6 Best Shopping Places and 4 Recommended Brands in Japan

If you shop in Japan, you surely want to enjoy as much as possible at the best shopping places. You probably do not want to waste your time on shopping places that are not so good. So on this page, I will introduce you the best shopping places in Japan. Please know the best shopping places for each category such as department store, exclusive shopping district, outlet mall, Akihabara electric street etc Then, if you intend to buy the clothes you wear in Japan, you would like to shop efficiently at the reasonable and best brand store. So I will introduce the recommended brands to you. In addition, I also enumerate the wonderful shopping areas in the region, so please refer.

Tokyo Best Shopping Area

Isetan : The most popular department store in Japan

If you want to enjoy shopping in department stores in Tokyo, I recommend you go to Isetan in Shinjuku. Isetan in Shinjuku is known as a shop where you can buy the most sophisticated products among department stores in Japan.

There are also Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi and Mitsukoshi Ginza stores in Ginza as department stores with luxury goods. However, if you want to buy upscale and fashionable items, it is most efficient to go to the Isetan Shinjuku store.

In the Isetan Shinjuku store, you can buy ladies ‘clothes and ladies’ accessories at the Isetan’s main building. In the basement of the main building, there is a sales floor such as fine sweets and wine. In addition to the main building, there is a “men’s building” where you can buy men’s clothes and men’s supplies. This men’s building is very popular. In the men’s clothing department, the sales of this men’s building reach 40% of the total sales of department stores in Tokyo. Besides, there are several annexes where you can buy interior goods etc.

Isetan’s official site is here.

Ginza: The most exclusive shopping district in Tokyo

If you want to enjoy walking in the shopping district, I recommend Ginza. There are three major shopping districts in Tokyo. Among them, Ginza is the most fashionable district. It is also popular for foreign tourists.

First of all, I will explain about three representative shopping districts in Tokyo.

3 recommended shopping districts in Tokyo : Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza

There are many shopping districts in Tokyo. Among them, the areas I would like to recommend are the following three.

 Shinjuku

This town is the most popular shopping street in Tokyo. The above Isetan is also in Shinjuku. There are so many shops from department store to electric shop, so anyone can enjoy shopping. There is also an entertainment and red-light district called “Kabukicho” at 5 minutes on foot.

Shibuya

There are many shops in this town, mainly for young people, compared to Shinjuku. Young people who are sensitive to the epidemic gather in this town. Of course, there are large department stores such as Tokyu Department Store and Seibu Department Store, so anyone can enjoy shopping.

Ginza

There are many high-end brand shops for adults in this town compared to Shinjuku and Shibuya. If you want to go to the high-end shopping district in Tokyo, I recommend this town. On the other hand, recently, the number of giant stores of reasonable clothing brands such as UNIQLO and GU is on the rise, so when you want to buy clothes you wear in Japan at reasonable prices, you may go to Ginza.

Recommended Shopping Places in Ginza

I will introduce the recommended shopping places in Ginza below. When you click the headline, the official site of each shop is displayed on a separate page.

Ginza Mitsukoshi

There are three department stores in Ginza. Ginza Mitsukoshi is one of them. It is located at the intersection of Ginza 4-chome which is the center of Ginza.

Mitsukoshi is a leading luxury department store in Japan, flagship store is located in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Ginza Mitsukoshi is smaller than the flagship store, but inside the shop there are considerable major luxury brands. The cosmetics corner on the first floor is the largest in Ginza. Lots of expensive sweets are sold in the basement.

Wako

As with Ginza Mitsukoshi, Wako is located at Ginza 4-chome intersection. The beautiful building with clock tower is a symbol of Ginza.

In Wako, premium watches and jewelry etc are on sale. The show window facing the intersection is very beautiful and there are many tourists taking pictures.

Matsuya Ginza

Matsuya is a department store that lasts long together with Ginza Mitsukoshi. In this store, they focus on women’s clothing and accessories. Compared to Ginza Mitsukoshi, there are many fashionable items for young female customers. As well as the Ginza Mitsukoshi, the main luxury brands’ sales floor is substantial.

