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Kurofune Antiques
Tokyo
Located in a large house in Roppongi, Kurofune is owned by American John Adair, who for more than 25 years has specialized in Japanese antique furniture in its original condition. The largest collection here is of mid- to top-quality pieces, but browsing is a delight even if you can't afford to buy; stock in addition to furniture includes hibachi, fabrics, prints, maps, lanterns, screens, folk art, and the country's largest collection of Japanese baskets. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm. Located in a large house in Roppongi, Kurofune
Kyugetsu
Tokyo
Asakusabashi is Tokyo's wholesale district for retailers of dolls, with several stores lining Edo Dori. This is one of the area's biggest stores, founded in 1830. It sells both modern and traditional dolls; its Japanese dolls range from elegant creatures with porcelain faces, delicate coiffures, and silk kimono to wooden dolls called kokeshi. Hours are Monday to Friday 9:15am to 6pm, Saturday to Sunday 9:15am to 5:15pm. Closed several days following Children's Day and in mid-August.Asakusabashi is Tokyo's wholesale district for retailers of dolls, with
La Forêt
Tokyo
This is not only the largest store in Harajuku but also one of the most fashionable, appealing mostly to teenage and 20-something shoppers. Young and upcoming Japanese designers are here as well as established names, in boutiques spread on several floors. There's so much to see -- from pink frilly dresses to Goth -- you can easily kill a few hours here. Open daily 11am to 8pm.This is not only the largest store in Harajuku but
Lemon
Tokyo
Its name doesn't inspire confidence, but this company specializes in used and new cameras from around the world. On the eighth floor are both new and used Japanese and foreign cameras, including digital cameras and large-format models. Leica, Hasselblad, Rolleiflex, Canon, and Nikon are just some of the brands available, along with watches and eyeglasses. A camera buff's paradise. Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 8pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm.Its name doesn't inspire confidence, but this company specializes in
Loft
Tokyo
Loft is Seibu's store for the young homeowner and hobbyist, with tableware, cookware, glassware, bathroom accessories, bed linens, office supplies, stationery, and more. Don't miss the sixth-floor variety goods department, filled with an amazing amount of Japanese and American kitsch, party goods (including some weird costumes), and cellphone straps and charms. If you've yearned for a bank in the shape of a toilet, this is the place for you. There's a branch in Ikebukuro's Seibu (earlier). Open daily 10am to 9pm.Loft is Seibu's store for the young homeowner and hobbyist,
Maruzen
Tokyo
This is Japan's oldest bookstore, founded in 1869 but recently ensconced in the very new Oazo Building across from Tokyo Station's Marunouchi exit. Its English-language section, on the fourth floor, is huge and well laid out, with everything from dictionaries to travel guides to special-interest books on Japan. It also carries books on science, politics, and history, as well as magazines and paperbacks. If you're searching for a specific title, you'll probably want to come here first. Open daily 9am to 9pm.This is Japan's oldest bookstore, founded in 1869 but recently
Matsuya
Tokyo
This is one of my favorite department stores in Tokyo; if I were buying a wedding gift, Matsuya is one of the first places I'd look. It has a good selection of Japanese folk crafts items, kitchenware, kimono, and beautifully designed contemporary household goods, in addition to the usual designer clothes and accessories. I always make a point of stopping by the seventh floor's Design Collection, which displays items from around the world selected by the Japan Design Committee as examples of fine design, from the Alessi teapot to Braun razors. Open daily 10am to 8pm.This is one of my favorite department stores in Tokyo;
Matsuzakaya
Tokyo
Established almost 400 years ago, this was the first department store in Japan that did not require customers to take off their shoes at the entrance. It appeals mainly to Tokyo's older generation with its mostly men's and women's clothing, but it does have a pet shop, children's play area, and, on its roof, a Shinto shrine and a summer beer garden. Hours are Sunday to Wednesday 10:30am to 7:30pm, Thursday to Saturday 10:30am to 8pm.Established almost 400 years ago, this was the first department
