GENERAL TIPS/IMPORTANT INFORMATION
A few tips of important info I think is helpful to making your trip to Japan seamless.
Airports - Tokyo has two major airports; Haneda and Narita. If you’re staying in central Tokyo try and get a flight into Haneda as it’s about 20-30 minutes into the city with a taxi or Uber. Narita is about an hour by express train to Shibuya Station is kind of a pain to get to and from.
POPPY'S SHOPPING GUIDE TO TOKYO
This shopping guide comes to you from a self confessed shopping addict who lived in Tokyo for 2.5 years.
I have listed my favourite shops by area and tagged each business’ link to their google maps location - occasionally will include an IG tag if needed.
Below is an assortment of recommendations for luxury designer shopping, vintage stores which cover both high and low ends of the market as well as traditional Japanese boutiques which carry kimonos, locally made goods such as pottery and homewares, flea markets, books & magazines, stationary and knick knacks you didn’t know you needed til now.
You can’t trust someone who says everything is amazing so I have also included a few places which I don’t recommend or my personal opinion on why some places aren’t as good as they’re made out to be - I did the work so you don’t have to!
Important Notes:
Most boutiques in Tokyo don’t open til 11am, more niche quirkier shops even later. Check opening hours to save yourself disappointment. I have also noted which shops require an appointment to visit.
Bring your physical passport with you for tax free shopping. Sometimes a photo will not suffice.
Japanese brands such as Comme Des Garcons, Junya Watanabe, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Sacai, Undercover and Toga are almost half the price as what they are outside of Japan.
Japanese merchandising tends to err on the side of minimal, if you’re in a store and searching for something specific just ask. For example Pleats Please will have their most recent collections on the floor but have their older season stock out the back.
AOYAMA / OMOTESANDO / JINGUMAE / HARAJUKU
Sounds like a lot of suburbs but if you were to walk from one end to the other without stopping would only take you about 40 mins.
Comme Des Garcons Flagship store, Aoyama
At Beauty & Youth multi brand store in Aoyama
Aoyama Book Centre
Get the train to Omotesando Station and start at the iconic Herzog & de Mueron designed glass tower which is the Aoyama Prada Flagship and work your way around this strip and the back streets on both sides of the road behind. In this pocket you will find:
Comme Des Garcons: Flagship store opened in 1989 which carries unisex collections from CDG and their diffusion lines, Junya Watanabe and a delightful assortment of under the radar brands for accessories. Don’t miss upstairs.
Gentle Monster & Tamburins: Tokyo’s first Gentle Monster store and their sister cosmetic line Tamburins recently opened in 2024. Expect to wait in line.
Miu Miu
Issey Miyake: Upstairs and downstairs.
Pleats Please: New colours and collections drop on the 1st and 15th of every month. If you’re searching for basics (such a black top or pants) or a specific colour and don’t see it on the floor ask the staff and they might have it out the back. Service is typically quite bad in this store - for better service I prefer the Ginza store.
Homme Plisse: Same as above re new releases and service. These two stores often seem allergic to making a sale to a keen customer.
Me by Issey Miyake & Issey Miyake Reality Lab / Bao Bao: Further down the street near Yohji Yamamoto.
Rick Owens: Few min walk away from this area and located near the Nezu Museum. Definitely worth a visit to see the Rick statue at the back of the store. Opens at 12 noon.
Back streets behind Prada:
Acne
Undercover
Dries Van Noten: Women’s downstairs, men’s upstairs through a separate exit/flight of stairs.
Sacai: One of my favourite Japanese brands. This shop is a bit harder to spot as its set back from the main street.
Isabel Marant: Mainly just to see their cool store front (looks like a neon yellow Flinstone’s house)
Maison Special: Mid-price-point trend focussed local brand mixed in with a few other independent international brands such as Ganni and Margiela. Think trendy cargo pants, digital printed tops, oversized blazers in loads of colours. Womens is downstairs and men’s (which is quite unisex) is upstairs. FYI a lot of the sizing in this store is ‘FREE SIZE’ so one size. Having said that, most of the stuff is quite baggy. Aoyama Flower Market (cafe / florist) is opposite which is a nice place to grab a cup of tea after.
