Tokyo Shopping Guide

The first time we looked around Tokyo Station in 2008 (to find something to eat), it was a building site. On our next trip, it was transformed and the downstairs shopping area…

Hello Kitty’s Kawaii Paradise is sadly now closed. There are some alternative Hello Kitty stores and cafes at the end of this post. It seems a little unfair to class Hello Kitty’s…

Kiddyland is basically kawaii heaven – a place to find all your favourite kawaii characters in one place. The main store in Harajuku has 5 floors of cuteness displaying everything from toys…

Loft is one of my favourite Japanese shops – arriving in Tokyo after a long day’s travel I decided to have a quick look in Loft and ended up spending a couple of…

Super Potato is pretty much heaven for retro gaming fans. The main Akihabara store has about 5 floors, each dedicated to a different console/manufacturer. The Nintendo floor was obviously our favourite and…

While Daiso now has stores in 25 countries around the world, for those of us who don’t have one it’s still a fun place to shop for cheap souvenirs. Daiso is a ¥100…

If there’s one ubiquitous thing about Japan it’s Hello Kitty. She is everywhere and there is a cute Hello Kitty phone charm and hand towel for every location and occasion. Think I’m…

Asakusa is likely to be one of the top sightseeing areas suggested by your guidebook. It’s happily stuck in an older age of Tokyo and a lovely place to see some traditional…

If you only had time for one shop in Japan then it would really have to be Tokyu Hands, not least because they sell just about everything. They call themselves a Creative Life…

The first time we went to Tokyo, we stayed in Ikebukuro and so lots of my first Tokyo memories are centred around there. We were on an organised tour so free time…

Sadly, both Tama Depa stores have now closed. Visit my Tokyo Shopping Guide for more kawaii shops to visit instead. One of the most fun character shops, the Tama Depa (Tamagotchi Department Store)…