Mitsukoshi
Tokyo
This Nihombashi department store is one of Japan's oldest and grandest, founded in 1673 by the Mitsui family as a kimono store. In 1683, it became the first store in the world to deal only in cash sales; it was also one of the first stores in Japan to display goods on shelves rather than have merchants fetch bolts of cloth for each customer, as was the custom of the time. It was one of the first shops to employ female clerks. Today, housed in a building dating from 1914, it remains one of Tokyo's loveliest department stores, with a beautiful and stately Renaissance-style facade and an entrance guarded by two bronze lions, replicas of the lions in Trafalgar Square. The store carries many international name-brand boutiques, from Chanel to Christian Dior; its kimono, by the way, are still hot items. Open daily 10am to 7:30pm. Another branch, located right on Ginza 4-chome Crossing (tel. 03/3562-1111; Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-7:30pm), is popular with young shoppers.This Nihombashi department store is one of Japan's oldest and
Nishimura Gallery
Tokyo
This gallery represents an even mix of established Japanese and foreign (mainly British) painters and sculptors, including David Hockney, Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton, Kobayashi Takanobu, and Funakoshi Katsura. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10:30am to 6:30pm.This gallery represents an even mix of established Japanese and
Ohya Shobo
Tokyo
Established in 1882, this delightfully cramped shop in Kanda doesn't have any English-language books, but it does claim to have the world's largest stock of 18th- and 19th-century Japanese illustrated books, woodblock prints, and maps, including maps from the Edo Period. Note that credit cards are not accepted here. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm; closed some holidays.Established in 1882, this delightfully cramped shop in Kanda doesn't
Oriental Bazaar
Tokyo
If you have time for only one souvenir shop in Tokyo, this should be it. This is the city's best-known and largest souvenir/crafts store, selling products at reasonable prices and offering four floors of souvenir and gift items, including cotton yukata, kimono (new and used), woodblock prints, paper products, fans, chopsticks, Imari chinaware, sake sets, Japanese dolls, pearls, books on Japan, and a large selection of antique furniture. This store will also ship things home for you. Open Friday to Wednesday 10am to 7pm.If you have time for only one souvenir shop in
Parco
Tokyo
A division of Seibu, Parco is actually three buildings clustered together and called Parco Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Parco Part 1 is the place to go for designer boutiques for men and women, with clothes by Japanese designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Tsumori Chisato and foreign designers like Anna Sui and Vivienne Westwood. Part 2 has furniture and household goods, while Part 3 is devoted to casual, young fashions. Parco has two sales a year that you shouldn't miss if you're in town -- one in January and one in July. Open daily 10am to 9pm.A division of Seibu, Parco is actually three buildings clustered
S. Watanabe
Tokyo
This 100-year-old shop deals mostly in contemporary woodblock prints with traditional themes, as well as reproduction and antique ukiyo-e. Open Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 8pm; holidays 9:30am to 5pm.This 100-year-old shop deals mostly in contemporary woodblock prints with
Sakai Kokodo Gallery
Tokyo
This gallery claims to be the oldest woodblock print shop in Japan. It was first opened back in 1870 in the Kanda area of Tokyo by the present owner's great-grandfather; altogether four generations of the Sakai family have tended the store. It's a great place for original prints, as well as reproductions of great masters like Hiroshige. (If you're really a woodblock print fan, you'll want to visit the Sakai family's excellent Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, in the small town of Matsumoto in the Japan Alps.) Open daily 11am to 6pm.This gallery claims to be the oldest woodblock print shop
Seibu
Tokyo