Matsuya is a department store that lasts long together with Ginza Mitsukoshi. In this store, they focus on women’s clothing and accessories. Compared to Ginza Mitsukoshi, there are many fashionable items for young female customers. As well as the Ginza Mitsukoshi, the main luxury brands’ sales floor is substantial.

From the intersection of Ginza 4-chome, walk a little north on “Chuo-dori” street, you will arrive at Matsuya. On the opposite side across the street, luxury brands such as Chanel are lined up.

Hankyu Men’s Tokyo

Hankyu Men’s Tokyo is a department store specializing in men’s clothing and men’s supplies. Hankyu is a luxury department store in Osaka. Even in this Ginza shop, they have very good brand name clothing. As a department store for men, Isetan in Shinjuku is gaining popularity in Tokyo. However, this Hankyu Men’s Tokyo is getting better and better as well.

Ginza SIX

Ginza Six is a huge luxury shopping complex opened in April 2017 and is crowded with many people. This facility faces “Chuo-dori” street. Among the 13 stories above the ground (56 meters high), the basement 2 to 6 floors are shopping complexes. There are about 240 brand shops here. There are high-class restaurants on the 13th floor.

Itoya

Itoya is a specialty store of stationery. The flagship store is 12 stories high, the annex in the immediate vicinity is 6 stories high. Most of the floors are stationery departments. They have a wide variety of products including fancy fountain pens, ballpoint pens, pencils, Japanese paper, notebooks, greeting cards, paints and so on. Many cool items are gaining popularity among foreign tourists.

UNIQLO Ginza

UNIQLO is Japan’s leading apparel brand. At UNIQLO stores, clothing that can be worn for a long time is sold at a low price. Even the same item has various colors. High-tech apparel called “Heat Tech” is one of UNIQLO’s popular products. It generates heat by the sweat of a person. When you wear Heat Tech underwear, it is relatively warm even in winter.

UNIQLO Ginza is a flagship store of this apparel brand and it is on “Chuo-dori” street. All the floors of the 12 story building are UNIQLO ‘s sales floor. I think that you can find reasonable coats, jumpers, sweaters, shirts, underwear, etc if you go to this store.

GU Ginza

GU is UNIQLO’s sister brand. UNIQLO clothing is cheap enough, but GU is even cheaper. UNIQLO’s clothing covers all ages, but GU’s clothing is targeted at young people. Especially targeting women is a big feature. UNIQLO’s clothing is designed to be worn for a long time, but GU’s clothing reflects the trend. If young women want to buy fashionable clothes cheaply and want to buy new leading clothes one by one, I recommend GU.

GU Ginza is on the same “Chuo-dori” street as the above-mentioned UNIQLO Ginza. This shop is also very big. Try to exploit these two stores according to your needs.

There are countless shops in Ginza in addition to these shops. I will introduce those shops again on a separate page.

For UNIQLO and GU, I am introducing it in the second half of this page. I am informed about the movie, so please refer to that if you do not mind.

Let’s see the luxury brand stores in Ginza!

There are many luxury brand shops in Ginza in addition to department stores and shopping malls as mentioned above. Actually, when shopping in Ginza, there are many people who are most fun to watch these brand shops rather than department stores. Most of the world famous luxury brands are in Ginza. Click on the map above to see a big map on a separate page. Since the brand shops are displayed, please check the position in Ginza.

When you go to Ginza, I recommend not shopping only in one building, but walk around in the district and enter various shops.

In Ginza, the height of all buildings is limited to 56 meters or less. Therefore, pedestrians walking in the Ginza District do not feel like a feeling of pressure when walking in high-rise building streets. Pedestrians feel the sky nearby.

The whole town is designed so that it is fun to walk around. All of Ginza streets are unique, so please walk around and find your favorite shops.

>>The official website of Ginza District is here

Gotemba Premium Outlets : Japan’s most popular outlet mall

There are many outlet shop malls in Japan.

Outlet products are items that brand shops are not able to sell at ordinary shops for some reason such as scratches. It’s much cheaper than regular items. Since most outlet products can be worn without any problem, it is getting very popular in Japan.

Regarding outlet malls nationwide, I will introduce them in detail in another article. On this page, I would like to summarize the mall I’d most recommend to you.

