Sublime Stays in Japan's Capital City
Navigating the art of Japanese hospitality among the finest hotels and ryokans in Tokyo.
FOR SHEER SHOPPING variety, no city on Earth beats Tokyo. From glassy department stores to word-of-mouth gems tucked away behind unassuming doors, the world’s largest metropolis offers some of the most stimulating retail therapy on the planet. Living and working as a journalist in the Japanese capital on and off over the past few years has honed my sense for good retail, but, even now, I’m still often surprised and delighted by the seemingly endless depth of stores, some of them hidden in truly obscure places that make discovering them all the more fun.
Take the city’s wealth of so-called “select shops,” named because of their finely curated selections of items that make each place feel like a microcosmic universe just waiting to be explored. A buyer’s utopia for everything from menswear to ceramics, manga to archive Margiela, Tokyo can be overwhelming and impenetrable, but — if you know the right places to go — also incredibly rewarding.
When navigating the shopping scene here, it helps to think like a local. Tokyoites are notoriously shrewd shoppers, as discerning as they are well-dressed, and generally know what they’re looking for before they find it. While it’s always possible that you’ll spontaneously stumble across somewhere cool, Tokyo is a city that really opens up when you go armed with information.
With that in mind, consider this short guide your jumping-off point, where you’ll find gargantuan stationery stores, underground fashion boutiques, and plenty more to tempt you. Empty suitcase advised.
Fashion
Restir
A luxurious selection of mens- and womenswear
An imposing black cube of a building that was once Kishin Shinoyama’s studio (the legendary photographer still keeps a space on the third floor), Restir is an unapologetically high-end store located in Roppongi that serves Tokyo’s elite. Split into three floors,...
An imposing black cube of a building that was once Kishin Shinoyama’s studio (the legendary photographer still keeps a space on the third floor), Restir is an unapologetically high-end store located in Roppongi that serves Tokyo’s elite. Split into three floors, with a moody menswear selection in the basement, a womenswear boutique upstairs, and a genderless section in between, you’ll find everything from hard-luxury international brands to avant-garde designers, plus an edgy selection of fragrance and cosmetics.
H Beauty & Youth
One-stop destination for casual threads and accessories
A reliable gateway to Tokyo’s fashion scene, H Beauty & Youth stands proud in the shopping district of Omotesando. H is a premium-minded offering from United Arrows (one of Japan’s biggest select-shop retailers), and the menswear and womenswear at H have...
A reliable gateway to Tokyo’s fashion scene, H Beauty & Youth stands proud in the shopping district of Omotesando. H is a premium-minded offering from United Arrows (one of Japan’s biggest select-shop retailers), and the menswear and womenswear at H have broad appeal. Spread across almost 14,000 square feet in a U-shape that spans three floors (and is decorated with large bonsai trees), you’ll find everything from fancy tracksuits to knitwear and casual tailoring, with cosmetics and jewelry dotted around too. In the basement, there’s an everyday vintage section, plus a Pizza Slice if you’re peckish.
Biotop
High-end clothing surrounded by greenery
From the outside, Biotop, located in the well-heeled residential district of Shirokanedai, could well be mistaken for a neighborhood garden center since much of the entrance and ground floor is devoted to plants. Make your way through the potted banyans and herbs,...
From the outside, Biotop, located in the well-heeled residential district of Shirokanedai, could well be mistaken for a neighborhood garden center since much of the entrance and ground floor is devoted to plants. Make your way through the potted banyans and herbs, however, and you’ll also find, spread over two floors, the tastefully curated selection of high-end menswear and womenswear that has made Biotop a lodestar for Tokyo’s most style-conscious dressers. International brands sit alongside a strong selection of niche domestic labels including Fetico, Hyke, and Comoli, plus a smattering of natural cosmetics, candles, and earthy ceramics.
Kijima Takayuki
A protege hatmaker
Kijima Takayuki is Japan’s hatmaker of the moment. A protege of milliner legend Akio Hirata — known for collaborating with a litany of Japan’s most prominent designers, including Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons — Takayuki has now taken up the...
Kijima Takayuki is Japan’s hatmaker of the moment. A protege of milliner legend Akio Hirata — known for collaborating with a litany of Japan’s most prominent designers, including Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons — Takayuki has now taken up the milliner mantle and has recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of his eponymous brand. With everything from contemporary knitted beanies and bucket caps to baseball caps, outdoorsy fisherman hats, and bespoke fedoras lining the shelves, his neatly organized store in Daikanyama is a must-visit. Peek through the window below the shop, and you might spot Takayuki himself busy at work in his atelier.
Archive Store
An underground treasure trove
A true fashion otaku’s paradise, Archive Store is underground both figuratively and literally, sequestered in the shadows of a black tread-plate staircase a few minutes west of Shibuya Station. Inside the store is quiet — one staff member mans a computer...
