Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ginza
, stacked with department stores and brand shops, is still regarded as Tokyo's
traditional shopping centre, although
Shinjuku
has long put up a strong challenge.
Young and funky,
Shibuya
and
Harajuku
are probably the most enjoyable places to
shop: even if you don't want to buy, the passing fashion parade doesn't get much better.
Asakusa
is home to a plethora of small, traditional crafts shops, particularly on and
around Nakamise-dōri.
Akihabara
has long been known as “electric town” thanks to
its myriad hi-tech emporia, but is also now the go-to location for manga and anime
goods. Ueno is famous for the lively
Ameyokochō
market, while
Ikebukuro
is home to
two mammoth department stores and many discount outlets. Also worth a look are the
shopping malls out at
Odaiba
, such as Venus Fort (see p.85).
Chic
Daikanyama
has an appealing village atmosphere and is a good place to check
out up-and-coming Japanese designers as is nearby
Naka-Meguro
, where a host of
funky fashion shops line the streets beside the Meguro-gawa.
Shimo-Kitazawa
has a
studenty, bohemian air with shops selling secondhand clothes, where you can scoop
big-name labels at bargain prices - and keep an eye open too for fashion and art
creations by local students.
Tokyo also has a number of wholesale districts that can be fun to poke around. Best
known to visitors are the fish and fresh produce market
Tsukiji
(see p.80) and
“Kitchenware Town”
Kappabashi
(see p.72). Other ones to search out include the area
around
Edo-dōri
, north of Asakusabashi station, which specializes in traditional
Japanese dolls. Further north along Edo-dōri, the area called
Kuramae
is “Toy Town”,
where shops sell fireworks, fancy goods and decorations, as well as cheap plastic toys of
every description.
Bakurochō
and
Yokoyamachō
are the textile districts where you'll also
find shops selling cheap clothes.
ESSENTIALS
Information
Good shopping information can be found
online at
W
tokyo-bazaar.com.
Opening hours
Shops are generally open from 10 or
11am to 7 or 8pm. Most shops close one day a week,
18
not always on Sunday, and smaller places often shut on
public holidays.
Credit cards
These are becoming more widely accepted,
but it's best to play it safe and have plenty of cash.
ANIME AND MANGA
In Japan all types of cartoons, from comic strips to magazines, are known as
manga
, while animation is called
anime
.
Manga are available just about everywhere, from train station kiosks to bookshops - at the latter and in CD shops (see
p.198) you'll also find anime DVDs. The bestselling manga magazine is
Shūkan Shōnen Jump
, a weekly which regularly
shifts over three million copies. Strips from this and other magazines are collected in
graphic-novel
style books (known
as
tankōbon
) which come in several volumes. There are also
dōjinshi
- amateur manga, often with sexual themes, that are
produced by fans. These works sometimes emulate the originals so faithfully that it's hard to tell them apart. Akihabara,
Ikebukuro and Nakano are the key areas for anime, manga and associated character goods. Apart from the places listed
below devoted fans should schedule time at the shops in the
Ghibli Museum
(see p.125).
Comic Tora-no-ana
ίϛοΫͱΒͷ͋ͳ
4-3-1 Soto-
Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
T
03 3526 5330; Akihabara station;
map p.56.
Seven floors of manga and related products,
including self-published works and secondhand comics on
the top floor. There are several other branches across the
city.
Daily 10am-10pm.
DUTY
FREE SHOPPING
Foreign visitors can buy
duty-free
items (that is, without consumption tax), but only in certain
tourist shops and the larger department stores. Perishable goods, such as food, drinks, tobacco,
cosmetics and film, are exempt from the scheme, and most stores only offer duty-free if your
total spend in that shop on a single day exceeds ¥10,000. The shop will either give you a
duty-free price immediately or, in department stores especially, you pay the full price first and
then apply for a refund at their “tax-exemption” counter. The shop will attach a copy of the
customs
document to your passport, to be removed by customs o
cers when you leave Japan.