That is “Gotemba Premium Outlets” in the picture above. Gotemba Premium Outlets is Japan’s largest outlet mall and has about 210 branded shops. The total sales area is approximately 45000 square meters. Furthermore, in the spring of 2020, they plan to increase about 100 stores.

If you go to this outlet mall, you can buy the goods of most brands cheaply. If you go during the sale period, you can buy 50-75% cheaper than usual.

In addition, Gotemba Premium Outlets is located in the immediate vicinity of Mt. Fuji. You can look at the majestic Mt. Fuji while shopping.

From Tokyo to Gotemba Premium Outlets, direct buses are operated daily. If you go to Gotemba Station by Odakyu Electric Railway Express Train, you can use the free shuttle bus from the station to Gotemba Premium Outlets.

>> The official website of Gotemba Premium Outlets is here

DAISO Kinshicho Store : Japan’s largest 100 yen shop

Do you know about Japan’s “100 yen shop”?

“100 yen shop”, as its name suggests, is a shop where lots of 100 yen items are lined up. This type of shops are very popular recently among tourists from abroad.

There are two reasons for popularity. First, the goods are very unique and cool. There are Japanese traditional craft items such as folding fan and ceramics. Cute stationery and tasty sweets are also popular.

Secondly, you can buy all these items for 100 yen (however, consumption tax will be added). Because the goods are so cheap, you can buy many kinds of goods. You can have a very enjoyable shopping time.

100 yen shops are located all around Japan. Among them, I recommend the DAISO Kinshicho Store in front of the Kinshicho station in Tokyo in particular. This shop is Japan’s largest 100 yen shop. The sales floor area is over 3000 square meters. This shop has all kinds of consumer goods. In addition, for foreign tourists, there are many Japanese traditional crafts that are perfect for souvenirs. I think it would be fun even if you look at them. The above video is summarized well about DAISO Kinshicho Store, so please refer to it if you do not mind.

I love 100 yen shop, and I have written special articles on 100 yen shops many times in the newspaper. I will edit the feature articles of 100 yen shop again on this site as well.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no official website to introduce in English about Daiso Kinshicho store. In the following site (PDF), Daiso Kinshicho store and other major 100 yen shops are listed and introduced, so please refer to it if you do not mind. A map of Daiso Kinshicho Store is here.

>> Please see this site (PDF) about Daiso etc

Kappabashi : Japan’s largest Kitchenware Town

If you are going to see Asakusa in Tokyo, I would recommend going to a unique shopping street where you can walk from Asakusa. The name of the shopping street is “Kappabashi”. Approximately 170 specialty shops selling Japanese dishes, knives, pots, cooking utensils, etc. are lining up on this street.

In this street, professional cooks in Japan come to buy. So, the kitchen knives and dishes which are lining up in the shops are really many top notch. Furthermore, the models of the dishes to be placed at the entrance of the restaurant are very elaborate, I think that you are not getting tired of seeing it.

Recently, a lot of foreign tourists come to Kappabashi.

>> The official website of Kappabashi is here

Yodobashi-Akiba : Akihabara’s largest Electronics store

In Akihabara, Tokyo there are lots of big appliances specialty shops. Yodobashi – AKIBA is the largest store among them. In this store, clerks will respond in English and Chinese for tourists who came from abroad. If you go to this store, you can have most household appliances.

The official store name is “Yodobashi Camera Multimedia AKIBA”. Huge building with nine stories above ground and up to the sixth floor in the basement (store area approximately 63,558 square meters).

In addition to home electronics departments, this building also has travel goods stores, book stores, stationery shops, record shops, batting centers and so on. There are also many restaurants. There are delicious conveyor belt sushi shop and ramen shop. I like ramen shops here.

If you are walking around the electric town of Akihabara and shopping, it is convenient to refer to the following map. If you click the map, you will see a big map on a separate page.

If you are thinking of buying cheap souvenirs in Tokyo, you can also visit the stores linked below.