A true fashion otaku’s paradise, Archive Store is underground both figuratively and literally, sequestered in the shadows of a black tread-plate staircase a few minutes west of Shibuya Station. Inside the store is quiet — one staff member mans a computer while relaxing music plays — making it feel less like a shop and more like a museum, with archive Maison Margiela, Raf Simons, Comme des Garçons, and more laid out across low-ceilinged, mirrored corridors, not to mention (at least at the time of writing) a sizeable selection of Phoebe Philo-era Céline.
Anatomica Nihonbashi
Traditional menswear
Anatomica is a famous traditional menswear destination in Paris, but it also has two stores in Tokyo — one more centrally in Aoyama, and a flagship slightly to the east that sits just off the bank of the Sumida River in the historic district of...
Anatomica is a famous traditional menswear destination in Paris, but it also has two stores in Tokyo — one more centrally in Aoyama, and a flagship slightly to the east that sits just off the bank of the Sumida River in the historic district of Nihonbashi. Anatomica deals in Menswear with a capital M: Besides original workwear and denim, you’ll find an array of leather goods, including belts and wallets, utilitarian army gear, and traditional staples like berets and handkerchiefs.
Bryceland’s & Co.
Designs for all
A go-to for menswear insiders, Bryceland’s is the brainchild of Australian expat Ethan Newton and his business partner Kenji Cheung and sits on the corner of a backstreet just east of Harajuku. Putting a focus on clothes and sizes that will serve a...
A go-to for menswear insiders, Bryceland’s is the brainchild of Australian expat Ethan Newton and his business partner Kenji Cheung and sits on the corner of a backstreet just east of Harajuku. Putting a focus on clothes and sizes that will serve a variety of body types (a rarity in Japan), it’s a natty spot to pick up everything from sport coats and loafers to combs, pocket squares, and other classically minded paraphernalia.
Home Decor
Utsuwa Kaede
A gallerylike shop
With an ever-rotating selection of tableware by ceramicists and glassmakers from across Japan, Utsuwa Kaede is like a shoppable exhibition space — and is the place to go for quintessentially Japanese tableware. With teapots, sake cups, and lacquerware laid...
With an ever-rotating selection of tableware by ceramicists and glassmakers from across Japan, Utsuwa Kaede is like a shoppable exhibition space — and is the place to go for quintessentially Japanese tableware. With teapots, sake cups, and lacquerware laid out on the tatami tables, it’s a small store that puts quality over quantity. It is presided over by owner Yoko Shimada, who over the past two decades has made the store a portal to Japan’s most talented craftspeople.
Pejite Aoyama
A secret spot for homewares
A homewares store tucked away down a leafy alleyway a few feet from the giant, yellow Isabel Marant store in Aoyama, Pejite is totally hidden, the kind of place you would never know existed unless someone tells you about it first. This outpost serves as a...
A homewares store tucked away down a leafy alleyway a few feet from the giant, yellow Isabel Marant store in Aoyama, Pejite is totally hidden, the kind of place you would never know existed unless someone tells you about it first. This outpost serves as a satellite store for Pejite Mashiko, an antique-furniture dealer based in Tochigi, about three hours to the north of Tokyo. Pejite in Aoyama is considerably smaller, but everything in the store, from the shelves to the light fittings, is for sale at largely reasonable prices.
Cibone Case
An outpost for creative gifts
Inside Ginza’s family of legacy department stores, Ginza Six, which opened in 2017, is the cool new kid on the block. Walk through the front doors, and you’re greeted with the usual luxury handbag concessions and cosmetics counters buzzing with cash-flashing...
Inside Ginza’s family of legacy department stores, Ginza Six, which opened in 2017, is the cool new kid on the block. Walk through the front doors, and you’re greeted with the usual luxury handbag concessions and cosmetics counters buzzing with cash-flashing tourists. But venture to the upper floors, and you’ll find an excellent selection of Japanese fashion and homeware. The fourth floor is the best for the latter and is home to Cibone Case, a special Cibone annex that stocks a unique selection of stylish objects from contemporary Japanese and international creators, many of which make for thoughtful home gifts.
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Speciality Shops
Itoya Ginza
An iconic selection of paper goods
A pen and paper shop that first opened in Ginza way back in 1904, Itoya’s flagship has since mutated into an 18-floor monster department store that will quicken the pulse of anyone with even a passing interest in stationery. Inside is an entire world devoted...
