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Shopping (kaimono) is a necessity for some and an enjoyment for others, but for Tokyoites it’s both those things combined with unique cultural elements that have been shaping the city for centuries. Places of historical importance have also become key areas of commerce, serving as major shopping hubs long before now and still today. Even Tokyo’s train and metro stations have blended into the department store concept to become eki depato, huge shopping complexes which you never have to leave the station to enjoy.
These factors, combined with inescapable 24-hour convenience stores and ubiquitous vending machines, make Tokyo the world’s undisputed “Kingdom of Convenience.”
The first messenger boys in front of the Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store ©ISETAN MITSUKOSHI LTD.
The Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store is preserving history while leading it at the same time. The Mitsukoshi brand itself dates back to 1673, and it became Japan’s first modern-day department store in 1904. Since then, Mitsukoshi has persisted in innovating… (read more)
Shopping culture has been evolving, absorbing other cultural elements and remixing them into today’s shopping landscape. It isn’t just the businesses at the forefront of this innovation, but also the genuine curiosity and thirst that Tokyoites have… (read more)
Tokyo is a city of contrasts locked in an interplay, one of which is the balance of high shopping streets and local shopping streets. Just a stone’s throw away from the playful Harajuku shopping area, is Omotesando, which enjoys … (read more)
