Best Shopping in Tokyo: 7 Areas From Thrift Stores to Luxury (2026)

In my experience, Japan is one of the best countries I’ve visited for shopping. A lot of people might think that Japan is quite expensive when it comes to shopping, but I can assure you that it’s actually very affordable if you look in the right places. There’s also more expensive options and boutique shops that provide high-end products for good value as well, so no matter if you’re shopping on a budget or if you’re someone that has more luxury tastes, you can find amazing options when you’re in Japan.

One of my best shopping experiences ever was at a clothing stand in Fukuoka where they were selling upcycled clothing and all of the clothing items were either five Canadian dollars or ten Canadian dollars. I bought a really lovely coat for ten Canadian dollars and I got pants that are amazing quality for five Canadian dollars. Just the concept of having a place selling upcycled clothing like this is really impressive to me coming from Canada where things like that are typically very expensive. In Tokyo, I haven’t seen anything quite like that, but there is a lot of really great places to go shopping. In this post, I’m going to break down the top areas of the city you should visit in Tokyo for different types of shopping, so keep on reading if you want to find out the best spots to go if you’re a shopping lover or just looking to buy some nice things.

Shimokitazawa and Koenji - Thrifting

I personally love thrift shopping. I’ve been doing it ever since I immigrated to Canada and I think it’s a great way to get high quality affordable clothing while also reusing clothing that people have donated. Sadly, in Canada, thrifting has become quite trendy, so there’s a lot of more expensive thrifting boutiques now and mainstream thrift stores like Value Village have massively increased in price.

In Tokyo, there is sort of a similar situation regarding the gentrification of thrifting, with a huge number of boutique thrift stores that often import used goods from the U.S. and charge pretty high prices. At these shops, you can see Levi’s jeans or Nike hoodies in really good condition that have a really cool retro style, but they’re quite expensive costing in the ballpark of 50 Canadian dollars. And while this is common and some people might be willing to pay a premium for really nice-looking retro clothing, I personally enjoy going to the more affordable thrift stores in Tokyo.

In Shimokitazawa and Koenji, you can find both more expensive boutique thrift stores and affordable thrift stores, with these areas being known as the thrifting communities. While I enjoy both areas and they’re both quite similar, I would say I give a slight edge towards Shimokitazawa, but both of them offer really incredible options. What’s nice about Koenji and Shimokitazawa is not only are there standalone shops and boutiques in these areas that are unique small businesses, but it also has all of the Japanese thrift store chains that I find have better clothing options than ones that I’ve been to outside of these areas. Perhaps it is because more people come to these communities and then donate while they’re there and it’s people who have a lot of high quality stuff.

Specifically, the Treasure Factories and the Bazzstores, which are two popular thrift store chains in Japan, in both Koenji and Shimokitazawa are absolutely incredible. I just got back from Japan and I got a really lovely pair of beige pants in incredible condition for three Canadian dollars from a Bazzstore in Koenji, which is absolutely amazing. Aside from this, in Shimokitazawa, one of my favorite places to shop that I believe is unique to the area, is this thrift store called Stick Out where every single item costs seven Canadian dollars. The second time I went to Japan, I think I got three pairs of Lee and Levi’s jeans here that I still wear to this day, and there’s also a lot of really cool oversized shirts and such, so it’s another really great place to shop. Otherwise, for the random boutiques, a lot of them are usually pretty expensive, but for some of them you can snipe some pretty good deals. During my last trip, I found a really lovely long skirt at one of these boutiques and it was only about 10 Canadian dollars, and the same store also sold jewelry and there were some really beautiful rings that were only about five Canadian dollars.

If you want affordable, good quality, thrifted clothing and shops that sell a lot of good quality brands at an affordable price, then Shimokitazawa and Koenji are as good as it gets in my experience. You just have to take the time to look around and but I’m sure that everyone can find something that they like in these areas!

Taishakuten Sando and Yanaka Ginza – Traditional Japanese Goods

In Tokyo, and in Japan in general, one of my favorite things to do is walk along the shopping streets. Shopping streets are very common In Japan and are pretty self explanatory, they are long streets that are made for shopping / eating. There are shopping streets all across the country and there’s numerous shopping streets in Tokyo, with some being more focused on clothing or food and some being more traditional or more modern. Traditional Japanese shopping streets providing goods like traditional cookware or clothing and also providing traditional Japanese foods like different types of mochi and other confectionery goods are probably the most interesting in my opinion because it is more unique to Japan.

Two such streets that stand out in Tokyo are Yanaka Ginza and Taishakuten Sando. I went to Yanaka Ginza on my second trip to Tokyo and I went to Taishakuten Sando on my most recent trip and I really enjoyed exploring both of these spots. I got some really lovely and affordable cookware when I was at Yanaka Ginza and I had some really delicious imagawayaki as well. In Taishakuten Sando, a lot of shops were selling mochi with a red bean topping so I picked one up and it was really tasty. There’s also a temple at the end of the street where you pay a small fee for entry but you get to go inside this Buddhist temple that has some really incredible artwork on the walls depicting images from Buddhist text. This was beautiful and it really added to the traditional environment.

Overall, the vibes in these areas are just really nice and a must to experience if you are visiting Japan (especially if you don’t get the opportunity to visit Kyoto). So, if you’re looking for traditional Japanese food or goods and you want to go to areas that are a bit less touristy and honestly not all that crowded, I would highly recommend checking out Yanaka Ginza and/or Taishakuten Sando.

