Tokyo Shopping Guide 2026: Ginza, Harajuku, Shinjuku and Shibuya, Plus Japan's New Tax Refund Rules

The four best areas for shopping in Tokyo are Ginza (luxury brands, department stores and the UNIQLO and MUJI flagships), Harajuku (Takeshita Street and Omotesando fashion), Shinjuku (big department stores such as Isetan) and Shibuya (Nintendo and Pokémon stores in PARCO, SHIBUYA109). One big change: from November 1, 2026, Japan's tax-free shopping becomes a refund system. You pay the tax-inclusive price, spend at least ¥5,000 before tax per shop per day, and get the tax back after a customs check when you leave Japan within 90 days.

Key takeaways

• Tokyo's four main shopping areas are Ginza, Harajuku, Shinjuku and Shibuya, about 10–30 minutes apart by JR or subway.
• Purchases until October 31, 2026 are still tax-free at the till; from November 1 you pay the tax first and claim it back when you leave Japan.
• The refund requires at least ¥5,000 before tax at the same tax-free shop on the same day, and the goods must leave Japan within 90 days of purchase.
• From Narita, the Keisei Skyliner to Nippori/Ueno costs ¥2,580; the Narita Express (N'EX) to Shinjuku or Shibuya costs about ¥3,330.
• Shinjuku Mylord closed in March 2025 and Seibu Shibuya's buildings A and B closed on September 30, 2026, so check older guides before you go.

Where to shop in Tokyo: the 4 main areas compared

Pick the area by what you want to buy: Ginza for luxury and department stores, Harajuku for street fashion and cute goods, Shinjuku for department stores and all-round shopping, and Shibuya for anime, game merchandise and young brands.

Area	Best for	Key malls / shops	Main stations
Ginza	Luxury brands, department stores, budget flagships	GINZA SIX, UNIQLO Ginza, MUJI Ginza	Ginza, Yurakucho
Harajuku	Street fashion, kawaii goods, street snacks	Takeshita Street, Omotesando, Laforet Harajuku	JR Harajuku, Meiji-Jingumae
Shinjuku	Department stores, cosmetics, art supplies and stationery	Isetan Shinjuku, Shinjuku Takashimaya, LUMINE EST, Sekaido	Shinjuku, Shinjuku-sanchome
Shibuya	Anime and game merchandise, young women's fashion, lifestyle goods	Shibuya PARCO, SHIBUYA109, Shibuya LOFT	Shibuya

Ginza shopping: luxury, department stores and flagships

Ginza is Tokyo's classic upscale shopping district, with luxury boutiques, long-established department stores and huge budget-brand flagships along Chuo-dori. From midday on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, part of Chuo-dori closes to cars and becomes a "pedestrian paradise" you can stroll down the middle of.

Chuo-dori in Ginza, closed to cars on a weekend. Photo: Daniel Ramirez / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

• UNIQLO Ginza: a 12-floor flagship on Chuo-dori with a wider range of items and sizes than regular branches.
• MUJI Ginza: a large flagship opened in 2019, with a diner and the MUJI HOTEL GINZA on top of the store floors.
• GINZA SIX: Ginza's biggest mall, with high-end brands, designer shops, restaurants and a rooftop garden.
• Luxury brands: Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès and other flagships line Chuo-dori and Namiki-dori.
• Kabuki-za: catch a single act of kabuki between shops, or browse the souvenir arcade in the basement.

Harajuku shopping: how to do Takeshita Street and Omotesando

Harajuku is the place for street fashion, cute accessories and snacks you eat as you walk, and Takeshita Street starts right outside the Takeshita exit of JR Harajuku Station. The street is only about 350 m long, packed with budget fashion, accessories and crêpe stands. It gets very crowded on weekday afternoons and weekends, so go in the morning if you want room to browse.

The entrance to Takeshita Street, Harajuku. Photo: Ryosuke Yagi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

• Takeshita Street: budget street fashion, accessories, idol merchandise and crêpes; busiest with teenagers and tourists.
• Omotesando: a zelkova-lined avenue of luxury flagships and Omotesando Hills, more grown-up than Takeshita Street.
• Laforet Harajuku: Japanese up-and-coming designer labels and pop-up shops; it is being refreshed in stages from August 2026 and stays open.
• Meiji Jingu and Yoyogi Park: right next to Harajuku Station, for a break on the forest paths.

