Shopping - Tokyo - page 228

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a varied mix of boutiques and restaurants; Roppongi Hills ( & 03/6406-6000; www.
roppongihills.com/en; station: Roppongi), an urban renewal project with approximately
130 shops spread throughout several buildings and along tree-lined streets; and Tokyo
Midtown (www.tokyo-midtown.com/en; station: Roppongi), with its mix of tony shops,
restaurants, and offices.
Caretta Shiodome (www.caretta.jp/english; station: Shiodome), a 47-story monolith
just southwest of the Ginza (and across from Hama Rikyu Garden), contains 58 shops
and 33 restaurants. While there, stop by the Ad Museum Tokyo, Japan's first museum of
advertising, with changing exhibits; admission is free (closed Sun-Mon).
Just across the harbor, on the man-made island of Odaiba (station: Aomi, Tokyo
Teleport, or Odaiba Kaihin Koen), is Palette Town, an amusement/shopping center that
contains the sophisticated, upscale Italian-themed Venus Fort ( & 03/3599-0700 ), an
indoor mall that evokes scenes from Italy with its store-fronted lanes, painted sky, foun-
tains, plazas, and expensive Italian name-brand boutiques. Nearby, DECKS Tokyo
Beach ( & 03/3599-6500 ) targets Japanese youths with its Joypolis games arcade and
international goods, including imports from the United States, Europe, China, and
Hong Kong. I especially like its Daiba 1-chome Syoutengai section (on the fourth floor
of Tokyo Deck's “Seaside Mall” section), a remake of mid-1900s Japan, with crafts,
kitsch, food, and an old-fashioned games arcade, and Daiba Little Hong Kong depart-
ment, with its Chinese accessories, souvenirs, and restaurants (on the sixth and seventh
floors of the “Island Mall” section of Tokyo Decks). DECKS is connected to Aqua City
( & 03/3599-4700; www.aquacity.jp), with many more clothing boutiques plus a Toys
“R” Us, both a Daiso and Three Minutes Happiness discount shop, and Ramen Kokugi-
kan, a ramen theme park with six restaurants from various parts of Japan offering their
own takes on the popular noodle dish.
One of Tokyo's biggest malls is LaLaport Tokyo Bay ( & 0120-355-2312 or
03/5446-5143; http://tokyobay.lalaport.net/lala_eng; station: Minami Funabashi) on
the eastern outskirts of the city, with a staggering 500-plus shops and restaurants and
unbelievable crowds on weekends. It's sensory overload for me, but true mall fanatics
might find the experience invigorating. Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu ( & 03/6910-
1234; http://toyosu.lalaport.jp) is smaller (190 shops and restaurants) but is more acces-
sible (station: Toyosu) and even has a woodblock-print museum, flower garden, and
Kidzania, a career-oriented theme park where kids can play in various job environments,
from a bank to police station.

9

ART GALLERIES
The Ginza has the highest concentration of art galleries in Tokyo, with more than 200
shops dealing in everything from old woodblock prints to silk-screens, lithographs, and
contemporary paintings. In addition, Japanese department stores almost always contain
art galleries, with changing exhibitions ranging from works by European masters
to contemporary Japanese pottery. Check the free giveaway Metropolis for exhibition
listings.
Design Festa Gallery Whereas the other galleries below feature traditional
and contemporary woodblock prints and works by mostly well-known artists, this alter-
native and eclectic gallery offers 29 rental rooms to creative types working in any media,
whether it's performance art, film, installations, sculpture, jewelry, clothing, or paintings.
It's fun to walk through and see what's on offer; even the facade, a riot of colors, is a work
of art. Definitely worth a visit if you're in Harajuku. The gallery also gets my kudos for