Once the nation's largest department store -- and still one of the biggest -- Seibu has 47 entrances, thousands of sales clerks, dozens of restaurants, 12 floors, 31 elevators, and an average of 170,000 shoppers a day. Two basement floors are devoted to foodstuffs -- you can buy everything from taco shells to octopus to seaweed. Dishes are set out so that you can sample the food as you move along, and hawkers yelling out their wares give the place a marketlike atmosphere. Fast-food counters sell salads, grilled eel, chicken, sushi, and other ready-to-eat dishes. The rest of the floors offer clothing, furniture, art galleries, jewelry, household goods, kitchenware, and a million other things. Loft, Seibu's department for household goods and interior design, and Wave, Seibu's CD department, occupy the top four floors of the main building. Many of the best Japanese and Western designers have boutiques here; it also carries large, tall, and petite sizes. Open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 9pm, Sunday and holidays from 10am to 8pm. 1-28-1 Minami Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. tel. 03/3981-0111. Station: Ikebukuro (underneath the store).Once the nation's largest department store -- and still one
Seibu
Tokyo
Shibuya's largest department store consists of two buildings connected by pedestrian skywalks, with lots of designer boutiques like Issey Miyake, Comme des Garçons, Tsumori Chisato, Vivienne Westwood, and Vivienne Tam. Nearby are Loft, with household goods, and Movida, a fashion department store with fun young fashions for waifs. See the listing for the main store in Ikebukuro, above. Open Sunday to Wednesday 10am to 8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am to 9pm.Shibuya's largest department store consists of two buildings connected by
Shiseido Gallery
Tokyo
Founded in 1919 by the Shiseido cosmetics company's first president, this is the Ginza's oldest gallery but it occupies very updated quarters in a basement room with super-high ceilings (5m/16 ft.). It features contemporary art by young, promising talent, both Japanese and foreign. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 7pm; Sunday and holidays 11am to 6pm.Founded in 1919 by the Shiseido cosmetics company's first president,
Sukeroku
Tokyo
This tiny, truly unique shop sells handmade figures of traditional Japanese characters, from mythological figures to priests, farmers, entertainers, and animals. Included are people of the many castes of the Edo Period, ranging from peasants to feudal lords. Most figures are in the ¥3,000-to-¥5,000 ($25-$42/£13-£21) price range, though some are much higher than that. Open daily 10am to 6pm.This tiny, truly unique shop sells handmade figures of traditional
Takashimaya
Tokyo
This department store provides stiff competition for Mitsukoshi, with a history just as long. It was founded as a kimono shop in Kyoto during the Edo Period and opened in Tokyo in 1933. Today it's one of the city's most attractive department stores, with white-gloved elevator operators whisking customers to eight floors of shopping and dining. Naturally, it features boutiques by such famous designers as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Issey Miyake, and more. Its sale of used kimono (look for advertisements in the Japan Times) draws huge crowds. Open daily 10am to 8pm.This department store provides stiff competition for Mitsukoshi, with a
Takashimaya Times Square
Tokyo
Since its opening in 1996, Takashimaya Times Square has been the number-one draw in Shinjuku and is packed on weekends. Much larger than Takashimaya's Nihombashi flagship, this huge complex is anchored by the Takashimaya department store, which boasts 10 floors of clothing and restaurants (lower floors target the affluent elderly, while upper floors appeal to younger shoppers and families; petite and "queen-size" clothing are on the sixth floor). There's also Tokyu Hands with everything imaginable for the home hobbyist, and Kinokuniya bookstore with English-language books on the sixth floor. Open daily 10am to 8pm; closed some Wednesdays.Since its opening in 1996, Takashimaya Times Square has been
Tatsumi
Tokyo
This small shop in Asakusa sells antique and used kimono and obi at reasonable prices. Open daily 10am to 7pm.This small shop in Asakusa sells antique and used kimono
Three Minutes Happiness
Tokyo