Shinjuku shopping: department stores and nightlife

Shinjuku has the biggest cluster of department stores in Tokyo: Isetan, Takashimaya and several station malls are all within a 10-minute walk of the east and south exits, and the underground passages keep you dry on rainy days.

Yasukuni-dori, Shinjuku, at night. Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

• Isetan Shinjuku: a long-established department store known for fashion, cosmetics and its basement food hall.
• Shinjuku Takashimaya: at the south exit, connected to Times Square, with a broad range of goods.
• LUMINE EST: a station mall directly connected to the east exit, focused on young women's fashion and accessories.
• Sekaido Shinjuku main store: a large art-supply and stationery shop in Shinjuku-sanchome, worth a stop if you love drawing materials.
• At night: the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory gives a free view over Shinjuku, and Kabukicho is the izakaya and bar district.

The west exit is in the middle of a major redevelopment: the Odakyu department store main building closed in 2022, and Shinjuku Mylord closed on March 16, 2025 for demolition, so both are gone despite appearing in older guides.

Shibuya shopping: anime goods and the observation deck

Shibuya suits anime and game fans and anyone into young Japanese brands. The highlights are Nintendo TOKYO and Pokémon Center SHIBUYA on the 6th floor of Shibuya PARCO, open 10:00–21:00. Afterwards, head to the Scramble Crossing and SHIBUYA SKY for the city view.

Shibuya Scramble Crossing from above. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

• Shibuya PARCO: home to Nintendo's official store Nintendo TOKYO, Pokémon Center SHIBUYA, CAPCOM STORE TOKYO, JUMP SHOP and other anime and game shops.
• Disney Store Shibuya Koen-dori: a multi-floor official Disney store, still open in 2026.
• SHIBUYA109: the birthplace of "109 gal" fashion, full of Japanese young women's brands.
• Shibuya LOFT: a big lifestyle-goods and stationery store; Seibu Shibuya's buildings A and B closed on September 30, 2026, but the building LOFT is in stays open.
• SHIBUYA SKY: the open-air deck on top of Shibuya Scramble Square; online adult tickets start at about ¥2,700 (more from 15:00), and sunset slots often sell out, so book ahead.

How to get from the airport to Ginza, Harajuku, Shinjuku and Shibuya

Central Tokyo is about 1–1.5 hours from Narita Airport and 30–45 minutes from Haneda. The table lists the main options to each shopping area (adult one-way fares; JR and subway legs are extra; times exclude waiting for connections):

Destination	From Narita Airport	From Haneda Airport	From Tokyo Station
Ginza	Airport Bus TYO-NRT to Tokyo Station (¥1,500, from about 65 min), then walk or 1 stop on the Marunouchi Line	Keikyu through-service on the Toei Asakusa Line to Higashi-Ginza, about 30 min	1 stop on the Marunouchi Line (about 2 min), or a 15-min walk
Harajuku	Keisei Skyliner to Nippori (¥2,580, about 40 min), then JR Yamanote Line about 30 min	Keikyu to Shinagawa (¥330, about 15 min), then JR Yamanote Line about 15 min	JR Yamanote Line, about 25 min
Shinjuku	Narita Express (N'EX) direct (about ¥3,330, about 80–90 min)	Keikyu to Shinagawa (¥330), then JR Yamanote Line about 20 min	JR Chuo Line Rapid, about 15 min
Shibuya	Narita Express (N'EX) direct (about ¥3,330, about 75–85 min)	Keikyu to Shinagawa (¥330), then JR Yamanote Line about 13 min	JR Yamanote Line, about 25 min

JR East raised its fares on March 14, 2026, so local JR fares are higher than older guides say. Check current fares on the JR East and Keisei Skyliner websites.

Japan's tax-free shopping becomes a refund system from November 2026: what changes in Tokyo?

From November 1, 2026, Japan replaces tax-free shopping for visitors with a refund system: you pay the full price including consumption tax at the tax-free shop, and the tax is refunded once customs confirms the goods are leaving Japan. Purchases made up to October 31, 2026 still follow the old system (tax removed at the till), and there is no transition period.

