Best souvenir shops in Tokyo

Also known as ‘Artisan Street’, this unique retail space is set under the entire 2.54km stretch (hence its unusual moniker) of the JR railway tracks between Okachimachi and Akihabara stations. Here you’ll find 50-plus shops and cafés, all featuring made-in-Japan items or local craftsmen and artisans selling their wares.

Head to Blue Trick for premium Japanese denim from Okayama, go to Nakazawa Kaban for leather bags, or customise your umbrella from 77 colour options at Tokyo Noble. Better still, some of the stores here offer workshops so you can try a little DIY crafting.

This home and lifestyle shop in Yanaka offers a mix of beautifully crafted Japanese goods that you never knew you needed. You can hardly miss the store if you’re passing by – the storefront is overflowing with hand-woven baskets of every shape, size and colour. A daily goods supplier since 1945, Matsunoya sells a miscellany of items ranging from brooms, dustpans, kitchen utensils, cutlery and homeware to leather goods and jewellery.

If you just can’t get enough of stationery, this store is your happy place. Ginza Itoya sells everything from regular stationery and Japanese calligraphy goods to fancy fountain pens, designer paper, art tools and more. The first eight floors are reserved for shopping and are divided by function (home, desk, etc), while the higher floors host a business lounge and an urban vegetable farm with salad leaves grown in hydroponic bins (the greens are then used in the dishes served in the café on the 12th floor).

Great for souvenir shopping, Bingoya offers unpretentious but high-quality traditional crafts made in Japan including pottery, fabric, lacquerware, glassware, dolls and folk art. Its selection of indigo-dyed clothing and accessories is very good too, and staff are always on hand to answer any questions you may have. If you're looking for some non-kitsch souvenirs to bring home, head here.

Japanese paper specialist Kyukyodo opened its first shop in Kyoto in 1663 and supplied incense to the Imperial Palace during the Edo period (1603-1867). Still run by the Kumagai family that founded it, the shop moved to Tokyo in 1880.

This branch in Ginza, with its distinctive arched brick entrance, sells incense alongside a selection of seasonal gift cards and lots of small, moderately priced items (boxes, notebooks, picture frames) made from colourful washi. The interior and setup may be decidedly old-fashioned, but don't be deterred: the items are so well-made that you won't walk out with a gift that feels outdated. 

Hara Shobo is an ukiyo-e lover's dream: it stocks arguably one of the city's best collections of woodblock prints from the Edo and Meiji eras, while also offering new prints. The company issues a catalogue, 'Edo Geijitsu' (‘Edo Art’), at least twice a year, depending on how many prints it manages to amass.

The staff speak good English, and with prices going from the extremely cheap (¥300 for a reprint) to the astronomical (upwards of ¥2,000,000), you'll be sure to find something to suit your taste and budget. As one of the staff members put it: 'Seeing ukiyo-e here is probably more fun than in a museum, because you actually get to touch them too.'

The Beams Japan flagship in Shinjuku spreads out over a total of six floors with a dizzying collection of clothing, crafts and art, plus a gallery hosting an eclectic array of events and exhibitions, as well as a restaurant in the basement.

Everything here is Japan-branded – perfect if you're looking for a local yet non-kitsch souvenir, and you'll find most of them on the ground floor, from lucky cat figurines to cool Japanese-design mugs and t-shirts.

Walk down the cathedral-like shotengai (shopping arcade) in Nakano and you’ll reach the covered Broadway section. A popular haunt for Tokyo's otaku (geek) community, this five-floor complex contains numerous outlets of Mandarake, specialising in new and secondhand manga; branches of Fujiya Avic, the secondhand CD/DVD/anime store offering rarities and bootlegs; and a large number of shops selling collectible action figures.

Most of the geek action is found on the second and third floors, though it's worth exploring the entire building to see what you can find – there's even a shop selling original manga and anime sketches tucked away on the fourth floor. 

Tokyo Hotarudo is an antiques purveyor set at the end of a narrow alleyway wedged between two buildings in Asakusa. Its focus is on female kimono and haori, all which have a quirky and one-of-a-kind feel. Bring a well-padded wallet though, as most haori (traditional Japanese jackets) and kimono here go for ¥15,000 and upwards.

Kiddy Land toy store is a Tokyo institution. The main Harajuku shop is a noisy, heaving maze of mascots, dolls, cuddly toys, furry toys, action figures, Disney, Kitty, Doraemon, Godzilla and more. This epicentre of cuteness is a favourite shopping spot for celebrities passing through Tokyo.

Kagurazaka’s trendy La Kagu ‘warehouse’ is home to the Akomeya flagship store, offering shoppers some of Japan’s most delicious and beautiful goods – especially for your kitchen. Above all, Akomeya is a rice speciality shop and so it offers an almost overwhelming range of grains which can be purchased by weight.

Avoiding carbs? Then skip to the packaged goods section offering everything from candies, miso pastes and seasonings to gourmet preserves and soup stocks. The front of the store also showcases a beautiful selection of ceramics and Japanese kitchenware, all of which are labelled with a short description of the artisan and also place of origin.