Bargain yen shops have opened all over Japan the past few years, but this is one of the best I've seen. It carries tableware, household goods, office supplies, cosmetics, sunglasses, clothing, and many other simple items, mostly in bright and happy colors like lime green and sky blue. Let's just hope most of the products give more than 3 minutes of happiness. There's a branch in Ikebukuro's Tobu/Metropolitan Plaza. Open daily 11am to 9pm.Bargain yen shops have opened all over Japan the past
Tobu/Metropolitan Plaza
Tokyo
Once overshadowed by nearby Seibu, this flagship of the Tobu chain expanded and reopened in 1993 as Japan's largest department store, employing 3,000 clerks to serve the 180,000 customers who enter its doors daily. It consists of a main building, a connecting central building, and Metropolitan Plaza. It offers everything from luxury goods and the latest international fashions to hardware, software, toys, daily necessities, and traditional Japanese products (good for souvenirs). On the seventh floor are outlets for Uniqlo and Three Minutes Happiness. Its basement food floor is massive -- food accounts for nearly 20% of Tobu's total sales. Here, too, is the home of the Japan Traditional Craft Center, a must for anyone shopping for traditional and contemporary handmade Japanese crafts. Open daily 10am to 8pm; closed some Wednesdays.Once overshadowed by nearby Seibu, this flagship of the Tobu
Tokyu Hands
Tokyo
Billing itself the "Creative Life Store," Tokyu Hands, part of the Tokyu chain, is a huge department store for the serious homeowner and hobbyist, with everything from travel accessories, noren (doorway curtains), chopsticks, and kitchen knives, to equipment and materials for do-it-yourselfers, including paper for shoji. If there's a practical Japanese product you've decided you can't live without (lunchbox? bathroom slippers? hanging laundry rack?), this is a good place to look. You'll also find Tokyu Hands at 1-28-10 Higashi Ikebukuro beside the Sunshine City Building (tel. 03/3980-6111) and in the Takashimaya Times Square complex in Shinjuku (tel. 03/5361-3111). Open daily 10am to 8:30pm.Billing itself the "Creative Life Store," Tokyu Hands, part of
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Tokyo
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Kurofune Antiques
Tokyo
Located in a large house in Roppongi, Kurofune is owned by American John Adair, who for more than 25 years has specialized in Japanese antique furniture in its original condition. The largest collection here is of mid- to top-quality pieces, but browsing is a delight even if you can't afford to buy; stock in addition to furniture includes hibachi, fabrics, prints, maps, lanterns, screens, folk art, and the country's largest collection of Japanese baskets. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm. Located in a large house in Roppongi, Kurofune
Kyugetsu
Tokyo
Asakusabashi is Tokyo's wholesale district for retailers of dolls, with several stores lining Edo Dori. This is one of the area's biggest stores, founded in 1830. It sells both modern and traditional dolls; its Japanese dolls range from elegant creatures with porcelain faces, delicate coiffures, and silk kimono to wooden dolls called kokeshi. Hours are Monday to Friday 9:15am to 6pm, Saturday to Sunday 9:15am to 5:15pm. Closed several days following Children's Day and in mid-August.Asakusabashi is Tokyo's wholesale district for retailers of dolls, with
La Forêt
Tokyo
This is not only the largest store in Harajuku but also one of the most fashionable, appealing mostly to teenage and 20-something shoppers. Young and upcoming Japanese designers are here as well as established names, in boutiques spread on several floors. There's so much to see -- from pink frilly dresses to Goth -- you can easily kill a few hours here. Open daily 11am to 8pm.This is not only the largest store in Harajuku but
Lemon
Tokyo
Its name doesn't inspire confidence, but this company specializes in used and new cameras from around the world. On the eighth floor are both new and used Japanese and foreign cameras, including digital cameras and large-format models. Leica, Hasselblad, Rolleiflex, Canon, and Nikon are just some of the brands available, along with watches and eyeglasses. A camera buff's paradise. Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 8pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm.Its name doesn't inspire confidence, but this company specializes in
