In my last installation on Affordable Tokyo, I’ll end this series on one my favourite parts of any trip – shopping!!
For the best bargains in town, look to further than the ¥100 shops found virtually everywhere in the city. Like the Dollar shops, everything in these stores is ¥100, and you’re sure to find something useful for all members of the family as there are usually different sections in each shop from homewares to children’s things, to pets and cosmetics.
Great Japanese gifts to take back home can also be found at the Oriental Bazaar, 5-9-13 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. If the children are with you (or you’re into kitsch), drop into Kiddyland, 6-19-19 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, which is in the same swanky Omotesando district.
The Tokyu Hands, Creative Life Store is another Tokyo institution which again sells an abundance of cool Japanese things, from the useful to the downright weird, at rock bottom prices.
For more bargain shopping, head out to Tokyo’s flea markets, which are open on weekends. Find out schedules ahead of time as some can be irregular. Some of the larger markets worth checking out are: Aoyama Oval building Swap Meet, Ariake Jumbo Flea Market and the Makuhari Jumbo Flea Market.
Electric goods at discounted prices can be found at the Akihbara district, and for an amazing array of food products, drop by any basement level of one of the large department stores. Speaking of which, sales in Japan run in July, August, December and January, so a trip to the usually expensive department stores such as Mitsukoshi and Seibu should be full of fantastic bargains during those months.
[tags]Tokyo,Tokyo shopping,bargains Tokyo,cheap shopping Tokyo,Japan on a budget[/tags]