Category Archive for Tokyo + Japan
Tokyo Station Character Street store guide! Kawaii cute mascot shops: Rilakkuma, Miffy, Sumikko Gurashi, Ghibli.
Japan is the land of the cute (kawaii)… and if you want to see all your favorite mascots in one spot, then Tokyo Station Character Street is the place to be!
Located in (obviously) Tokyo Station, Japan’s “First Avenue” underground shopping area contains about about 30 stores dedicated to kawaii characters like Rilakkuma (above), Hello Kitty, Pikachu, Kirby…
… and my personal favorite, Miffy the bunny. She’s dressed in a train conductor uniform because you can find limited edition themed goods here, along with every cute-faced plush toy imaginable.
Follow along for my Tokyo Character Street shopping guide, which includes a photo-packed tour of the cutest anime, manga and kawaii stores. (All images by Joey Wong.)
To get to First Ave Tokyo Station, simply head to Tokyo Station in Marunouchi. It’s one of the capital city’s biggest transit hubs, as you can take the shinkansen (bullet train) as well as multiple subway lines.
I’m standing in front of the Tokyo Station Hotel. The underground is large, so look for the signs leading to a basement shopping area called Character Street, or First Avenue Tokyo Station.
But first, a tax-free shopping tip! Bring your passport if you’re a traveler, and you can get a tax refund on anything you buy here.
First, head to the red-and-white Tax Free Booth on the ground floor of Tokyo Station. (Look for signs, or ask someone if you can’t find it). Show the staff your passport, and they’ll staple in a form that shows you’re an “alien” and therefore do not need to pay tax.
Now, you can shop til you drop for big-eyed cuties. After you’ve spent all your yen, head back to the tax-free booth to show them your receipts, and you’ll get the tax refunded to you.
Last fall, I was in Japan on a business visa to report on Tohoku’s food culture. In Japan, it seems every city, company or movement has a cute mascot: I got the Sobachi soba-bowl dangle in Morioka!
Be prepared to be overwhelmed when you enter Tokyo Station Character Street. There are cute boutiques as far as the eye can see, themed after Moomin, Nintendo, Domo, and much more. Here is one dedicated to Kamen Rider, the creation of manga artist, Shotaro Ishinomori (he has a space-like anime museum in Ishinomaki.)
The stores are constantly changing, so chances are you’ll run into adorable creatures that are unfamiliar to you. (We did our best to photograph as many as we could for you).
For example, I think these are kawaii-fied versions of We Bare Bears, but I’m not certain (correct me if I’m wrong.)
The giant plushes and cushions are tempting, but there are also smaller items like keychains if you need to save space in your suitcase.
Character St / First Ave also has a room full of gashapon machines (I spot Anpanman at the end). Put a coin into the vending machine, and you’ll get a random prize.
Studio Ghibli remains one of Japan’s most beloved franchises. Hayao Miyazaki’s Cat-Bus and other imaginative characters greet visitors to the store.
How can you resist giving Totoro and friends a squeeze?
I was delighted to see No Face from Spirited Away, which is my favorite anime film. Go see it if you haven’t; it’s currently on Netflix along with other Miyazaki masterpieces.
Not all of the mascot shops are Japanese. Case in point: Snoopy Town, which had Halloween-themed items at the time.
One section of Tokyo Station Character Street contains displays from most of the shops. On the right: Koupen-chan, a baby penguin with a wand.
Sumikko Gurashi has many fans worldwide. Tokyo Station opened a new theme cafe, which serves Sumikkogurashi sweets and savory dishes decorated to look like these funny faces.
Of course, I knelt before my favorite :x – Miffy!
Although Miffy looks like a Japanese icon (even taking on the form of a daruma), she was invented by Dutch artist Dick Bruna in 1955 — two decades before the birth of Hello Kitty.
Dick Bruna’s minimalist character designs remain as impactful today — just look at how he conveys expressive puppies, lions and elephants with a few strokes and circles.
