12 Best Shopping in Tokyo, Japan

Easily recognized by its red-and-white "O1" logo, Marui burst onto the department store scene in the 1980s by introducing an in-store credit card—one of the first stores in Japan to do so. The four Marui buildings—Marui Honkan, Marui Annex, Marui One, and Marui Mens—make up the largest department store in the area by a large margin. Women flock to the stores in search of petite clothing, and you can find the largest concentration of Gothic and Lolita clothing in the city at the Annex.

On the fourth floor, this gleaming department store houses an excellent selection of Japanese fashion, including Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. The European-designer boutiques on the second floor are particularly popular with Tokyo's brand-obsessed shoppers. The rooftop terrace is a welcome respite for the weary.

Founded in 1673 as a dry-goods store, Mitsukoshi later played one of the leading roles in introducing Western merchandise to Japan. It has retained its image of quality and excellence, with a particularly strong representation of Western fashion designers. The store also stocks fine traditional Japanese goods—don't miss the art gallery and the crafts area on the sixth floor. With its own subway stop, bronze lions at the entrance, and an atrium sculpture of the Japanese goddess Magokoro, this flagship store merits a visit even if you're not planning on buying anything.

The new flagship store of this minimalist, design-focused interiors and clothing brand is home to a large selection of furniture, appliances, bedding, and clothes for the whole family. The store also houses a café-bakery, diner, children's play area, and hotel.

This 24-hour discount store has chains all around the country. The generally tight quarters aren't recommended for those with claustrophobia, but bargain hunters love the costumes, odd cosmetics, family-size bags of Japanese snacks, and used luxury handbags and watches. It's all haphazardly stacked from the floor to the ceiling.

One of the biggest and swankiest commercial complexes in the city, Ginza Six opened with much fanfare in 2017 and didn’t disappoint. Below the office spaces that occupy the upper floors, you’ll find another six floors above and below ground home to outlets of brands like Celine, Fendi, and Jimmy Choo. There are also cosmetic stores, deli foods, restaurants, art installations, and even a basement Noh theater. It's immediately across the street from the 12-story flagship of budget fashion brand Uniqlo.

Established in 1886, "the Bergdorf's of Tokyo" is known for its high-end fashions both local and foreign, including a selection of larger sizes not found in most Tokyo stores. The second and third floors have champagne bars and snazzy store design that rival the world's best shops, making this one of the most pleasant shopping experiences in Tokyo, or anywhere, for that matter. The basement food court, which includes both traditional and modern prepared cuisine, is one of the city's largest in a department store.

The unique geometric shape of Kitte’s interior, which was partly designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, sets this department store apart. It also has a notable free history museum (called Intermediatheque) and an expansive rooftop garden overlooking Tokyo Station on the sixth floor. The department store’s name, Kitte, is a play on the Japanese words “stamp” and “come”. It makes sense once you know that Japan Post was the building’s developer.

The Ginza branch of Japan's first department-store chain has been open since 1930 and remains the largest department store in the area, with a sprawling grass-covered terrace on the ninth floor that provides a respite from the shopping bustle. On the third floor is an area called "Le Place" that sells only local designer fashion, and the two basement floors have an impressive selection of delicacies.

Even Japanese customers have been known to get lost in this mammoth department store; the main branch is in Ikebukuro, a bustling neighborhood just north of Shinjuku. Seibu has an excellent selection of household goods, from furniture to lacquerware and quirky interior design pieces in its stand-alone Loft shops (which you'll find throughout the city next to Seibu branches, or occasionally in the department store itself).

Gift givers all over Japan seek out this department store; a present that comes in a Takashimaya bag makes a statement regardless of what's inside. Like most department stores each floor is dedicated to labels with similar price points, but here the north half is for women and south for men, so couples and families can shop on the same floors. The basement-level food court carries every gastronomic delight imaginable, from Japanese crackers and Miyazaki beef to one of the largest gourmet dessert courts in the city. The annexes boast a large-scale Tokyu Hands and Kinokuniya bookstore as well.

This grand old department store is well known for its high-end watches, glassware, and jewelry, as well as having some of the most sophisticated window displays in town. The clock atop the curved 1930s-era building is illuminated at night, making it one of Ginza's more recognized landmarks.