Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This fascinating neighbourhood of more than 170 new and secondhand booksellers is proof that the printed word is alive and well in Tokyo. Amid tottering…
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This fascinating neighbourhood of more than 170 new and secondhand booksellers is proof that the printed word is alive and well in Tokyo. Amid tottering…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
What started as a linen supplier in Nara (near Kyoto) 300 years ago has evolved into one of Japan's proudest brands, creating beautiful natural clothing,…
Ginza & Tsukiji
This classy mixed-use complex, which opened in 2018, has a good assortment of fashionable boutiques as well as the 11-screen Toho multiplex. Check out the…
Roppongi, Akasaka & Around
Expat and former US diplomat Norman Tolman has been collecting modern and contemporary Japanese print art for 50 years and has authored many books on the…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Shibuya's newest mall (opened in 2019) has eight floors of fashion, beauty and lifestyle boutiques (and more floors for restaurants, cafes and gourmet…
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.
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…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
Minä Perhonen, from designer Minagawa Akira, is one of Japan's most successful brands. It's known for its pretty prints in soft, flattering colours;…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
This homewares shop is curated by Tokyo's original boutique hotel, Claska, in a renovated mid-20th-century building on Meguro-dōri, near other interior…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
What separates this small lifestyle goods and gourmet shop is its emphasis on fermented foods. There's a selection of artisanal shōyu (soy sauce) and…
Ebisu, Meguro & Around
This outpost of 300-year-old Sendagi sake-ya (liquor store) Isego has a counter bar where you can order nihonshu (sake) by the glass (¥350 to ¥550; 3pm to…
Northern Higashiyama
Split between two buildings, East and West, this place sells a good range of Japanese arts and crafts, including Hokusai woodblock prints (reproductions…
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…
Kyoto Station & South Kyoto
The sheer amount of gadgets and goods this store has on display is amazing. Just be sure that an English operating manual is available for your purchases…
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…