Browsing Category

Shopping

30 posts

Sunshine City

Major commercial complex 10 minutes from Ikebukuro Station with shopping, restaurants, an aquarium, and one of the best observation decks in the city.

Daikanyama T-Site

Opened in December 2011, Daikanyama T-Site was envisioned as a “Library in the Woods,” and it has since…

Ameyoko / Candy Alley

Ameyoko runs along and under the rail tracks between Ueno Station and Okachimachi Station to the south. One of the capital’s most famous night markets with enough souvenirs to keep any traveller entertained.

Nakamise

A 250-meter long street that leads up to Sensoji Temple lined either side with stalls selling anything from Japanese sweets to Japanese swords and paper umbrellas. Nakamise is more than just a tourist trap—it is actually one of the oldest shopping streets in Japan.

Yebisu Garden Place

A modern commercial zone with shopping, museums, and restaurants. The Michelin 3-star Chateau Restaurant Taillvent-Robuchon sits at the other end of Yebisu Garden Place when you come out from the walkway.

2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan

Aki-Oka Artisan is a line of about 50 craft stores, galleries, and cafes located under the rail tracks. The unusual name refers to the fact that it is 2km and 540m from Tokyo Station.

Akiba Cultures Zone

This shopping complex opened in 2012 and is dedicated to anime and manga, including a floor dedicated to all manner of cartoon pornography (if that’s your thing…). On the 6th floor you can find Akihabara Backstage Pass Cafe, which is staffed by costume-adorned females.

mAAch ecute

The viaduct in which this shopping arcade is housed lay derelict for the best part of 60 years before re-opening following refurbishment in 2013. The interior arches of the old structure have been preserved, and these now act as dividers for the boutiques and coffee vendors inside.

Radio Kaikan

Iconic building near the JR Akihabara Station Electric Town exit that reopened in 2014 following the demolishing of the old building in 2011. When it first opened in 1962, it was the first “high-rise” building in Akihabara. Today, it has moved with the times and the focus has shifted away from electronics to manga, anime, and “otaku” goods.

Yodobashi Camera Akiba

A 9-floor shopping complex, the first six floors of which are occupied by the electronics chain Yodobashi Camera. This branch is the biggest consumer electronics store in Japan (and maybe the world). There is a tax-free counter and English speaking staff are on hand. Heaven for gadget-lovers.

Tokyo Midtown

Opened in 2007, the Tokyo Midtown complex contains offices, shops, restaurants, as well as the Suntory Museum of Art.

Roppongi Hills

Roppongi Hills is one of the most famous commercial complexes in Tokyo. It opened in 2003 to much fanfare and is today the centrepiece of the wider Roppongi re-development housing shops, restaurants, a cinema, the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, Mori Art Museum, and the Tokyo City View observation deck.