Loft
Tokyo
Loft is Seibu's store for the young homeowner and hobbyist, with tableware, cookware, glassware, bathroom accessories, bed linens, office supplies, stationery, and more. Don't miss the sixth-floor variety goods department, filled with an amazing amount of Japanese and American kitsch, party goods (including some weird costumes), and cellphone straps and charms. If you've yearned for a bank in the shape of a toilet, this is the place for you. There's a branch in Ikebukuro's Seibu (earlier). Open daily 10am to 9pm.Loft is Seibu's store for the young homeowner and hobbyist,
Maruzen
Tokyo
This is Japan's oldest bookstore, founded in 1869 but recently ensconced in the very new Oazo Building across from Tokyo Station's Marunouchi exit. Its English-language section, on the fourth floor, is huge and well laid out, with everything from dictionaries to travel guides to special-interest books on Japan. It also carries books on science, politics, and history, as well as magazines and paperbacks. If you're searching for a specific title, you'll probably want to come here first. Open daily 9am to 9pm.This is Japan's oldest bookstore, founded in 1869 but recently
Matsuya
Tokyo
This is one of my favorite department stores in Tokyo; if I were buying a wedding gift, Matsuya is one of the first places I'd look. It has a good selection of Japanese folk crafts items, kitchenware, kimono, and beautifully designed contemporary household goods, in addition to the usual designer clothes and accessories. I always make a point of stopping by the seventh floor's Design Collection, which displays items from around the world selected by the Japan Design Committee as examples of fine design, from the Alessi teapot to Braun razors. Open daily 10am to 8pm.This is one of my favorite department stores in Tokyo;
Matsuzakaya
Tokyo
Established almost 400 years ago, this was the first department store in Japan that did not require customers to take off their shoes at the entrance. It appeals mainly to Tokyo's older generation with its mostly men's and women's clothing, but it does have a pet shop, children's play area, and, on its roof, a Shinto shrine and a summer beer garden. Hours are Sunday to Wednesday 10:30am to 7:30pm, Thursday to Saturday 10:30am to 8pm.Established almost 400 years ago, this was the first department
Mitsukoshi
Tokyo
This Nihombashi department store is one of Japan's oldest and grandest, founded in 1673 by the Mitsui family as a kimono store. In 1683, it became the first store in the world to deal only in cash sales; it was also one of the first stores in Japan to display goods on shelves rather than have merchants fetch bolts of cloth for each customer, as was the custom of the time. It was one of the first shops to employ female clerks. Today, housed in a building dating from 1914, it remains one of Tokyo's loveliest department stores, with a beautiful and stately Renaissance-style facade and an entrance guarded by two bronze lions, replicas of the lions in Trafalgar Square. The store carries many international name-brand boutiques, from Chanel to Christian Dior; its kimono, by the way, are still hot items. Open daily 10am to 7:30pm. Another branch, located right on Ginza 4-chome Crossing (tel. 03/3562-1111; Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-7:30pm), is popular with young shoppers.This Nihombashi department store is one of Japan's oldest and
Nishimura Gallery
Tokyo
This gallery represents an even mix of established Japanese and foreign (mainly British) painters and sculptors, including David Hockney, Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton, Kobayashi Takanobu, and Funakoshi Katsura. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10:30am to 6:30pm.This gallery represents an even mix of established Japanese and
Ohya Shobo
Tokyo
Established in 1882, this delightfully cramped shop in Kanda doesn't have any English-language books, but it does claim to have the world's largest stock of 18th- and 19th-century Japanese illustrated books, woodblock prints, and maps, including maps from the Edo Period. Note that credit cards are not accepted here. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm; closed some holidays.Established in 1882, this delightfully cramped shop in Kanda doesn't
Oriental Bazaar
Tokyo