Backstreets behind Issey Miyake:
H: Beauty & Youth: multi brand men’s & women’s boutique, carries The Row, Toga, MM6, Isabel Marant, Sea NY, Marni, 3.1 Philip Lim, Rejina Pyo, Our Legacy and loads of lesser known brands plus a selection of cool streetwear and lifestyle items such as fragrances.
IG: @h_beautyandyouth
‘6’: New location in the basement of the building of H: Beauty & Youth. Features their own brand (think directional everyday pieces) plus accessories and footwear by Margiela, Jil Sander, Ganni and a great selection of upcycled vintage.
Loveless: Opposite H: Beauty & Youth. Local Japanese store that carries their own brand; quite colourful Scandi silhouettes at very reasonable prices mixed in with a few international labels, a small mixture of vintage accessories and books.
Super A Market: another multi brand fashion and lifestyle store, double level store featuring Dries Van Noten, Raf Simons, Marni, Wales Bonner, Bode, Tekla and Aesop.
IG: @superamarket
Back on the main street where Prada and Issey Miyake are and heading towards Harajuku station you’ll find all the big name brands (plus many others):
Balenciaga
Loewe: Occasionally will need an appointment but not always.
Gucci
Jil Sander
Hermes: Need an appointment to get in
Louis Vuitton
Chanel: Huge line always, will need an appointment
Marni
Saint Laurent
Bottega Veneta: Obsessed with this fit out…!
Margiela: newly opened flagship. Always a line to get in.
Visvim: Hiroki Nakamura’s high end workwear flagship store, also has a cafe on the balcony
MoMa Design Store: Top floor above Margiela
Hay: Homewares. Below Margiela
KiddyLand: Multi level kids and adult store with collectable items from well known characters from Sanrio (Hello Kitty), Disney, Nintendo etc. Great for kawaii gifts.
Solakzade: vintage designer eyewear store. They have over 30,000 pairs of iconic sunglasses going back to the 1800s. Amazing staff. Check opening hours before, they’re open at odd times and not every day. A lot of the stock is hidden away in drawers so if you don’t see anything you like just explain your style to the team here and I’m sure they can find it for you.
Need to make an appointment to enter the store, which you can do via DM to their instagram
IG: Solakzade_optician
Favourite stores in this area / in the backstreets behind the big name brands:
Aoyama Book Centre: (not as good as T-Site ((linked in the Daikanyama section of this list)) but still a great bookshop which leans more towards Japanese publications. Their fashion/design magazine selection is top notch plus their architecture, photography, design and art books. They also sell second hand/vintage books which are strewn about and at good prices. I never walk out of here empty handed.
Shelf: Small but jam packed book store with good publications of art, fashion, architecture and photography books. Also sells some vintage magazines.
Watarium Art Museum: (book shop) Iconic Mario Botta designed building - Downstairs from the Art Museum is a pretty decent bookstore with art, architecture and photography books from a lot of Japanese artists plus some international.
Amore Tokyo: They have 3 stores. One which specialises in vintage / second hand authenticated Chanel and another one which is mainly Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Dior. Big time celebs always come to Amore to get rare vintage pieces when they’re in town (Bella Hadid, Rihanna, the Kardashians etc) all 3 stores are walking distance from one another. The 3rd lesser known store for men’s which is mostly LV & Goyard luggage plus Rolexes.
As of late 2023 you now need to make an appointment to go into the store, which you can book via the link here: https://amorevintagejapan.com/collections/store-reservation
IG: amore_tokyo
Casanova Vintage: Designer vintage, mainly accessories but also have a cool selection of Chanel jackets and other high end pieces. Very helpful, lovely staff. They have two shops across the road from one another. Earlier in 2024 they opened a third store in Ginza.
