Antique Life Jin.
Aqua City, with stores selling wide selection of Japanese and international brand-name items, is almost indistinguishable from its next-door neighbor, Decks Tokyo Beach. What does set it apart from a regular shopping mall, though, is its variety of food options—a food court in the basement, a barbecue spot on the roof, and a ramen theme park—and the fact that it has its own shrine. There's also a cinema.
Opened in June 2020, Ariake Garden is a large-scale shopping mall with more than 100 stores, a hotel, a spa with hot-spring access, a theater, a rooftop terrace, and—of course—a garden.
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