If you have time for only one souvenir shop in Tokyo, this should be it. This is the city's best-known and largest souvenir/crafts store, selling products at reasonable prices and offering four floors of souvenir and gift items, including cotton yukata, kimono (new and used), woodblock prints, paper products, fans, chopsticks, Imari chinaware, sake sets, Japanese dolls, pearls, books on Japan, and a large selection of antique furniture. This store will also ship things home for you. Open Friday to Wednesday 10am to 7pm.If you have time for only one souvenir shop in
Parco
Tokyo
A division of Seibu, Parco is actually three buildings clustered together and called Parco Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Parco Part 1 is the place to go for designer boutiques for men and women, with clothes by Japanese designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Tsumori Chisato and foreign designers like Anna Sui and Vivienne Westwood. Part 2 has furniture and household goods, while Part 3 is devoted to casual, young fashions. Parco has two sales a year that you shouldn't miss if you're in town -- one in January and one in July. Open daily 10am to 9pm.A division of Seibu, Parco is actually three buildings clustered
S. Watanabe
Tokyo
This 100-year-old shop deals mostly in contemporary woodblock prints with traditional themes, as well as reproduction and antique ukiyo-e. Open Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 8pm; holidays 9:30am to 5pm.This 100-year-old shop deals mostly in contemporary woodblock prints with
Sakai Kokodo Gallery
Tokyo
This gallery claims to be the oldest woodblock print shop in Japan. It was first opened back in 1870 in the Kanda area of Tokyo by the present owner's great-grandfather; altogether four generations of the Sakai family have tended the store. It's a great place for original prints, as well as reproductions of great masters like Hiroshige. (If you're really a woodblock print fan, you'll want to visit the Sakai family's excellent Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, in the small town of Matsumoto in the Japan Alps.) Open daily 11am to 6pm.This gallery claims to be the oldest woodblock print shop
Seibu
Tokyo
Once the nation's largest department store -- and still one of the biggest -- Seibu has 47 entrances, thousands of sales clerks, dozens of restaurants, 12 floors, 31 elevators, and an average of 170,000 shoppers a day. Two basement floors are devoted to foodstuffs -- you can buy everything from taco shells to octopus to seaweed. Dishes are set out so that you can sample the food as you move along, and hawkers yelling out their wares give the place a marketlike atmosphere. Fast-food counters sell salads, grilled eel, chicken, sushi, and other ready-to-eat dishes. The rest of the floors offer clothing, furniture, art galleries, jewelry, household goods, kitchenware, and a million other things. Loft, Seibu's department for household goods and interior design, and Wave, Seibu's CD department, occupy the top four floors of the main building. Many of the best Japanese and Western designers have boutiques here; it also carries large, tall, and petite sizes. Open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 9pm, Sunday and holidays from 10am to 8pm. 1-28-1 Minami Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. tel. 03/3981-0111. Station: Ikebukuro (underneath the store).Once the nation's largest department store -- and still one
Seibu
Tokyo
Shibuya's largest department store consists of two buildings connected by pedestrian skywalks, with lots of designer boutiques like Issey Miyake, Comme des Garçons, Tsumori Chisato, Vivienne Westwood, and Vivienne Tam. Nearby are Loft, with household goods, and Movida, a fashion department store with fun young fashions for waifs. See the listing for the main store in Ikebukuro, above. Open Sunday to Wednesday 10am to 8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am to 9pm.Shibuya's largest department store consists of two buildings connected by
Shiseido Gallery
Tokyo
Founded in 1919 by the Shiseido cosmetics company's first president, this is the Ginza's oldest gallery but it occupies very updated quarters in a basement room with super-high ceilings (5m/16 ft.). It features contemporary art by young, promising talent, both Japanese and foreign. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 7pm; Sunday and holidays 11am to 6pm.Founded in 1919 by the Shiseido cosmetics company's first president,