IG: casanova_vintage3
Vintage QOO Tokyo: Another great vintage seller for designer handbags as well as shoes, jewellery and watches. Decent selection of Chanel, Fendi, LV and Dior downstairs. Upstairs is Hermes and watches.
IG: vintageqoo
Dog Tokyo: Super avant garde punk style fashions, Lady Gaga has bought stage costumes from here. Down a narrow staircase to a basement level. Weird, cool shit.
IG: doghjk
Boutique Takenoko: Insane cosplay, OTT outfits and costumes. We’ve bought loads of outfits for Burning Man here. Almost everything is covered in sequins. On Takeshite street close to Harajuku station.
Rag Tag: good (personally I don’t think GREAT) second hand designer clothes. Some people absolutely rate Rag Tag so I’ll put it on the list. Any designer brand you can think of, they have it.
Chicago: Jingumae & Harajuku: Affordable vintage store - all within walking distance of one another in this area.
They all have an incredible selection of vintage kimonos priced between $35 up to $500 - the Harajuku outpost has a slightly bigger selection.
LaFloret Harajuku: Multi brand shopping centre, Vivienne Westwood Anglomania at the entrance, GR8 Tokyo just as you walk through the door (cool multi brand high end streetwear) then various other younger leaning independent Japanese brands inside.
District United Arrows: Local Japanese brand which carry their own label plus others. Downstairs is their ‘6’ store, more directional mixed with upcycled vintage and designer.
Toga: Iconic Japanese brand - I LIVE in their shoes. This is one of their standalone stores, they also have a vintage store next door of their own selection of second hand pieces (it’s quite average though)
IG: togaarchives
Toro Vintage: this is probably my favourite vintage clothing store in Tokyo. Really gorgeous edit - more on the casual side - nothing really over $250 AUD ($170 USD). It’s almost like the designers from BODE did the buying / fit out. Closed Thursdays.
IG: @torovintageclothing
Otoe Vintage: Cute vintage store up a flight of stairs. Closed Wednesday and Thursday.
IG: @otoeolgy
Wing Kimono: Shibuya/Jingumae - Bit of a tricky one to find (it’s in an apartment building above a hairdressers and doesn’t have any signage) Sumiyo the owner sells the most incredible selection of vintage kimonos and is incredibly generous with her time of teaching you how to wear/tie a kimono and the history of kimono. It’s appointment only so DM her on IG first to make a time.
IG: wing_kimono
SHIBUYA
Shibuya is great but very touristy - think Times Square in NYC. Big name brands are all here plus lots of high street options and stand alone boutiques for brands of any level.
Gotta see Shibuya Crossing - 2.4 million people cross it a day. Cannot miss it from coming straight out of Shibuya Station Hachiko Exit or for a better view go to the Starbucks level of the Tsutaya bookstore on the opposite side of the crossing.
Vintage Chanel handbags at Komehyo in Shibuya
Jewellery at the counter culture mecca: Shibuya109
Historical runway pieces on display at Archive store in Shibuya
NudeTrump/Hypnotique Vintage: Owned by Tokyo’s iconic Hayao Matsumura - epic vintage store(s) which is a must stop point for celebrities visiting Japan to shop (and get a selfie with Hayao). Take one look at his instagram and you will see how many celebs pass through his store.
Cool article on Hayao and his influence on Tokyo culture here: https://sabukaru.online/articles/hayao-matsumura
If you go to Nude Trump say hi to Nana or Moana who work there and say Poppy & Harro sent you! They’re absolutely legends and have the best style.
IG: @hypnotiquetokyo
Archive Store: Behind Nude Trump down a narrow flight of stairs is a very unique, mini museum-esque boutique which has an insane collection of important, historical runway pieces from the likes of Comme Des Garcons, Raf Simons and OG early era Maison Margiela. Some items are for sale. I recommend coming here if you’re a fashion nerd and want to see some of these famous pieces up close.
10tow: Small shop up a few flights of stairs stocking an impressive unisex collection of vintage/2nd hand Comme Des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Junya Watanabe, Margiela & Raf Simons.
