Japan shopping

Supported by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, this is as much a showroom as a shop, exhibiting a broad range of traditional crafts from around Japan, including lacquerwork boxes, woodwork, cut g…

This ace arcade under the JR tracks (its name refers to the distance from Tokyo Station) offers an eclectic range of stores selling Japanese-made goods – everything from pottery and leatherwork to cute aliens, a nod…

Step into this partially open-air market paralleling and beneath the JR line tracks, and ritzy, glitzy Tokyo feels like a distant memory. It got its start as a black market, post-WWII, when American goods (which inc…

This well-designed shopping mall at the foot of JP Tower incorporates the restored original facade of the Tokyo Central Post Office. It is notable for its atrium, around which is arrayed a quality selection of craft…

This is the original Mandarake, the go-to store for all things manga (Japanese comics) and anime (Japanese animation). Once a small, secondhand comic-book store, Mandarake now has some 25 shops just inside the Nakan…

While you’re in Nishiki Market, have a look at this store – it has some of the best kitchen knives in the world. Choose your knife – all-rounder, sushi, vegetable – and the staff will show you how to care for it bef…

Dating from the 1850s and a registered cultural property, this busy, rustic blade shop is filled with incredible knives, hatchets, swords and even ninja shuriken (throwing stars), plus just about anything you might …

This 1932 apartment block (cutting edge for its time) is a retro time capsule, its seven floors packed with some 40 tiny boutiques and gallery spaces. Climbing up and down the Escher-like staircases, or using the an…

Every once in a while in Tokyo, you'll spot a gentleman in a silk-wool kimono and a fedora, looking as if he's stepped out of the 1900s. Bespoke tailor Y. & Sons would like to see this more often. Custom kimonos…

Spread over three buildings, this stylish development houses many shops from famous gourmet food purveyors, as well as reliable places to eat and drink. In Coredo Muromachi 3 are elegant fashion and homewares boutiq…