Tokyo Shopping help

[iceymike]

I'm heading over to Tokyo from Seoul on the 22nd for about four days. Me and my one other friend are just heading over there to chill for awhile. We will spend four days and three nights there and are planning to have two days for shopping and two days for sightseeing and culture stuff.

I've been there a couple of times but one time was when I was really young and the other time was for a tennis tournament so I don't really know wehere all the good shops are. So what i want to ask from you guys is where all the good shops are and some excellent shops I should visit.

I'm just into simple, not-too flashy stuff. I'm looking for relatively cheap stuff (eg 2,000yen per shirt) that kinda stuff. I'm willing to blow on high quality stuff like nice jeans or maybe a nice jacket. I'm also looking for some nice simple underground sneakers. So I guess I'm looking for simple things that I wouldnt find else where easily other than Japan. But not too expensive.

How should I divide up my shopping days among shinjuku, ueno, harajuku, shibuya? Any other places I should hit up? Thanks in advance!

[jf30]

for one of your days you should walk around exploring the back streets of harajuku where tons of stores are (lots of sneakers), you should skip the main road (omotosando) if you are not into the "flashy" stuff. but walk to the top of meji dori (this is all in the superfuture maps) and then walk down this street and explore the shops. following meji dori will eventually take you to shibuya where there are some nice sneaker stores; one of them (i forget the name) is really close to parco part 1 (again on the superfuture maps), walk around and you'll find it. in shibuya there is also a joint called Americaya where you can get some denim.

Ueno is great for shopping for denim but i found that the sneaker shopping there was preety average, unless you want denim its not worth the trip there. in ueno there is one street which has 3 hinoya's and a massive americaya, you should be able to get most of your denim shopping done here.

Shinjuku is good, just walk around, there is a store called junky special here if you still want more jeans. i found roppongi preety decent for night life, check it out, on friday nights however you will get propositioned about 100 times to go up into an array of strip joints.

Harajuku was by far my most liked district. anyways have fun. Seacrest out.

[herpsky]

be sure to check out heatwave for some used clothes (though they sell "used" clothes, what they sell are practically brand new). they have amazing deals on visvims, nbhd, taps and even high-fashion brands like wjk, libertine.

as far as jeans go, check out the levi's store (i'm serious) and tab device in aoyama .

they have some japan-exclusive levi's with cool details.

[iceymike]

thanks for all the advice so far. Any more clothing stores just for tshirts and light jackets that you guys would recommend?

[Kasper]

thanks for all the advice so far. Any more clothing stores just for tshirts and light jackets that you guys would recommend?

Graniph, perfect for what you are looking for

http://www.graniph.com/

or for shop list

http://www.graniph.com/shoplist/

[jf30]

thanks for all the advice so far. Any more clothing stores just for tshirts and light jackets that you guys would recommend?

Go to a beams T, there are good ones in Harajuku (towards the top of meji dori) and one in Shibuya, the one in Shibuya is by far the better, howver they do stock the same stuff. www.beams.co.jp

i suggest you try and get your hands on "Tokyo City Atlas A Bilingual Guide" it helps alot trust me, most of the stores in Tokyo are pretty hard to find, however, if you know what you want to find the atlas is a pretty handy tool.

[ProfMonnitoff]

How are prices in Tokyo compared to NYC? I'll be going to Tokyo in about 2 months, but I'll spend a few days in NYC earlier. Is it worth saving money in NYC for stuff that I can buy in both cities? Stuff like Dior, Uniqlo, Barneys, Ann D, APC, etc.

[Kasper]

How are prices in Tokyo compared to NYC? I'll be going to Tokyo in about 2 months, but I'll spend a few days in NYC earlier. Is it worth saving money in NYC for stuff that I can buy in both cities? Stuff like Dior, Uniqlo, Barneys, Ann D, APC, etc.

the prices of pretty much all non-japanese brands will be more expensive in Japan than in New York or equal. japanese labels will most likely be cheaper in Tokyo though. and i think Tokyo offer much more choices and variety than New York so sometimes, i feel that it's worth the little extra you are paying (some thing are ridiculously overpriced though...)

[smurf]

Shop in NYC for anything that isn't Japanese. Some things that I looked at in Tokyo in Sept were nearly twice as expensive, in some cases.

But like Kasper says, Graniph T's is great. The shirts are good quality and they're cheap. They even give you a discount if you buy 2 or more.

This last trip I mainly bought liquor that isn't available outside of Japan. My girlfriend found some good deals, but mainly for makeup. Shiseido I think.

If you're into camera's, check out the Leica store in Ginza. Oh, and toys are relatively cheap too.

I usually try to shop for things that can't be found in the States or online and let other shopping sort of take care of itself.

[prima]

+1 on heatwave

[neme216]

I'm looking for relatively cheap stuff (eg 2,000yen per shirt) that kinda stuff. I'm willing to blow on high quality stuff like nice jeans or maybe a nice jacket.

when i went to tokyo to shop i couldn't find anything for under ¥3,500 for a decent t-shirt. look hard though, you may score. what i would do is get an all day pass and just try and shop in as many places as you can. i'd go to roppingi, ginza, and harajuku. i personally didn't enjoy shibuya or shinjuku because they were so damn crowded.

♪

[WINDman]

you should only buy locally made products in Japan, Import tax on items are hi which makes brand names very expensive there. Why do you think LV shops in France and Prada or Gucci Shops in Italy are filled with Japanese tourist???

Stick to locally made stuff like Neighborhood, Undercoverism, or even the dreaded Bape.. For sneakers look for a little "co.jp" sign which means they are a Japanese exclusive.

[xcoldricex]

it'd be a waste of time going to ginza to look for 2,000 yen shirts.

[herpsky]

it'd be a waste of time going to ginza to look for 2,000 yen shirts.

there's a uniqlo store in Ginza.

SCORE!

[Ryan]

wouldnt hurt to check out jeansmate also, thers a couple locations, i know the one in shibuya is 24 hrs, for the most part its pretty cheap stuff, but I like some of their jackets, not the best quality, but they fit me better than most stuff i can get here in the states for the same price point.. they also have cheap shirts etc, etc..