Komehyo: (part of a chain) Multi level 2nd hand luxury designer consignment store. The usual assortment of designer accessories and bags; what sets this store apart from some of the others is its really impressive range of Chanel suits and jackets and one of the few stores I have found which have a decent selection of vintage Issey Miyake Pleats Please.
Tokyu Hands: (also part of a chain, this is my fav store though)
6 levels of stuff you never knew you needed. This place has EVERYTHING. Every level is hyper specific to beauty, bathroom, kitchen, stationary, gift wrapping/greeting cards, laundry, pets, home improvement… it’s like a gang bang baby between Spotlight, Bunnings, Bed Bath & Table, Boating Camping & Fishing plus every infomercial weird product… but somehow way better…?
FYI there is two Tokyu Hands in Shibuya - one is inside the Shibuya Scramble building above the train station (don’t go to this one) go to the one which is about 5-6 min walk away from the train station on Udagawacho (which is linked in title).
Loft: I’d liken this to an elevated version of Tokyu Hands, great place to buy gifts. Personally I love the crockery section, beautiful sake cups, chopsticks and little kitchen knick knacks. Basement level which is stationary is also elite.
(MEGA) Don Quijote: I personally really don’t like Don Quijote, especially this specific store but it’s an iconic Japanese chain so I’ll leave it here. It’s always swarming with tourists and the lay out of the store is so cramped you’re packed in like sardines everywhere you walk. For some reason my intrusive thoughts get the better of me everytime I come here and I can’t help but think how hard it would be to get out of this store if an earthquake hit.
If you’re looking to stock up on cheap knick knacks and touristy, gimmicky bits and bobs knock yourself out though.
Kith: The iconic American multi brand streetwear store with sneakers, luxury goods and a dessert bar on top level. As with any Kith store there is often a line to get in. Check out my brand in the sunglasses section!
Parco: Collection of cool directional shops & couple of cafes. Byredo, Sacai, Toga, Ambush, Issey Miyake, Loewe, Gucci, Thom Brown, JW Anderson for the well known brands, as you get beyond the 3rd floor it morphs into lesser known, directional Japanese brands. Definitely worth exploring the upper levels for these if you want to come home with something no one else will have. Also a rooftop lookout with cafes on the top of Parco (& a Family Mart lol) which has a great view of Shibuya.
Shibuya 109: Last time I came here I bought hair clips made out of cigarettes. Cheap multi level, kawaii lolita-esque to punk style independent boutiques. There’s a handful of stores which carry directional South Korean style clothing and plenty of little shops which have cute phone accessories, novelty left of centre jewellery and coloured/printed tights. Read this great post from Sabukaru on the influence Shibuya109 has had on Japanese style / subculture over the years.
GINZA
Boujiest area of Tokyo. All the big name brands have flagships here.
Vintage trinkets at The Oedo Flea Market
Infinity mirror change rooms at Dover Street Market
Itoya stationary store
Dover Street Market: It would be a crime to come to Tokyo and not visit Rei Kawakubo’s Dover St Market; to be super safe check their IG ahead of visiting as they sometimes close the store for a day or two at a time when they re-merchandise the shop or move in and out of sale periods. Rose Bakery on top level.
IG: doverstmarketginza
Uniqlo Flagship Store: Largest Uniqlo store in the world. Bridge joins this store to Dover St Market a few levels up so it’s super easy to access. Stock up on basics.
Ginza Six: Luxury shopping complex with all the big name brands on ground floor plus smaller international luxury brands further up; Alaia, Rick Owens, Undercover, Loewe, Marni...
Tsutaya Books Ginza: top floor of Ginza Six shopping centre is another outpost of Tsutaya books - not as good as T-Site in Daikanyama (listed in Daikanyama section) but still amazing.
Itoya: Massive stationary / crafts store, also has a whole floor devoted to gift wrapping.
