11 of the best · Tokyo, Japan
The great department stores of Nihonbashi, Ginza and Shinjuku, GINZA SIX and Dover Street Market, Omotesando Hills, Itoya’s stationery, Tsutaya Books in Daikanyama and the new tax refund from 1 November 2026.
Our 11 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
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Three Tokyo moments we keep going back to: Sensō-ji before the shops open, a bowl of soba in Kagurazaka, and the Shibuya crossing from the rooftop at dusk.
The first department store
The grand flagship of Mitsukoshi, with a soaring central hall and a great carved figure of Magokoro, and a food hall below.
The red paperclip
A tall stationery shop under the red paperclip sign on Chūō-dōri: pens, papers and notebooks floor by floor.
Department stores, Ginza and the new tax refund.
The back story
The great department stores of Nihonbashi, Ginza and Shinjuku, the flagships of Omotesandō, stationery, knives and the new tax-free refund that begins on 1 November 2026.
The institutions.
On the Ginza crossing
Mitsukoshi’s Ginza store on the 4-chōme crossing, opposite the Wakō clock tower.
Fashion, floor by floor
The fashion flagship of Tokyo’s department stores, in Shinjuku, with a celebrated food hall.
The first department store
The grand flagship of Mitsukoshi, with a soaring central hall and a great carved figure of Magokoro, and a food hall below.
A listed department store
A department store in a building of the 1930s, with hand-operated lifts and a newer wing across the street.
Under one roof.
The new hills
The newest of the hills districts, opened in November 2023: gardens, a market, galleries, teamLab and Janu Tokyo.
Ginza’s largest
Ginza’s largest shopping centre, with luxury flagships, a bookshop and a rooftop garden.
Tadao Ando on the avenue
A long, low building on Omotesandō with a spiralling ramp of shops inside.
Fashion, games and art
A Shibuya landmark of young Japanese fashion, galleries and games, with a rooftop.
Fashion, paper and books.
Tsutaya Books
Tsutaya Books in three linked pavilions in Daikanyama, with magazines from around the world and a lounge.
Comme des Garçons’ market
Rei Kawakubo’s market of fashion over several floors, with Comme des Garçons beside the brands it chooses.
The red paperclip
A tall stationery shop under the red paperclip sign on Chūō-dōri: pens, papers and notebooks floor by floor.