A pen and paper shop that first opened in Ginza way back in 1904, Itoya’s flagship has since mutated into an 18-floor monster department store that will quicken the pulse of anyone with even a passing interest in stationery. Inside is an entire world devoted to washi paper, sketchbooks, paints and pastels, notebooks, pencil cases, letterpress cards, origami, kitchenware, Japanese calligraphy tools, and much more. On the upper floors, you’ll find a restaurant, business lounge, and futuristic-looking hydroponic vegetable farm. In addition to souvenirs, Itoya makes for an excellent place to stock up on birthday or occasion cards; feats of paper engineering, they come bursting with spectacular pop-up cutouts of Japan iconography such as sakura trees and Mount Fuji.
Kurashi no Kaori
Delightful home fragrance
Directly translating to “scent of life,” Kurashi no Kaori is a contemporary home-fragrance brand founded by Masaya Konaka two years ago that has quickly drawn attention for its quietly stylish approach to scent. Konaka is the grandson of Tadanori Konaka,...
Directly translating to “scent of life,” Kurashi no Kaori is a contemporary home-fragrance brand founded by Masaya Konaka two years ago that has quickly drawn attention for its quietly stylish approach to scent. Konaka is the grandson of Tadanori Konaka, the man behind Japan’s biggest incense manufacturer, Nippon Kodo, and brings a legacy of knowledge and experience to Kurashi no Kaori. The line features a tight edit of candles and willow-twig diffusers in pleasant Japan-inspired scents such as yuzu citrus and hinoki cypress. The showstopper — not to mention an excellent souvenir — is the fragrance bar, which works by gently shaving the wax to release the scent.
Imabari Towel, Minamiaoyama
The finest towels
How good can a towel possibly be? Allow Imabari Towel to answer that. The self-proclaimed “Mecca of towels,” once you feel the soft embrace of an Imabari bath towel, it’s hard to go back. Named after a city in Ehime prefecture on Japan’s...
How good can a towel possibly be? Allow Imabari Towel to answer that. The self-proclaimed “Mecca of towels,” once you feel the soft embrace of an Imabari bath towel, it’s hard to go back. Named after a city in Ehime prefecture on Japan’s Shikoku island that has been manufacturing towels for over a century because of its gentle water, Imabari towels are known for remaining soft even after multiple washes. There are a number of Imabari stores dotted around Tokyo, but the biggest one is in Minamiaoyama. Imabari’s staff is famously helpful, and there are even in-house “towel sommeliers” on hand to advise.
Cafes and Cocktails
Little Cloud Coffee
A quiet stop for coffee
You’ll find the delightfully named Little Cloud Coffee tucked away at the back of the Visvim General Store in Nakameguro. It only has one table and a few stools, but is thankfully seldom busy, and serves as a peaceful place to recharge while on a...
You’ll find the delightfully named Little Cloud Coffee tucked away at the back of the Visvim General Store in Nakameguro. It only has one table and a few stools, but is thankfully seldom busy, and serves as a peaceful place to recharge while on a shopping trip. Sliding-glass doors look out onto a burbling stream next to which you can sip on regular coffee, shiso juice (shiso is an herb often used in Japanese cuisine), and homemade cola, or tuck into an assortment of baked sweets, including ginger balls and chocolate buttons.
Down the Stairs
Japanese comfort food
As its name suggests, this quiet eatery is situated just down the stairs from Arts & Science, the lifestyle brand founded by the Korean stylist Sonya Park. Its restaurant/cafe outpost is a good lunch or dinner spot, with a menu serving cozy comfort food...
As its name suggests, this quiet eatery is situated just down the stairs from Arts & Science, the lifestyle brand founded by the Korean stylist Sonya Park. Its restaurant/cafe outpost is a good lunch or dinner spot, with a menu serving cozy comfort food such as vegetable potage and Japanese curry, as well as handmade cookies and herbal teas — the matsu pine tea is particularly refreshing.
Gold Bar at the Edition
Ideal for a nightcap
The aptly named Gold Bar at the newly opened Tokyo Edition in the buzzy Toranomon neighborhood has quickly become a gathering point for Tokyo’s most glittery and glamorous. All dark velvet and wax candles, it’s a sultry hideaway ideal for a...
The aptly named Gold Bar at the newly opened Tokyo Edition in the buzzy Toranomon neighborhood has quickly become a gathering point for Tokyo’s most glittery and glamorous. All dark velvet and wax candles, it’s a sultry hideaway ideal for a nightcap, with an expansive menu that incorporates Japanese ingredients (think matcha and shochu liquor) into inventive cocktails. The Tipsy Riceman, which contains a heady mix of Hojicha sake and kiwi, is unlike anything else you’ll try.
Our Contributors
Ashley Ogawa Clarke Writer
Ashley Ogawa Clarke is a British journalist, copywriter, and creative consultant living and working in Japan, with a decade of experience in the fashion industry writing for titles including "The Wall Street Journal," "Vogue," "GQ," "The Financial Times," "Business of Fashion," "i-D," "The Face," and "The Daily Telegraph," as well as copywriting for the luxury travel industry.
