Shopping in Tokyo

With impeccable service, overwhelming choice, fantasy-land buildings, tradition, technology and lashings of kitsch, it’s easy to be bitten by the shopping bug in Tokyo.

Key areas: 

The main shopping areas in Tokyo are:
• Stylish Ginza, with its ritzy department stores, designer boutiques and chic galleries
• Young, trendy Shibuya for clothes and accessories
• The 'youth mecca' of Harajuku for teenage fashions and kitsch
• Akihabara for a vast selection of cut-price electronic goods and computers

Markets: 

There are several flea markets in Tokyo which you can bag a bargain. Top choices include the Tokyo City Flea Market (1 Chome 6-26 Katsushima, Shinagawa) for an assortment of knick-knacks, Mottainai Flea Market (4 Chrome 14-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda) for vintage goods, and Shinjuku Chuo Park Flea Market (Chome 11, Nishishinjuku) for anything from household items to vintage items.

Shopping centres: 

For traditional department store shopping in Tokyo, visit Mitsukoshi on Chuo-dori, or the newer Roppongi Hills complex, Minato-ku, where food and entertainment are also thrown in. If shopping in a reconstructed Italian villa is your idea of heaven, visit Venus Fort (1-3-15 Aomi Koto-ku). For wacky, kitsch shopping 24 hours a day, check out Don Quijote, locally known as Donki, across the city, but particularly the largest 'Mega' Don Quijote in Shibuya (28-6, Udagawa-cho). Oriental Bazaar (5-9-13 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku) sells yukatas, kimonos, lacquered boxes, wooden sake cups, tea serving sets and any other Japanese handicraft you can think of to take home.

Opening hours: 

Standard shopping hours in Tokyo are 1000-2000, although some shops are open 24 hours a day.

Souvenirs: 

Delightful snacks, homegrown fashion, traditional handicrafts like kiriko (Japanese cut-glass art), and quirky knick-knacks make good gifts.

Tax information: 

Japan's consumption tax is 10% on all items except food, non-alcoholic drinks and newspaper subscriptions. Many stores offer duty-free shopping, provided you show your passport on purchase.

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Visa and passport information is updated regularly and is correct at the time of publishing. You should verify critical travel information independently with the relevant embassy before you travel.