IG: itoya_official
Hakuhinkan Toy Park: Popular multi level toy store for kids and adults. Great for kid’s gifts. I love the plush toy section on the second floor - any living organism you can imagine they have a stuffed toy of it (from e-coli - yep you read that right to soft toy seagulls)
Casanova Vintage: The newest outpost to this vintage designer store opened earlier in 2024. Similar selection to their Jingumae boutique; great selection of 2nd hand luxury handbags and accessories.
Issey Miyake: The Ginza flagship has their mainline, Pleats Please, Homme Plisse and Me all in the same multi level building. I personally find the service better in this store than their Aoyama boutiques. Next door is an exhibition space called Issey Miyake Ginza Cube where they sometimes show their collaboration collections.
Oedo Flea Market: Located on the outside of the Tokyo International Forum building, it’s the largest outdoor Antique market in Japan and is hosted on the first and 3rd Sunday of every month. (Dates sometimes do change so check this website to confirm dates ahead of time)
I try to go as often as I can, there is less antique furniture but more knick knacks and homegoods. I’ve picked up some beautiful pottery and tableware here. There’s also a handful of kimono sellers who have some of the most exquisite vintage kimonos and yukatas. One of my favourites I’ve ever bought I picked up at the Oedo market for $30 AUD.
DAIKANYAMA
Tsutaya T-Site Book Store: Tsutaya is kinda like the Dymocks/Barnes&Noble of Japan - they’re everywhere but THIS is the one. Insane selection of art, design, architecture magazines and books at this outpost. Also this building is just gorgeous and surrounded by greenery. There used to be a cute cafe downstairs (but now it’s a Starbucks…) either way you can still have a coffee and park up and pour over their selection of reading materials.
You’ll 100% want to go to the bar/lounge upstairs which has archive magazines going back to the 1950s from every issue of Vogue plus Architectural Digest, Domus, Elle Decor, Casa Vogue, Playboy etc. Chic leather sofas and a beautiful bar - highly recommend coming up here for a whisky or a coffee and enjoying the amazing library they have on hand.
Across the bridge upstairs is co-working space if you ever need somewhere to work from (prices are about $30-40 a day) which includes internet access, a desk and free tea/coffee and snacks.
L’Officine Universelle Buly: There are two Buly stores in Daikanyama but I have google maps linked to the most iconic one. I’m a massive fan of the Buly brand, they’re a masterclass in retail fit outs, branding, product and general aesthetics. The founder Ramdane Touhami has deep ties to Tokyo (he owns a house here and Buly collaborates with a lot of Japanese artisans/suppliers) this was one of the first global stores they opened outside of Paris. Truly iconic fit out.
2nd Street: Part of a chain of pre-loved designer vintage. Less curated than some of the other second hand designer stores.
The greatest bookstore in Tokyo; Daikanyama T-Site
The iconic fitout of L'Officine Universelle Buly in Daikanyama
Cherry blossoms in bloom in the gardens outside T-Site
MEGURO
New Territory: A cluttered antique store which has a wide selection of vintage furniture, unique artworks, jewellery, ornaments and some vintage clothing. Opens at 1pm.
Cow Books: Coffee shop and books covering a range of topics like counter culture, photography, art, architecture and literature.
NihonBashi
Ozu Washi Paper Shop: Dates its start back to 1653! This 3 storey space houses a wonderful paper shop on the ground floor followed by a floor for papermaking classes and finally a museum on the top level. If you’re into paper; for wrapping, origami and crafts this is where you need to come.
Ozu Paper Shop
Roppongi
Roppongi used to be a spicy part of Tokyo but is now a luxury business district popular with expats and business people. Roppongi Hills Mori tower is home to the famous Mori Art Museum on the upper levels as well as a massive shopping centre below with all the major luxury brands. Personally I find this area to shop a bit soulless but there is one multi brand store I recommend visiting inside the tower which has a variety of mid to high level local and international brands for men and women:
EstNation: Lovely curation of mid to luxury level brands in clothing, accessories and cosmetics.
