Tokyo, Japan
Shopping Tokyo
by Greta Shallstone
by Greta Shallstone
My friend Violet and I are the self-crowned queens of shopping in Singapore. Orchard Road is our turf and there is not a corner of a department store or rack in a boutique that we haven't touched. When a new store opens, we are always there on the first day to snap up any bargains and check out the place. We just love shopping.
So, when I won two free air tickets to any Asian destination, I knew exactly where I wanted to go - Tokyo! And my shopaholic friend would be going with me. Our excitement knew no bounds. As proud as we are about Singapore's shops and malls, everyone knows that Japan is "the" place to shop in Asia.
Over the years, we have studied fashion and travel magazines espousing the delights of Toyko. Now we were about to discover it for ourselves. Armed with credit cards and empty suitcases we flew from Singapore to Japan and checked into our hotel. We had booked into the Ginza Capital Hotel on advice of a Japanese hairdresser working in Singapore. Not only was it surprisingly affordable, it turned out to be clean and comfortable, and well located for shopping expeditions.
Like most tourists, we headed to Ginza, the shopping area home to some of the big department stores and designer boutiques. What a shock it was! Compared to Singapore, shopping in Tokyo is a serious business. Japanese women not only dress up to go shopping, but they really know how to shop. They don't just look, they buy. Taken aback by the range and sheer volume of goods on offer, we were content to window shop until we found our bearings.
The heart of Ginza is the intersection of Chuo-dori and Harumi-dori, where you can find the amazing Mitsukoshi department store and visit one of the city's oldest stores, Wako. Two traditional stores to look out for are Mikimoto, which sells the best cultured pearls, and Kyukyodo, the home of the most exquisite handmade Japanese paper and stationery.
We checked out the Sony building and then had a ball in the huge Apple Store, which has a rotating apple symbol on the roof and allows customers to play with all the latest gadgets. There are plenty of electronic stores around, but the prices were similar or more to those in Singapore.
However, what really got us excited were the many designer stores packed into the many sidestreets off Harum-dori. The amazing new Hermes building is all the rage at the moment, but other big names here include Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Dior, Shanghai Tang and Tag Heuer. We could not draw ourselves away from here and spent the rest of the day checking out all the latest designs and praying we had unlimited credit to burn.
Over the next two days, we toured shops and malls at such a rate that they tended to blur. Since reading about it in a fashion magazine, I had wanted to visit Roppongi Hills, the big mall in Roppongi. Packed with stores and boutiques, my best find was an amazing hat in the mall's museum shop, which sells arty fashion items.
My favourite centre was the new Omotesando Hills, which lies in a funky converted building. Ramps and angled floors do give one the feeling that the building is tilting, but this is as upmarket as you can find in Tokyo. I bought a beautiful bag in the Dunhill shop and admired the jewellery in the amazing Harry Winston store.
For young and trendy fashions, the area to head for is Shibuya, where there is as much fashion on the streets as is in the stores. Probably the best shopping centre to go for is the Shibuya 109 Building. Besides the many boutiques, this mall is known as the origin of the "kogal" subculture. Kogals, usually pretty young Japanese girls, wear platform boots, minskirts and hordes of accessories. Their hair is usually dyed blonde and they don't stint on the make-up or artificial suntan cream. You will see many kogals strolling around, especially over weekends.
Shibuya is also home to a fantastic home ware store, Tokyu Hands. It stocks marvellous fabrics, home appliances, kitchen utensils and funky fashion items for the home. This is the perfect place to find gifts for the hard-to-please. For cheap gifts for work colleagues and friends back home, nothing can beat the "100 Yen" shops.
All goods in these stores are priced at 100 yen (about 1 dollar) and outlets abound in train stations and shopping districts. I bought some great "Hello Kitty" items, while Violet opted for origami paper and calligraphy sets. No-one will guess that the items cost less than a dollar, especially since you bought them in Japan!
In another trendy shopping area, Harajuku, I discovered a great children's store, Kiddyland, Spread over five storeys, it is packed with toys and strange inventions. We felt like we were children again. The store stocks everything from the latest electronic games to the very oddest animals and futuristic toys.
With only four days, we couldn’t see everything we wanted to. Apparently, even long-time residents have a hard time keeping track of the latest stores and trends. We never got to spend time of one of the legendary markets, where you can find some great bargains. But, it was our first trip to Tokyo, and one we will always treasure.
On my next trip I will leave some time to visit some of the other attractions. I can't believe we never even went to see the Imperial Palace or the Senso-ji Temple. I also would love to see the cherry blossoms and go to the Kabuki-Za theatre. Tokyo is more than a shopping destination, but It's the amazing stores and malls that will continue to be the main attraction.
For other articles on Japan, go to our archive
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