27 Best Shopping in Tokyo, Japan

Harajuku features a cluster of no fewer than 10 Beams stores that provide Japan's younger folk with extremely hip threads. With branches ranging from street wear to high-end import brands, as well as a record store, uniform gallery, funky "from Tokyo" souvenir shop that sells anime figurines, and one that sells manga alongside designer T-shirts inspired by comic books, shopping here ensures that you or your kids will be properly stocked with the coolest wares from the city.

Sinuous low walls snake through Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo's flagship store, a minimalist labyrinth that houses the designer's signature clothes, shoes, and accessories. Staff members do their best to ignore you, but that's no reason to stay away from one of Tokyo's funkiest retail spaces.

This oasis within the metropolis is a calming respite with a leafy garden, trendy terrace eatery, gallery, and, of course, the main business, a shop selling books, music, and videos with a focus on art and design. Almost all 30,000 books here can be taken to the lounge to read, as can a large selection of foreign magazines. Many locals come here to be seen, bringing along their lapdogs dressed in designer duds from the store's pet boutique.

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 to a delightful view of the harbor, especially at sunset, when the yakatabune (traditional-roofed pleasure boats) drift down the Sumida-gawa from Yanagibashi and Ryogoku. You can also try shopping at the equally large Aqua City mall next door.

Vinyl junkies rejoice. The Shinjuku flagship of this chain sells Latin, rock, and indie at 33 RPM. Be sure to grab a store flyer that lists all the branches, since each specializes in one music genre. Oh, and for digital folks, CDs are available, too.

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 and rooftop shrine with Japanese garden alone warrant a visit.

This two-story boutique sells an incredible range of chopsticks, from traditional to pop motifs, and wooden to crystal-encrusted sticks that can be personalized. Children's chopsticks and dishes are housed in their own boutique behind it, but it's a must-see no matter your age.

The otherworldly creations of internationally renowned brand Issey Miyake are on display at his flagship store in Aoyama, which carries the full Paris line. Keep walking on the same street away from Omotesando Station and also find a string of other Miyake stores just a stone's throw away, including Issey Miyake Men and Pleats Please. At the end of the street is the Reality Lab with a barrage of Miyake's most experimental lines like BaoBao, In-Ei, and incredible origami-like clothing.

Aspiring samurai can learn how to tell their toshin (blades) from their tsuka (sword handles) with help from the staff at this small shop, which has been open since the Meiji era (1868–1912). Items that range from a circa-1390 samurai sword to inexpensive or decorative reproductions allow you to take a trip back in time.

This elegant store specializing in handcrafted knives and kitchen utensils was first opened in 1908 in Asakusa's Kappabashi ("kitchen town"). It's now split into 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.

The Omotesando landmark commonly regarded as Tokyo's best toy store carries the cutest and most kitschy of everyday goods. This is the leader in making or breaking the popularity of the myriad character goods that Japan spits out seasonally. Like caterpillars with businesspeople faces, some of the items may be odd or surprising, but they're never boring.

This tiny textiles store in charming Kagurasaka sells items made of vintage textiles from different regions in Japan and transforms them into contemporary fashions and gifts. Look for tote bags made from kendo and judo uniforms, fabrics off the roll, handkerchief squares, and silk scarves crafted from high-quality kimono fabric.

Easily recognized by its red-and-white "O1" logo, Marui burst onto the department store scene in the 1980s by introducing an in-store credit card—one of the first stores in Japan to do so. The four Marui buildings—Marui Honkan, Marui Annex, Marui One, and Marui Mens—make up the largest department store in the area by a large margin. Women flock to the stores in search of petite clothing, and you can find the largest concentration of Gothic and Lolita clothing in the city at the Annex.

“Omote” means “face” or “mask,” and this chic little boutique on the old-fashioned Kirakira Tachibana shopping street near Tokyo Skytree stocks every variety imaginable. The selection includes Japanese-style clown masks, Venetian masks, contemporary Japanese masks, and masks from many periods and regions in Japan, and across many budgets. A perfect resource for unique gifts.

On the fourth floor, this gleaming department store houses an excellent selection of Japanese fashion, including Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. The European-designer boutiques on the second floor are particularly popular with Tokyo's brand-obsessed shoppers. The rooftop terrace is a welcome respite for the weary.

Established in 1908, this family-run bamboo crafts shop on a traditional 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. The shop is located near the base of the staircase on Yanaka Ginza's shopping street.

Kokichi Mikimoto created his technique for cultured pearls in 1893. Since then his name has been associated with the best quality in the industry. Mikimoto's tower in Ginza is a boutique devoted to nature's ready-made gems; the building, like the pearls it holds, dazzles visitors with a facade that resembles 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—don't miss the art gallery and the crafts area on the sixth floor. 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 new 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, diner, children's play area, and hotel.

You might not expect to find classic crafts in the vicinity of trendy Harajuku, but this charming boutique specializes in traditional furoshiki cloths, which are beautifully decorated squares of cloth used to wrap anything and everything (but they also just make great gifts in themselves). You'll find up to 500 different cloth options here made from a variety of fabrics and featuring traditional, seasonal, and modern designs. They even offer workshops on how to use the cloths in different ways.

This shop, which was opened in the 17th century, has one of the largest washi showrooms in the city and its own gallery of antique papers. Best to check ahead of time, but they sometimes have classes for just ¥500 on how to make your own washi paper.

This fashion "epicenter," designed by Herzog & de Meuron, is one of the most buzzed-about architectural wonders in the city. Its facade is made up of a mosaic of green glass "bubble" windows: alternating convex and concave panels 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 Omotesando, but none have been unable to match this tower. Most visitors opt for a photo in front of the cavelike entrance that leads into the basement floor.

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's a café and exhibit space on the seventh floor with an ever-changing selection of small goods from local artisans for sale. It's not unusual to see Japanese hobbyists spending an entire afternoon browsing in here.

With a spacious, airy layout and lovely lacquerware goods, this fashionable shop is a must for souvenir hunters—and anyone else 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.