IG: @estnation_roppongihills
Multi brand concept store: Est Nation
Est Nation Roppongi Hills
Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower in Minato
Recently opened luxury “modern urban village”. Loads of cute coffee shops, restaurants and including the new TeamLabs & an amazing food market. I’ve only been here to eat a few times but recommend a glass of natural wine at Mimosa
Nose Shop: If you know me you’ll know I’m obsessed with fragrances. Especially the weird avant garde ones. This store in Tower Plaza 2nd floor has so many unique scents. Absolutely love.
Nose Shop have several other stores throughout Tokyo, you can see via their
IG here: @noseshop
Ogaki Bookstore: Another great bookstore with a lovely selection of art, architecture, niche books and magazines. Not as big or comprehensive as Tsutaya but I did see quite a few publications I don’t normally see at Tsutaya so I think its definitely worth a visit if you’re in the market for specialty books or magazines.
Conran Shop: Furniture or homewares probably aren’t high on your shopping list when travelling to Tokyo but I do like that Azabudai Hills has given the Conran Shop another outpost (the other being the rather geographically remote location of below the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku)
Nose Shop in Azabudai Hills
Shinjuku
Isetan: Dating back to 1886, Isetan is one of Japan’s most prestigious department stores that originally began as a kimono store then began trading as a luxury department store in the 1930s. The Shinjuku outpost is known for having all the international luxury brands and a world famous food hall on the basement level.
BEAMS Flagship: Men’s, women’s and children’s clothing store - this is the flagship to the well loved Japanese brand.
Shimokitazawa
Super cool, young area. Think Newtown in Sydney or Brooklyn in NY. This area is known for its insane number of vintage stores.
I read that Japan holds 70% of the world’s vintage clothes. When you go to Shimokitazawa you actually start to grasp that number.
The vintage stores are very specialised out here - think stores which just sell Americana style clothes (varsity t-shirts, military jackets etc) some of them specialise in jeans, specifically Levis. Like all vintage stores in Japan they categorise the denim by colour gradient and size. No sifting through bins of crap. Everything is washed, mended and perfectly labelled. They also display their stock seasonally so all the amazing winter stuff comes out as soon as it gets chilly.
Very niche directional stores out here, silk dresses from turn of the century, avant garde fashions from 70-80s then bargain bin level stores which still look better organised than anywhere you’ve seen before.
Once you exit Shimokitazawa Station everything is walking distance; I personally recommend just walking around and looking through as many shops as possible but the main ones you shouldn’t miss:
Add (C) Vintage: Interesting, directional menswear from 80s - 00s eras. Plenty of oversized pieces (ala David Byrne from Talking Heads). Good unisex options.
Velvet: Avant garde fashions mostly from 70s - 80s. Little bit more expensive than most other shops in Shimo. Next to Add C Vintage.
Big Time: 2 levels of mostly Americana style clothing - very good prices and great selection.
Chicago: (part of the same chain of Chicago stores mentioned above in Harajuku/Jingumae)
Flamingo: Similar to Chicago in their edit/selection and prices. V affordable.
Washed, mended and categorised
Vintage obi belts
Add (c) Vintage in Shimokitazawa
Koenji / Nakano
Kind of like the new Shimokitazawa, lots of cool young people live out here and a handful of edgy vintage shops have either relocated from Shimokitazawa or popped up here.
Hayatochiri: Amazing handmade outfits which border on costumes. He has his own brand plus a handful of others which are equally as crazy / amazing. His prices are pretty high but justified when you see him slaving away on his sewing machine next to the cash register. Highly recommend. My fav store in Koenji.
IG: hayatochirikitakore
Big Time: same vintage store as mentioned in Shimo, multi level mostly Americana style vintage clothing for men & women.
Atlantis Vintage Tokyo: Pre loved high end designer handbags such as Louis Vuitton (with an emphasis on the Marc Jacobs era and loads of the Takashi Murakami collab pieces), Dior, Fendi, Chanel… Ask for Yuji.
