Shopping in Japan
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Isetan
In addition to its stunning food hall in the basement, Isetan boasts an entire separate building for men’s fashions in addition to several floors of homewares and ladies’ designer goods. Check out the store’s I-club, a free service that provides English-speaking staff for visiting shoppers. The membership desk for this service is located on the 6th floor near the entrance to the Isetan Men’s building.
reviewed
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Kiddyland
Just as the name suggests – Kiddyland is kawaii (cute) overdose in the heart of Harajuku. Not just for tots, you'll find droves of teenagers playing around on weekends. The flagship store along Omote-sandō-dōri is under construction until the end of 2012 – the address above is for the smaller location on Cat St.
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Junkudō
In the BAL Building, this shop has a great selection of English-language books on the 5th and 8th floors. This is Kyoto's best bookshop now that the old Maruzen and Random Walk bookshops have closed (you may remember these shops if you visited in the past). There is an excellent cafe on the top floor, which has a great view over Kyoto to the Higashiyama mountains. You can get light meals here as well as drinks.
reviewed
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Ameya-yokochō
This market has a flavour unlike any other in Tokyo, resembling noisy, pungent bazaars elsewhere in Asia. It was famous as a black-market district after WWII, and is still a lively outdoor shopping arcade where bargains abound. There are sneakers, dried squid and shirts emblazoned with Japanese motifs. Look for its big archway sign opposite Ueno Station's south side.
reviewed
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Daikanyama Address
Just northwest of Daikanyama Station, this small retail complex is notable for its clever suspension bridges and four dozen or so designer boutiques selling clothing, eyewear and other sartorially stylish accessories. The open-air plaza is a treat on quiet afternoons, and weekends tend to be relatively free of mad throngs of shoppers.
reviewed
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Ranking Ranqueen
Come here to find what young Japanese are nuts about – the hottest, quirkiest consumer products, ranked every month according to sales. The No 1 selling teeth whitener? They’ve got it. The best-selling bath salts, bottled tea, cellulite killers and tools to make your face look smaller are all here, too. Enjoy the madness.
reviewed
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Shin-Puh-Kan
This new Downtown shopping complex has a variety of boutiques and restaurants clustered around a huge open-air atrium. The offerings here run to the trendy and ephemeral, which seems to appeal to all the young folk who congregate here. Occasional art and music performances are held in the atrium.
reviewed
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A Bathing Ape
This A Bathing Ape Exclusive (Bape) outlet of the uberhip urban and hip-hop outfitter line is more like a museum than a shop, with fab sneakers on a rotating steel conveyor belt, mirrored surfaces and lots of sparkle. You can pick up Bape plastic models and some of the coolest bags in town.
reviewed
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Aritsugu
Located in Nishiki Market, this is one of the finest knife shops in Japan. There's usually someone on hand who can help you in English. If you purchase a knife, staff put a final edge on it with a giant stone sharpening wheel before packaging it.
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Kanesō
This place has been selling knives since the early Meiji period. In a country where knives are a serious business, this shop is known as a favourite of the pros.
reviewed
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Fujii Daimaru Department Store
Major department store.
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Tokyo Midtown
Like Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown is a composite urban district of ultramodern buildings surrounding a historic Japanese garden. Following the same design and urban planning lines that made Roppongi Hills so successful, the Tokyo Midtown complex brims with sophisticated bars, restaurants, shops, art galleries, a hotel and leafy public spaces. Escalators ascend alongside man-made waterfalls of rock and glass, bridges in the air are lined with back-lit washi (Japanese handmade paper), and planters full of soaring bamboo draw your eyes through skylights to the lofty heights of the towers above. Separate from the myriad opportunities for parting with serious cash is …
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Mori no Kotoba
Woodworking also extends to furniture shops.
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Mandarake Complex
When otaku dream of heaven, it probably looks a lot like this giant store. Mandarake has long been Tokyo’s go-to store for manga and anime, and its new Akihabara location is the largest yet. Eight storeys are piled high with comic books and DVDs, action figures and cel art just for starters. The 5th floor is devoted to women’s comics in all its pink splendour, while the 4th floor is for men. Mandarake’s original branch is in Nakano, and other branches include Shibuya and an entire Ikebukuro branch with manga for women.
reviewed
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Axis
Salivate over some of Japan’s most innovative interior design at this high-end design complex. Of the 16-odd galleries and retail shops selling art books, cutting-edge furniture and other objets d’art, highlights include Nuno, whose innovative fabrics incorporating objects from feathers to washi appear in New York’s Museum of Modern Art; Living Motif, with three floors of soothing, contemporary design (both Japanese and international) from cushions to candle holders; and Le Garage, with gear and accessories for motor-racing enthusiasts.
reviewed
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Kamawanu
In Daikanyama, this shop specialises in beautifully dyed tenugui, those ubiquitous Japanese handtowels used for everything from bentō carriers to handkerchiefs. Designs come in a spectrum of colours, incorporating traditional abstract patterns and representations of natural elements.
