Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
This high-end design complex is filled with galleries and shops selling art books, photographs, covetable homewares and other objets d’art.
Must-see shopping in Japan
Ueno & Yanesen
For nearly half a century this tiny stall in Ameya-yokochō has been selling recordings of popular Japanese music to the faithful. Its forte is enka, best…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Pick up great souvenirs from this plastic food model manufacturer. Among the examples of freakishly realistic food models are some more tongue-in-cheek…
Fukuoka
Canal City is Fukuoka's biggest mall, boasting an eponymous artificial canal with illuminated fountain symphony, a multiplex cinema, a playhouse and about…
Southern Higashiyama
Located in the heart of the Kiyomizu pottery area, Asahi-dō has been specialising in Kyōyaki-Kiyomizuyaki (Kyoto-style pottery) since 1870. The complex is…
Ueno & Yanesen
Ameya-yokochō is widely known as the place to pick up bargain kicks; but among running-shoe fans, it's better known as the home of Mita Sneakers, which…
Ueno & Yanesen
Mitsuaki Tsuyuki makes and sells his incredible hand puppets here – look for lifelike renditions of Japanese celebs and, natch, Elvis. Quick portraits…
Tokyo
This mall, within the restored facade of the 1930s Tokyo Central Post Office, has a partiuclarly good selection of boutiques specialising in homewares and…
Ginza & Tsukiji
The ground floors of this L-shaped complex house some 70 stalls of wholesalers, all of whom used to operate in the old Tsukiji market, selling seafood and…
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay
This is an art-supply store to make you go weak in the knees: the walls are lined with vials of the crushed mineral pigments used in traditional Japanese…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
The folks behind the D&D Department lifestyle brand and magazine are expert scavengers, searching Japan's nooks and crannies for outstanding examples of…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Expat American Amy Katoh sells traditional and contemporary items such as tenugui (hand-dyed towels), indigo-dyed yukata (light cotton kimonos), bolts of…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This is the monster branch of Yodobashi Camera where many locals shop. It has eight floors of electronics, state-of-the-art camera and audio equipment,…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Everything is natural about Maito's clothing and accessories, including the fabrics used (mainly cotton and wool) and the plant-based dyes. Choose from a…
Nara
Nara's famed 300-year-old linen producer now creates beautiful bags, pouches and scarves out of natural materials, subtly adorned with traditional motifs…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Despite its name, Radio Kaikan has nothing to do with radios and everything to do with Japanese pop culture. It was completely rebuilt in 2014 to include…
Tokyo
In an neighbourhood known for its history of craftsmanship, second-generation Takatora produces stencil-dyed clothing and accessories just like in the old…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This is highly debatable, of course, but Mandarake Complex might just be the most classic Akihabara destination for otaku (geeks): eight storeys are piled…
Tokyo
This is the Tokyo outpost of one of Kyoto's more esteemed creators of wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets made of rice flour, bean paste and sugar. While…
Downtown Kyoto
Around since 1885, Funahashi-ya has long been a popular stop to pick up Japanese rice crackers (known as o-kaki in Kyoto) and its signature go-shiki-mame …
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
In business since 1882 (but with an active Twitter account), Ohya Shobō specialises in books, maps and ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) dating back to Japan's…
Downtown Kyoto
For all your high-end fashion and homeware needs, the chic and elegant BAL department store is the place to go. You’ll find designer fashion, botanical…
Osaka
Nominally a DIY and homewares chain, Tokyū Hands is Japan's favourite place to browse for items you probably didn't need but will end up loving. It's…
Tokyo
The shelves of this small antiques shop are stacked with ceramics from the early Shōwa period (昭和; 1926–89), through Taishō (大正; 1912–26) and Meiji (明治;…
Downtown Kyoto
This new youth-oriented department store hails from Tokyo and brings some of that fashion sense with it. It’s a good place to see what’s hot with the…
Fujii Daimaru Department Store
Downtown Kyoto
This smallish department store on Shijō-dōri is very popular with young locals who flock here to peruse the interesting selection of up-to-the-minute…
Ginza & Tsukiji
Originally from Kyoto (and in business for 350 years), Kyūkyodō has been producing top quality washi (Japanese paper) and incense for generations (the…
Harajuku & Aoyama
Furoshiki are squares of cloth that can be folded and knotted to form shopping bags and wrap gifts – anything really. This shop sells pretty ones in both…
Downtown Kyoto
Mimuro is a great spot for anyone looking to take home a good-quality kimono or yukata (light cotton kimono). The English-speaking staff will go out of…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Nuno's innovative fabrics, incorporating objects from feathers to washi (Japanese handmade paper), have appeared in exhibitions around the world,…
Osaka
This third-generation-run sake store has narrow wooden stairs leading to a basement cellar where you can sample small glasses of sake (¥220 each), while…
Downtown Kyoto
Roughly opposite Takashimaya department store, Erizen is one of the best places in Kyoto to buy a kimono or kimono fabric. It has a great selection of kyō…
Ueno & Yanesen
If you have a notion to sew, or are looking for some nice fabric, this stretch of shops east of Nippori Station – selling buttons, brocade, kimono fabric…
Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza
Nagano Region
Just outside the south exit of JR Karuizawa Station, this gargantuan outlet shopping mall has most of the big names. Shopaholics should allocate plenty of…
Southern Higashiyama
Kagoshin is a small semi-open traditional bamboo craft shop that has been around for generations on Sanjō-dōri, only a few minutes’ walk east of the Kamo…
Yaeyama Islands
Minsā Kōgeikan is a weaving workshop and showroom with exhibits on Yaeyama Islands textiles. You can also try your hand at weaving a coaster (¥1500); you…
Asakusa & Sumida River
Shibata Yoshinobu Shōten brings the craft of magewappa (an artisanal style of woodwork made with thin strips of cedar that are steamed and formed into…
Osaka
East of Midō-suji, Shinsaibashi is one of Japan's great shopping zones, most notably in this eight-block-long covered arcade that's crammed with domestic…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Akihabara might get the most attention but Ikebukuro is a major player in the anime-manga-gamer universe. Case in point: Animate's Ikebukuro store is the…
Downtown Kyoto
This classic old sweet shop, about 50m north of Sanjō-dōri on Kiyamachi-dōri, is a great place to get acquainted with traditional Kyoto sweets. Just point…
