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Shopping in Tokyo

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athena_san
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Joined: April 24th, 2006 7:02 am

Shopping in Tokyo

Postby athena_san » June 19th, 2006 12:52 pm

Hisabisa mina-san! :oops:

I know Tokyo can be pretty expensive. My sister and I want to go to Japan primarily for the sites and the fashion. :D Where do most Japanese people shop for fashion forward clothes without breaking the bank? I'm looking for the latest and reasonable prices. :wink:

Suggestions are welcome. Chigusa I know you can answer this for me. Yoroshiku!

LBRapid
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Joined: May 3rd, 2006 11:05 pm

Postby LBRapid » June 20th, 2006 2:34 am

ooo i was actually about to post something similar to this, but i guess i don't have to anymore :)
-John Dyer :)

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patchmonkey
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Postby patchmonkey » June 20th, 2006 7:41 am

Haha, shopping that isn't expensive?

As far as I can tell, Japanese people shop and don't worry about breaking the bank. There are some cheaper places, though.

If you're in Harajuku/Omotesando, there are all sorts of used clothing shops that have clothing that may have been worn once, if at all. You'll notice, though, that the prices will be like this (example, a t-shirt):
    Original Store: 3000 Yen
    Used Store: 2000 Yen
    In America: $5


There are some that are less expensive, but that's generally it.

For general clothing (and actually good deals on t-shirts and such), Uniqlo is pretty hot. It's pretty trendy and the t-shirts are artsy, and sort of comparable to the Gap. (The Gap costs about 20% more here, BTW.)

Assuming that you're looking for fashionable stuff, though, and that you're young, you're gonna want to stay in the Harajuku/Omotesando/Aoyama area. Department stores are not places to get anything on sale (rather, they're super expensive). But walking the backstreets of the area can be a good idea! You can also check out Daikanyama and head out to Odaiba, both areas with shopping and large malls, respectively. If you go to Shibuya, you will find more of the "kogal" oriented shops (the orange colored girls) but there are some deals, sometimes, in 109 and generally deals on the street as well.

athena_san
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Joined: April 24th, 2006 7:02 am

Postby athena_san » June 20th, 2006 12:47 pm

Sugoi! Thank you so much. I was worried there weren't going to be any reasonable shopping in Tokyo. I will definitely put those places in my itinerary. Arigato gozaimasu! :D

metablue
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Postby metablue » June 21st, 2006 4:05 am

patchmonkey wrote:If you go to Shibuya, you will find more of the "kogal" oriented shops (the orange colored girls) but there are some deals, sometimes, in 109 and generally deals on the street as well.


If you don't know what an orange colored "kogal" is, don't make the mistake of googling it like I did. Here's a wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogal

jdniii
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Postby jdniii » June 22nd, 2006 7:36 pm

Hello! I love the Japanese style for men's clothing, especially suits. I am worried because I am 6'2''. Will I run into problems in Japan?

Gregster
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Postby Gregster » January 15th, 2007 1:07 am

jdniii wrote:Hello! I love the Japanese style for men's clothing, especially suits. I am worried because I am 6'2''. Will I run into problems in Japan?


I'm living in Japan and I'm the same size as you. It can be tough finding trousers that are long enough. Ditto for sleeves. They DO have them, but not all the time, and sometimes not in the style or the colour you want, etc. Tailoring can be expensive. If you're after suits, go to Thailand first and get some tailored there for you. Cheap and good quality if you go to the right store.

Sorry it's such a late reply...I just joined up recently.

Outkast
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Postby Outkast » January 15th, 2007 7:43 pm

That's a good point. People who will need to eventually (or came for the purpose of) buy clothing in Japan should keep in mind clothing sizes. 36" inseams, sleeves, or size 13W (American size) shoes will probably be a lot harder to find than smaller sizes. Some may need to bring what they will use ahead of time.

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