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Matsuya
Ginza is the poshest shopping district in Tokyo. The quintessential Ginza experience is a department store; Mitsukoshi has pride of place, but Matsuya is a long-standing favourites, too. Tucked in between some of the more imposing facades are more simple pleasures such as fine papers and shelves stacked full of ingenious toys. Shopping options here really do reflect the breadth and depth of the city’s consumer culture, equal parts high fashion glitz and down-to-earth dedication to craft.
reviewed
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Nijō Fish Market
Buy a bowl of rice and select your own sashimi toppings, gawk at the fresh delicacies (some more delicate than others!), or sit down at a shop in Nijō Fish Market, one of Hokkaidō's best. Get there early for the freshest selections and the most variety; things close up by 18:00 and individual restaurants have their own hours. Sea urchin and salmon roe are favourites; as is Hokkaidō's version of 'Mother and Child' (Oyakodon), a bowl of rice topped with salmon and roe.
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Tokyo Character Street
From Doraemon to Domo-kun, Hello Kitty to Ultraman, Japan knows kawaii (cute) and how to merchandise it. On the basement level of Tokyo Station, some 15 Japanese TV networks and toy manufacturers operate shop after shop selling official plush toys, sweets, accessories and the all-important miniature character to dangle from your mobile phone. Though the commerce is brisk, the characters are pretty innocent; fans of hard-core anime (Japanese animation) will be better off in Akihabara.
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Takashimaya
Step into the luxe marble entrance and you'll feel like you've walked onto the set of Mad Men. Uniformed docents operate the old-fashioned lifts and bow demurely with a geisha grin as you arrive and depart on each level. You'll find the ultimate pantheon of high-end brands upstairs, and a bustling depachika in the basement.
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Musubi
Before shopping bags, Japanese carried their bentō (boxed lunch) and packages in elegant wrapping cloths called furoshiki, and this dainty shop and workshop both sells the cloths and gives lessons in how to use them (email info@kyoto-musubi.com for info about lessons). Modern-day uses for furoshiki include handbags and wine bottle carriers, and believe it or not they make nice table covers, too. The owner has even written a book about it in English.
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Tsukumo Robotto Ō-Koku
Fancy a bipedal humanoid robot? Or would a talking Hello Kitty do the trick? Japan’s first robotto (robot) shop (2000) is at the forefront of the home robot revolution; also sells DIY robot kits. It’s one of several ō-koku (kingdoms) in the Tsukumo building, which also includes a pasokon ō-koku (personal computer kingdom), a monitā-ō-koku (monitor kingdom) etc. Did we mention otaku love Akihabara?
reviewed
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Nakamise-dōri
This lively pedestrian street leading up to Sensō-ji is chock-a-block with shops selling tourist wares like geta (wooden sandals worn with kimonos) and Edo-style toys and trinkets. Keep an eye out for stalls selling sembei (savoury rice crackers), anko (azuki-bean paste) and freshly made mochi (sticky-rice cakes).
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Nippori Nuno No Machi (Nippori Fabric Town)
If you’ve got a notion to sew, decorate or you like clothing on the cheap, this several-block stretch east of Nippori Station will hit you like a proverbial bolt. Dozens of shops purvey buttons to brocade, bathrobes and blankets, used kimono and contemporary wear. Many of the wares are off-price or remnants. If you’re seeking something particular, shop around before leaving home; some of the fabrics are generic and you might find better deals where you come from.
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Tenjin Core
Shopping, or at least window shopping, in Tenjin's high-rise and underground labyrinthine complexes is a popular Fukuoka pastime. Packed along a sparkling three-block section of Tenjin's Watanabi-dori, Tenjin Core (721-7755), Mitsukoshi (724-3111), Daimaru (712-8181), Solaria Plaza (733-7004), subterranean Tenjin Chikagai (721-8436) and IMS building (733-2001) are all favourite spots. The latter gets bonus points for a rooftop terrace, open 11:00 to 21:00, weather permitting.
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