Browse a range of well-designed lifestyle essentials at Kiya Shop. Featuring classic Japanese aesthetics, this sleek store offers gorgeous goods for your home and daily life, with everything from state-of-the-art Japanese knives and lacquer bento boxes to cooking spatulas and artfully-designed sukiyaki pots.

Whether you’re looking for a souvenir from your Tokyo trip or a gift for someone back home, these items are not only beautiful but also actually useful.

Perusing Kappabashi’s many plastic food model stores is a must when you’re in the area. Sato Sample has been in the business for nearly 100 years, offering approximately 2,500 fake food models that look real enough to eat.

Food items range from Japanese sweets and fresh cut fruit to sushi and a variety of noodles including soba, udon and ramen. While many of the larger food items are meant for restaurant displays, Sato Sample also offers smaller things that you can easily take home including sushi keychains, magnets and USB sticks. Unlike real food that comes and goes with the seasons, you can purchase all the items here year-round.

Although Today’s Special has several locations (Shibuya, Shinjuku, Hibiya, and even Kyoto and Kobe), the stylish Jiyugaoka branch is our favourite. The theme of the store is ‘Food and Living DIY’, and walking into the shop really does feel like stepping into your dream kitchen, complete with a long dining table and an abundance of herbs and plants.

Today’s Special is filled with local and imported gourmet food, kitchenware, stationery and skincare – don’t forget to check out the seasonal corner as well. 

Japanese brand Kinto now boasts a store in Los Angeles, but the flagship shop in Tokyo is located down a sleepy street in Nakameguro and carries a sleek selection of tableware, tumblers, and coffee equipment. 

Kinto is most popular for its travel mugs and tumblers, which come in clean, muted colours and simple designs – they make excellent and affordable gifts and souvenirs. At the sister store in Ebisu, you can even personalise your tumbler with your initials. 

Located at a corner directly across from the popular Shinjuku mall Lumine Est (Shinjuku Station East Exit), Ainz & Tulpe is brimming with an extensive array of beauty and skincare products across its three levels. The ground floor stocks Japanese and international makeup brands (Excel, Rimmel London, Canmake, Visée etc), fragrances, adorable hair accessories, loungewear as well as special seasonal beauty and skincare products.

If you're a sucker for natural and organic beauty products, you'll find your bliss here. Cosme Kitchen has a number of stores around Tokyo and this one is conveniently located just inside Daikanyama Station.

Besides its extensive range of hair- and skin-care products, it also stocks mineral make-up, natural toothpaste (try the Sage toothpaste made from green clay gel and sage essential oil by Argital), and household cleaning products. It sources its goods from around the world, so you can choose from Japanese as well as international brands including the much-loved Badger and Burt's Bees ranges. 

Shu Uemura’s store in Omotesando looks like a giant beauty box and is appropriately named the Tokyo Makeup Box. As the brand's first global flagship beauty boutique, the store offers an extensive range of cosmetics and skincare items as well as limited-edition products that are exclusive to the shop.

There’s more than just shopping to do here – other services at the Tokyo Makeup Box include personalised gift wrapping, custom engraving, and professional brush cleaning services.

Located in the glitzy Ginza Six department store, this elegant bottle shop sells a wide range of sake, shochu, beer, spirits as well as domestic and international wine. On any given day, Imadeya Ginza stocks around 400 to 500 types of sake, plus up to 500 varieties of other liquors.

Aside from stocking the essentials, Imadeya Ginza is the place to go looking for rare, boutique booze. Think shochu aged for 11 years, with a taste that errs on the side of whiskey; vodka made from rice; sparkling sake; and gin from Hiroshima infused with aromas of Japanese cypress, local oyster shells and cherry blossoms. The neatly organised refrigerators and shelves have English labels, and there are knowledgeable English-speaking staff on hand to assist you.

Located in underground shopping mall Yaesu Chikagai, right by Tokyo Station, Hasegawa carries a truly extraordinary selection of sake, shochu, craft beer, whisky and other types of hard liquor.

With exotic bottles of single malt decorating its shelves, the shop feels almost like a museum to booze – and even better, it’s interactive. If you’re thinking of splurging on a vintage bottle, the staff may let you try before you buy: a ‘tasting cup’ can be had for ¥100-¥700.

Whether you’re looking to buy sake to take home or sit in and drink boutique sake by the glass, Nihonbashi Hasegawa Saketen has you covered. Enter the L-shaped store and on your left you’ll find a long line of glowing refrigerators brimming with sake from across Japan.

The Japan Sake and Shochu Information Center disseminates an abundance of information about Japanese alcohol. The centre offers a staggering 70 types of sake, 30 varieties of shochu and awamori, and ten other beverage options like umeshu and amazake, which change on a monthly basis and are available for purchase.

Aside from the drinks, the centre also offers a wide selection of sake cups, which range in design and size. They make beautiful souvenirs, or a great addition to your bar collection.

Love kimono but don't want the whole outfit? Here are some unique Japanese souvenirs made from kimono fabric and accessories

From cakes and cookies to chocolate and potato chips, Tokyo’s souvenir sweets are some of the best around