Tokyo Station’s Miffy Style store has only-in-Japan designs like calendars, stationery, bags, sweets, baby items, accessories like umbrellas…
And rows of plush Miffies. (Soon, I’ll take you inside the Miffy Cafe in Yokohama too.)
Love how the bunny put a sheet over her head to become a ghost. I’m such a Miffy fan that I’ve been to her attractions worldwide, including her Nijntje museum in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
I also have an older post about visiting Tokyo Character Street here, so you can see how the shopping district and stores have evolved. (My Miffy gel nail art is by Glam Nail Studio in Richmond, Vancouver BC.)
Many of the shops have cross-overs. Sailor Moon and Sanrio did a collaboration.
Of course, there’s a Sanrio shop with goods featuring Pekkle the duck, My Melody, Pompompurin, Pochacco and others.
There are photo areas and collectibles for magic girls, anime, and manga as well. (My bag is from Maison de Fleur, a Japanese accessories label.)
Such a wide variety of character designs and fandoms, all in one underground shopping area.
Doraemon the robot cat is waiting for you. Big eyes and roundness are the signatures of Japanese kawaii.
Not surprisingly, the Pokemon Store was one of the busiest.
Pikachu and all your favorite pocket monsters are on the shelves.
Got to catch them all! It’s easy to spend a lot of yen at Tokyo Station’s character street, so don’t forget about my tax-free tip at the start of this story.
I’ll end with this funny shot… only in Japan, you’ll find someone with a 666 Freemason t-shirt hanging out among the kawaii stores!
Have you explored the Tokyo Station area? For more, check out my Tokyo Character Street images from a few years ago to see the differences.
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Harajuku shopping guide! Alternative Goth punk rock fashion stores in Tokyo. 6%DokiDoki, drag shops, purikura.
Looks like I got some plastic surgery when I was last in Japan… thanks to the extreme filters of purikura, or sticker-picture-booth machines!
Such is the weird, cute, underground and nonsensical vibe of Harajuku — which remains the center of Japanese subculture fashion and youth culture. As requested, here’s my updated guide to shopping for alt / Goth / kawaii clothing in Harajuku, Tokyo.
Harajuku isn’t as vibrant as it used to be… Many of the indie clothing stores closed down (due to changing trends, such as less interest in Lolita), or were pushed out due to high rents.
Nonetheless, you’ll still see young fashionistas walking around in alt styles such as Decora and Gothic (read on for many more photos).
To get here, take the JR train to Harajuku (or Omotesando Station). Exit Harajuku Station, and you’ll be right at the entrance of Takeshita Doori, which still holds most of the alt and rock shops.
Photographer Joey Wong and I made our way down Takeshita Doori, and wandered through the small side streets. You’ll encounter lots of punk and subculture stores along the way, as well as run into people dressed in wild styles.
If you want to take someone’s portrait, ask for permission first. We loved this teen’s neon decora outfit, which included rainbow hair clips, accessories all over, and colorful eyeshadow.
Contrast her colorful layers with her friend’s all-black J-rock look.
You’ll see every style tribe represented in Harajuku. Here’s a Goth schoolgirl meets jirai kei look with a bat backpack and plaid skirt.
Harajuku has plenty of hard rock / metal / Goth / punk shops, especially along Takeshita Doori. Many of the clothes here a cute twist to them, such as at the affordably-priced AC DC Rag.
You can’t miss the rows of platform sneakers and boots in Harajuku. Yosuke remains the go-to Japanese brand for alternative shoes.
Drag queens make a bee-line to Takenoko, which has been serving up fierce looks for decades.
The interior is a drag queen / clubbing paradise… booty shorts, pentagram harnesses, and glitter everything!
Love how many of the handmade styles have Japanese kimono influences. And those headdresses are to die for.
Yukiro has found quite a few fabulous garments at Takenoko for his drag shows with his Haus von Schwarz (check their Instagram page to see upcoming performances in Tokyo).