IG: @atlantisvintagetokyo
Nakano Broadway: Located in Nakano City, close to Koenji is a kitsch vintage shopping mall which is a mishmash of the most random assortment of shops. Hot spot for anime/manga paraphernalia - big waifu energy on a lot of the levels. Upper levels are packed with vintage designer watch dealers and some high end second hand accessories (Hermes Birkins, Kelly bags etc)
Nakano Broadway is also home to Takashi Murakami’s offices on the top level which he’s designed to look like the exterior of an old Japanese street scape which is super bizarre inside a shopping centre. He also has a coffee shop called Coffee Zingara within the building (need a reservation to come here)
TAITO CITY / KAPPABASHI
We fondly call this area of Taito City ‘Kitchen Town’ because it’s where all the restaurants get their wholesale crockery but is also popular with locals and tourists to stock up on fancy Japanese knives, beautiful ceramics and the paper lanterns you see out the front of izakayas and bars. You’ll want to start at the intersection at the top of Kappabashiogugai street where you have Niimi Cooker & Dengama on either side then work your way down. I have just listed my fav stores on this street but there is so many. Heaps of knives shops - I don’t have a favourite as they all seem pretty good, be sure to bring your passport for tax back savings on an investment knife.
Dengama: Lovely selection of unique Japanese china at varying prices. 2 levels. Great for really beautiful artisanal sake cups.
Niimi Cooker: Can’t miss this place as it has a giant chef’s head on the roof. It’s a restaurant supply shop so you can pretty much get anything kitchen related here. Closed Sundays.
Takaso: Unique ceramics which are a little more mass made (but cheaper) and more likely to be able to get a full set compared with say Dengama.
Niimi cooker - wholesale kitchenware
Fake food suppliers in Kappabashi
$7 ceramic mugs at Dengama store
Jimbocho
University area in Chiyoda City. I come here frequently for the vintage books/magazines and poster prints - however recently discovered this is also the area for ski and snowboarding gear - second hand, new and heavily reduced. I’ve linked only the book stores I like, for ski and snowboarding a quick google search of ‘ski & snowboarding Jimbocho’ will bring up all the suggested stores, they’re all very close to one another a few blocks away from the book stores.
Komiyama Book Store: vintage fashion, design, photography books & prints. 3 Levels.
Bohemian’s Guild: second hand books covering art, design, fashion, architecture and other assorted topics in Japanese and some English. One level with a print shop upstairs.
Wols Books: lovely single level book shop a little off the main strip selling second hand fashion, art, photography, architecture and speciality books on watches, cars and collectables. Friendly, helpful staff - this shop also is a little bit more spacious and accommodating with stools and small tables to sit down to pour over the books before you buy.
Magnif Zinebocho: vintage assorted magazines including Vogue, Elle, Rolling Stone, Brutus, Popeye, Seventeen Mag.
Vintage Jinbocho: retro posters, magazines and pamphlets.
Isseido Booksellers: Pre-war iconic building selling rare and hard to find vintage books in Japanese, English and other languages.
Anegawa Bookstore Nyankodo: bookstore which only sells books on cats. =^_^=
Upper level has seriously beautiful prints and antique books.
Super Labo Store Tokyo: Modern/Directional outpost that sells new and rare photography magazines and books - 7 min walk from the main drag above.
Jimbocho, vintage book paradise
Niche and rare books & zines at SuperLabo Store
Retro books and magazines at Magnif
Gotemba Premium Outlet
Where all the luxury brands have their outlets stores (Loewe, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Issey Miyake, Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Versace, Valentino etc) near Mt Fuji.
The fastest route is advertised as the shuttle bus from the 5th floor carpark at Mark City shopping centre in Shibuya which still takes between 1.5-3 hours each way depending on traffic. You have to book your bus ticket ahead of time via this site.
I will seek out an outlet shopping centre in almost any city and although this one had all the best brands in a concentrated area, pretty decent selection and alright savings off the marked prices I don’t think this is the best outlet experience. If you only have limited time in Tokyo and like to shop, going to Gotemba really does eat up a whole day and I think Tokyo has so much more to offer.
Saitama