Item	Until October 31, 2026	From November 1, 2026
At the till	Show passport; tax is deducted in the shop	Show passport; pay the full tax-inclusive price
Minimum spend	¥5,000 before tax, same shop, same day	¥5,000 before tax, same shop, same day (no split between general goods and consumables)
Consumables	Sealed packaging required, ¥500,000 cap	No sealed packaging, ¥500,000 cap removed; items eaten or used in Japan are not eligible
Export deadline	Within 30 days of purchase	Within 90 days of purchase
When you get the tax back	—	At your departure airport or seaport, after the customs check

How do you claim the refund when you leave?

1. At the departure airport, before you check in your bags, go to a tax-free procedure terminal in the international departure lobby and scan your passport.
2. Green result: no inspection needed. Red result: take your purchases to the designated customs inspection area.
3. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha you can do the first step online with Visit Japan Web in designated pre-check-in areas.
4. After customs confirms, the shop or its refund operator pays you; the method (cash, credit card, etc.), timing and any handling fee depend on the shop, so ask when you pay.

3 things to watch with the refund

• Bring your passport, receipts and the goods themselves. If any item on a receipt is missing, nothing on that receipt is refunded.
• Do the procedure at your final point of departure from Japan (for example, if you fly Fukuoka to Haneda and connect to an international flight, do it at Haneda).
• Finish before boarding. If queues make you miss your flight, neither customs nor the airline will compensate you, so allow plenty of time.

Full details are in the Japan National Tourism Organization's guide to the new tax-free system.

Bought too much in Tokyo? What to do with your shopping and luggage

The hard part of a Tokyo shopping trip is moving around afterwards. The JR Yamanote Line and subways are packed at rush hour, transfers at big stations like Shinjuku and Shibuya involve long walks, and lifts aren't always easy to find, so a big suitcase plus shopping bags is a struggle. From November, the refund system also requires you to bring your purchases to the airport for customs, which makes planning your luggage even more important.

Travelers usually handle it in one of three ways:

1. Drop your shopping at the hotel every day before heading to the next area (cheapest, but slowest).
2. After checkout, leave bags in station lockers or at the hotel and come back for them (large lockers at busy stations are often full).
3. Use a luggage delivery service to send your bags to the next hotel or the airport while you travel hands-free.

LuggAgent offers luggage delivery in Tokyo: we pick up from your hotel or the airport and deliver to your next hotel or the airport the same day or the next day. If your luggage contains goods you want a tax refund on, have it delivered to the airport before you check in so you can show the goods to customs. See Tokyo luggage delivery for details.

If you've just landed at Narita, hand us your big suitcase at the airport and head straight into the city to shop:

When you fly home from Haneda, leave your bags at the hotel front desk after checkout and we'll take them to the airport:

Book luggage delivery

FAQ

Can I still shop tax-free in Tokyo after November 2026?

Yes, but it becomes a refund system: you pay the full price including 10% consumption tax (8% for food and some other items) and get the tax back after a customs check when you leave. You need to spend at least ¥5,000 before tax at the same tax-free shop on the same day, and take the goods out of Japan within 90 days. Purchases until October 31, 2026 are still tax-free at the till.

Which area of Tokyo is best for shopping?

Go to Ginza for luxury brands and department stores, Harajuku for street fashion and cute goods, Shinjuku for several department stores in one place, and Shibuya PARCO for Nintendo, Pokémon and other anime and game merchandise. The four areas are 10–30 minutes apart by train, so you can cover two in a day.

How long does it take from Narita Airport to Shinjuku or Shibuya, and how much is it?

The Narita Express (N'EX) runs direct to Shinjuku and Shibuya in about 75–90 minutes for about ¥3,330 one way. Alternatively, take the Keisei Skyliner to Nippori (¥2,580, about 40 minutes) and change to the JR Yamanote Line, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes in total.

Do I need to carry my purchases to get the tax refund?

Yes. Under the new system you must show your passport, receipts and the goods when you leave, and customs inspects them if the terminal shows red; if any item on a receipt is missing, the whole receipt is rejected. The goods can go in your checked luggage, but only after you finish the procedure before check-in.

Are Shinjuku Mylord and Seibu Shibuya still open?

No. Shinjuku Mylord closed on March 16, 2025 for the Shinjuku west exit redevelopment, and Seibu Shibuya's buildings A and B closed on September 30, 2026. The building that houses Shibuya LOFT stays open.

Cover photo: gog.creator / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0