A devilish masked look with a gargantuan feathered ruff… yass.
Takenoko is neighbored by a variety of rock shops.
Yellow House is next door, down the steep stairs. It’s a classic J-rock indie shop run by an older lady that designs all the fashion.
She’ll show you her walls of signed photos from famous heavy metal rockers that visited. Quite a few Jrock / Visual Kei icons wear her Yellow House creations.
Another classic “Tokyo Punker” is JimSinn. Lots of punk dandy looks for men.
Fantasy gowns, Lolita boots, Victorian dresses… Harajuku has it all.
And be sure to hit up Closet Child, the secondhand store on Takeshita Doori. Go inside and find these looks for less. (There are Closet Child locations in Ikebukuro and Shinjuku as well.)
Next to the “No Sexual Services” boutique… there’s a bear that wants you to come in! He marks the entrance to 6% Doki Doki, the iconic Harajuku kawaii / experimental boutique founded by Sebastian Masuda.
Go up the pink staircase, which is a great spot for photos.
(I was wearing platform heels by Rojita, and a puff sleeved dress from Shibuya 109.)
When you enter 6%DokiDoki, you won’t know where to look first. It’s a bug-eyed cute sparkly wonderland.
Everything is on the funky, kawaii and eccentric side — like Hello Kitty shoes.
The staff’s personal style lives up to the vibe of 6% Doki Doki.
Lots of nostalgia here: My Little Pony hair extensions, Lisa Frank style plush toys.
Looks like 6% DokiDoki is dealing with a mouse infestation?
Many of Tokyo’s indie boutiques are gone now, but 6% Doki Doki lives on — and keeps the flame of Harajuku culture alive.
Same goes for Harajuku’s LaForet Department Store, which I’ll show you in an upcoming post. For now, I’ll take you to a few more must-see shops in the hood, such as Hypercore.
Take a peek into Dog, the high-end punk/designer boutique loved by Lady Gaga. Also venture into dollar stores like Daiso, and Kinji vintage store. Be sure to stop for cute snacks along the way.
A heavy metal Hello Kitty urges you to Stay Real.
The ultimate destination for kawaii mascot goods is Kiddyland Harajuku.
Kiddyland has three floors of merchandise for every cute character you can think of.
Kirby, the Nintendo cutie, encourages you to shop til you drop.
Of course, you can find Sanrio items like Pompompurin keychains, plushes, and wallets. You can also find Totoro, Peanuts, Moomin…
… and my personal favorite, Miffy the bunny.
Kiddyland has an entire section for all things Miffy Style.
There are also stores dedicated to Doraemon and other mascots at Tokyo Station Character Street, which I’ll share soon.
Finally, swing by the Line Friends store in Harajuku to hug the cute-faced Korean character statues.
The Line store also has BT21 characters (representing the South Korean K-pop boy group BTS).
I’ll end with some Japanese purikura photos, which are rather extreme-looking these days. Harajuku has plenty of arcades or shops filled with booths for you to take sticker photo booth pictures.
After choosing a machine, you snap about 8 photos and then have a limited amount of time to decorate them with drawings and stickers. You can also change your facial features (but the machine does that already, to the extent that you look like a creepy alien…)
Here are our finished purikura pics, which you can print out and get sent to your email. There aren’t as many sticker customization options as before, and the “beauty” face filters are too much. As always, things were better in the 90s and 2000s!
Joey and I did purikura another time… The results weren’t any better. (If my nose really looked like that, I wouldn’t be able to pick it!)
At least there were Halloween background and sticker options, which added ghosts and bats.
While the subculture fashion scene has gotten smaller, Harajuku remains one of the best places on Earth to shop for alt styles and get inspired by the out-of-this-world street fashion.
I hope you found this shopping guide useful for planning a trip. Stay tuned for a look inside La Foret — as well as tours of Shibuya, Yokohama, Koenji, and more. Hail Japan, and hail Harajuku!
LA CARMINA
