Japan’s world class department stores provide everything you need in one building. Floor guides are available in English. Department stores carry a range of high quality, brand goods including fashion, cosmetics, stationery and kitchen utensils. The top floors usually have an international selection of restaurants. Bustling food markets in the basement floors are filled with beautiful selections of sweets and savory delicacies. Shinjuku, Ginza and Nihombashi contain the greatest concentration of department stores.

List of Department Stores

Stores specializing in fashion items, electronics, food and more are plentiful and have a wide selection of items to choose from. If needed, the very knowledgeable staff is prepared to advise you.

Wine, Liquor and Food Shops	Florists
Furniture & Interior Shops	PC & Electrical Appliance Shops
Craft & Souvenir Shops	Bookstores & CD Shops
Shoe Stores	Outdoor Shops

Japan has 2 kinds of drug stores, Drug Store and Yakkyoku. General drug stores like Matsumoto Kiyoshi, carry daily items including cosmetics, toiletries, cleaning supplies, snacks and non-prescription drugs (prescription drugs are also available depending on the store). Pharmacies, called Yakkyoku, handle prescription drugs and are usually located close to clinics or hospitals.

Budget shopping can be a lot of fun, offering the chance to find rare or unique items, and can save you money as well. The products offered at large-scale discount stores like Don Quijote range from daily items, toys, foods, home appliances to jewelry and luxury brand items. 100-Yen-stores contain a huge selection of goods, most available at 105 Yen per piece. Recycle shops buy and sell quality used goods, often limiting their selections to items within 5 years old. Secondhand clothing stores carry good quality clothing, and the Jimbocho area is known as being one of the world’s largest used books markets.

List of Discount Shops

24 hour convenience stores, known as Konbini in Japanese, are everywhere. Drinks, snacks, magazines, and pre-packaged meals are the staple of these stores, and supplies including underwear, umbrellas, alcoholic beverages and vitamins are also available. Most convenience stores have bank ATMs, as well as multimedia kiosks where you can buy tickets for concerts, make travel reservations and much more. They also handle postal/courier services and payments for utility/phone bills, tax and pension.

Many wholesalers called Tonya have stores where individual customers can shop. In Tokyo, these stores concentrate mainly in the Shitamachi areas such as Asakusa, Ueno/Okachi-machi, Nihombashi, Asakusabashi and more. An impressing variety of goods including food, kitchen supplies, plastic food replicas, daily items, toys, snacks, various tools, fireworks, etc. for both home and professional use are available, many times at good deals as compared with retail stores. The stores have great expertise in their products and can help you with your shopping.

In addition to a variety of global Internet shopping sites, there are a number of services within Japan that offer convenient online shopping services in English.

• Gift wrapping: stores will often gladly gift wrap items for you with or without extra charge depending on the store and the type of wrapping.
• Bags: plastic bags are usually free and are used for nearly everything, large or small. Many supermarkets have point systems for customers who bring reusable bags, as part of the environmental movement. You can explain that a bag is not necessary by saying “Fukuro wa irimasen”.
• Rain covers: most department stores offer rain covers for your shopping bags (paper bags) at no extra cost on rainy days.



• Ice packs: when you do grocery shopping at supermarkets or the food section at department stores, many places offer ice packs for meat, fish and dairy products. At department stores they put reusable ice packs with your grocery. Local supermarkets have ice boxes with bags of ice cubes, or where you can fill a bag by yourself. Some stores have dry ice, too. Many places offer these for free, however, at some places you will have to pay a small fee (especially for dry ice).

Tokyo and Yokohama has a number of specialized shopping districts.

• Ginza’s streets are lined not only with well-established stores selling Japanese traditional goods, but also with numerous shops and departments stores selling high-end international brands.
• Omotesando is home to many exclusive, designer brand shops and select boutiques. It is also a very popular area for young, fashion minded people.
• Shibuya is a favorite shopping area for young people. You can find almost anything you are looking for at the wide variety of shops.
• In Harajuku there is a street called Takeshita dori where Japan’s youth gather to find the latest and craziest fashion. It is worth a stroll just to see the selection of goods.
• Meguro dori is home to a collection of furniture and interior stores.
• Shin-Okubo has a small Korean Town.
• Jinbocho is the district for second hand books.
• Ameyoko in Ueno offers low budget food and clothing.
• Akihabara not only specializes in electronics, but is the Manga and Anime (comic/animation/video game) heart of Japan.
• Kappabashi is the place restaurants go to get their kitchen supplies as well as the plastic food replicas you see in their displays.
• Yokohama has Japan’s biggest China Town.

There are many outlet malls around Tokyo and Yokohama. Some have direct buses from Tokyo Station and Shinjuku Station. Check their websites for more information.

Major sales take place in early summer and in winter at the beginning of the New Year, although many shopping complexes are starting to hold seasonal clearance sales more often, and for longer days, in the past few years. Advertisements are posted on trains and elsewhere announcing sale dates and discounts. Eager to get one of the limited New Year Fukubukuro (lucky bags) containing a mystery selection of products at a greatly reduced price, people arrive early and form lines outside of the department stores.