Sukeroku
Tokyo
This tiny, truly unique shop sells handmade figures of traditional Japanese characters, from mythological figures to priests, farmers, entertainers, and animals. Included are people of the many castes of the Edo Period, ranging from peasants to feudal lords. Most figures are in the ¥3,000-to-¥5,000 ($25-$42/£13-£21) price range, though some are much higher than that. Open daily 10am to 6pm.This tiny, truly unique shop sells handmade figures of traditional
Takashimaya
Tokyo
This department store provides stiff competition for Mitsukoshi, with a history just as long. It was founded as a kimono shop in Kyoto during the Edo Period and opened in Tokyo in 1933. Today it's one of the city's most attractive department stores, with white-gloved elevator operators whisking customers to eight floors of shopping and dining. Naturally, it features boutiques by such famous designers as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Issey Miyake, and more. Its sale of used kimono (look for advertisements in the Japan Times) draws huge crowds. Open daily 10am to 8pm.This department store provides stiff competition for Mitsukoshi, with a
Takashimaya Times Square
Tokyo
Since its opening in 1996, Takashimaya Times Square has been the number-one draw in Shinjuku and is packed on weekends. Much larger than Takashimaya's Nihombashi flagship, this huge complex is anchored by the Takashimaya department store, which boasts 10 floors of clothing and restaurants (lower floors target the affluent elderly, while upper floors appeal to younger shoppers and families; petite and "queen-size" clothing are on the sixth floor). There's also Tokyu Hands with everything imaginable for the home hobbyist, and Kinokuniya bookstore with English-language books on the sixth floor. Open daily 10am to 8pm; closed some Wednesdays.Since its opening in 1996, Takashimaya Times Square has been
Tatsumi
Tokyo
This small shop in Asakusa sells antique and used kimono and obi at reasonable prices. Open daily 10am to 7pm.This small shop in Asakusa sells antique and used kimono
Three Minutes Happiness
Tokyo
Bargain yen shops have opened all over Japan the past few years, but this is one of the best I've seen. It carries tableware, household goods, office supplies, cosmetics, sunglasses, clothing, and many other simple items, mostly in bright and happy colors like lime green and sky blue. Let's just hope most of the products give more than 3 minutes of happiness. There's a branch in Ikebukuro's Tobu/Metropolitan Plaza. Open daily 11am to 9pm.Bargain yen shops have opened all over Japan the past
Tobu/Metropolitan Plaza
Tokyo
Once overshadowed by nearby Seibu, this flagship of the Tobu chain expanded and reopened in 1993 as Japan's largest department store, employing 3,000 clerks to serve the 180,000 customers who enter its doors daily. It consists of a main building, a connecting central building, and Metropolitan Plaza. It offers everything from luxury goods and the latest international fashions to hardware, software, toys, daily necessities, and traditional Japanese products (good for souvenirs). On the seventh floor are outlets for Uniqlo and Three Minutes Happiness. Its basement food floor is massive -- food accounts for nearly 20% of Tobu's total sales. Here, too, is the home of the Japan Traditional Craft Center, a must for anyone shopping for traditional and contemporary handmade Japanese crafts. Open daily 10am to 8pm; closed some Wednesdays.Once overshadowed by nearby Seibu, this flagship of the Tobu
Tokyu Hands
Tokyo
Billing itself the "Creative Life Store," Tokyu Hands, part of the Tokyu chain, is a huge department store for the serious homeowner and hobbyist, with everything from travel accessories, noren (doorway curtains), chopsticks, and kitchen knives, to equipment and materials for do-it-yourselfers, including paper for shoji. If there's a practical Japanese product you've decided you can't live without (lunchbox? bathroom slippers? hanging laundry rack?), this is a good place to look. You'll also find Tokyu Hands at 1-28-10 Higashi Ikebukuro beside the Sunshine City Building (tel. 03/3980-6111) and in the Takashimaya Times Square complex in Shinjuku (tel. 03/5361-3111). Open daily 10am to 8:30pm.Billing itself the "Creative Life Store," Tokyu Hands, part of
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