Harajuku - Modern Shopping

Harajuku is an area that’s nestled between Shinjuku and Shibuya and it is most famous for two streets, Takeshita Street and Cat Street. Takeshita Street is an iconic street in Japan that has a really famous archway sign… and is tremendously crowded. I think everyone who visits Japan should go down this street but, at least in my experience, I don’t really think there’s much to do on the street in terms of shopping and I think that there aren’t necessarily the best food options here. It’s a great experience to visit nonetheless though!

On the other hand, Cat Street is a really good place to go shopping if you want to have a wide range of shops on a long road. Cat Street contains a variety of shops from major chain outlets to local boutiques and streetwear shops. If you’re someone who’s looking for new clothing at a slightly more expensive price point, but not quite in the luxury price point, I think that this is the spot for you.

In the surrounding area of Cat Street there’s also quite a few restaurants. I remember I went to one restaurant here and it was actually pretty good so it’s nice because if you wander down some of the side streets there are also some pretty good food options too. Overall, if you want a nice mix of modern shopping for good quality stuff and popping into some restaurants / cafes, while also being in a pretty popular bustling area of the city I think that Cat Street is a really nice option. Additionally, despite being touristy the street is long enough that it’s usually not that crowded in any one spot, so it’s really easy to get around and you don’t have to worry about being surrounded by massive crowds.

Ginza and Roppongi - Luxury Shopping

I do not buy luxury goods whatsoever, it’s not really my style and it’s also not in my price range but I obviously had to mention Ginza which is the luxury shopping hub of Tokyo. Walking around Ginza is honestly really fun because the luxury stores here have such incredible storefronts. I remember taking this one picture of the Louis Vuitton store and just standing in awe at how committed the designer brands are in this area to having really incredible storefronts and designs. If you’re looking for a place to get luxury goods from any luxury brand that you can imagine really, then I think that Ginza is absolutely a community you should visit. Alternatively, if you just like window shopping or just like seeing the luxury goods stores and walking around a high-end area then I definitely recommend just doing a quick stroll around Ginza. It’s in the middle of the city so it’s not too inconvenient to get to and honestly you can walk around pretty quickly, so it is a fun spot in general just to go check out and see what the high-end vibe is like. An honorable mention in this category of shopping is Roppongi. This area that is quite similar to this and it’s, again, not where I would go shopping but it’s a very pretty area and it’s cool to just kind of walk around and experience the fancy high-end vibes.

Nakano Broadway: Anime and Japanese Pop/Cult Culture

I have personally watched a number of anime series and movies, and am a big Studio Ghibli fan, so I was curious to checkout some areas that sell anime and broader Japanese pop/cult culture merchandise. During my first visit to Japan, I visited Akihabara and it honestly was not really my vibe. I found the stores to be a bit too cramped and intimidating, the arcades are retro which is not something I am very interested in, and the vibe of the community felt a bit more catered to extreme fans than casual watchers like myself. On the other hand, I found that Nakano Broadway was a much more approachable, comfortable, and easy place to look around for such goods. Nakano Broadway is a mall in Nakano that has five floors with a range of shops, although some floors are dedicated to collectible items. These extend beyond anime to model car shops, card shops, poster shops, CD shop, etc. As an added bonus, there is a walking street leading up from the Nakano train station to the mall that has a variety of shops and food stalls which is a fun lead up to the mall. There is also alleys with restaurants and bars surrounding the mall which really surprised me as well! My last trip to Japan was the first time I visited this area and if you are a casual anime fan or have other Japanese pop culture related interests I highly recommend checking out Nakano!

Tokyo Solamachi: Unique Mall Experience

Fun fact, despite going to the Tokyo Skytree a handful of times I have never actually gone up the tower. My primary reason for visiting the building has always been to go to my favorite sushi spot in Tokyo, which is located inside a mall within the greater Tokyo Skytree building called Tokyo Solamachi. This “mall” is really cool because there is a wonderful variety of restaurants, food stalls, shops, and recreational areas. For food, there is a variety of cuisines across numerous restaurants on the upper floors, all of which seem to be constantly busy which is usually a good indicator in Japan that the food is good. If you do not want a full meal, got to the bottom floor of the mall and explore the food market that has a bunch of stalls selling sushi, onigiri, cutlets, desserts, and many more food options. The bottom floor also has great shopping options, including a shop called SM2 keittio that I went to during my last visit where I got two beautiful coats and two pairs of pants for just $80 CAD! This was an unparalleled deal from my most recent trip to Japan, and even Asia in general honestly. There are similar deals at outlets across these lower floors, while the higher floors have more boutiques, souvenir shops, and speciality shops. This included a really cool Pokémon store that I popped into recently that had some awesome statues and a section for playing Pokémon video games which was really cool. In terms of recreational activities, there is an aquarium as well as some kind of neat looking VR activity facility. I also love how there is usually an event happening on the upper deck of the mall. When I went most recently it was NYE themed and last time I went it was Norway salmon themed, with food stalls surrounding the outside of the deck and a large seating area in the middle. There are some wonderful malls in Tokyo but I definitely think that Tokyo Solamachi provides the most fun and unique experience out of all of the ones that I have visited.

Tokyo is a shopping haven that has something for everyone. No matter what your interests are or your budget is, there is something for you in this city. If you want to learn more about food and travel in Tokyo make sure to checkout my other blog posts on the best areas of the city to get a bite, my favorite hidden gems and lowkey spots, and my guide for where to go when you visit Tokyo. Also, make sure to follow me on my social media platforms and checkout my other blog posts if you enjoy my content!