4 Recommended Best Brands in Japan

From here, I would like to introduce Japanese apparel brands. What I would like to introduce is not the luxury brands but the casual wear brands. If you want to buy clothes in winter, spring, summer, autumn in Japan, I think that you may drop in at the shops of the following brands. Because the clothes of the following brands are quite cheap. I think that you can use clothes of these brands casually. There are many stores of these brands. By all means, please use it well.

UNIQLO

First of all, the apparel brand I would like to recommend to you is UNIQLO. There are three reasons why I recommend this brand.

First, UNIQLO’s clothes can be worn regardless of age or sex. Even with the same clothes, customers can choose from a variety of colors, so everyone has high satisfaction. These clothes are well tailored. There are also many clothes that used high-performance fabric called “Heat Tech”. Since these fabrics generate heat due to sweat, you should feel warm when you wear these clothes in winter.

Secondly, UNIQLO’s clothes are quite cheap. At UNIQLO stores, they frequently make discount sales. If you successfully buy them during the sale period, you will get good clothes cheaply.

Third, UNIQLO stores are located throughout Japan. You can easily find a UNIQLO store during your trip. The store I would like to recommend is the flagship store in Ginza, as mentioned above. If you are busy, you can drop in at a UNIQLO store in the airport.

The official website of UNIQLO is below. Unfortunately there is no English page. At the bottom of the page, you can choose your home country. For example, if you choose Singapore, you will see a page about UNIQLO stores in Singapore. If you see it, you will know the characteristics of the products to a certain extent.

>> The official website of UNIQLO is here

GU

GU is UNIQLO’s sister brand. It is even cheaper than the UNIQLO clothes. However, GU’s clothes are basically targeted at people in their 10s to 30s. Clothes for women are fulfilling, but there are few kinds of clothes for men. If you are in your 30s to 30s, and if you are a woman, I encourage you to stop by GU stores. The official site is below. Unfortunately, there is no English page. Since you can choose your home country at the bottom of the page, please choose your home country.

>> The official website of GU is here

MUJI

Like UNIQLO, MUJI is an apparel brand offering cheap and good clothes. In MUJI, we also sell furniture and stationery.

For UNIQLO clothes, even the same type of clothes, many colors are available. That is the characteristic of UNIQLO. On the other hand, in MUJI, so many colors are not prepared. Instead, MUJI’s clothes have simple beauty. It is said that Zen’s thought is in the background of its simplicity. I also like MUJI’s natural clothes.

>> The official website of MUJI is here

WORKMAN

Workman was once a specialty store for work clothes. Recently, the focus has shifted to a lineup of functional and fashionable outdoor wear. Extremely high-performance, easy-to-move clothing with a level of performance that can withstand even the harshest environments is popular because it is inexpensive.

Unfortunately, there is no official English site.

>> The official website of WORKMAN is here

Best Products in the Region of Japan

Blue Jeans: Kojima (Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture)

If you like jeans, I recommend you stop by “Kojima jeans street” on the outskirts of Kurashiki, western Japan.

In the Kojima area of ​​Kurashiki city, extremely high quality jeans are being produced. There are many excellent craftsmen in this area. In search of those jeans, jeans lovers from all over the world gather. There are an increasing number of jeans shops so that they can buy jeans in this area. Kojima jeans street is where many stores are gathered.

Jeans made in Kojima are generally expensive, but at Kojima jeans street, you can buy it relatively cheaply. In Kojima, there are many blue types as well as jeans from taxi to vending machines, surely you should have fun just walking.

>> The official website of Kojima jeans street is here

Pearl: Toba (Mie prefecture)

Toba is about 90 minutes south from the Nagoya station by the Kintetsu Express train. You will admire the beautiful sea and the islands there. In this place, pearls have been cultured over 100 years ago.

Kokichi MIkimoto, the founder of the current Mikimoto Corporation, started cultivating pearls in this area. Since then, Toba is the world center for pearl farming. If you go to Toba, you will be able to see lots of beautiful pearls. Of course you can also buy. Knowing that pearls are nurtured in such a beautiful natural environment, you will be able to make an interesting journey.

>> The official website of Mikimoto is here

There is also an article I wrote about the attractions of Japanese department stores and tips for buying souvenirs. Please refer to it if you are interested.

Now, let’s plan to make your vacation in Japan the best experience ever!

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