Tokyo's Best Shopping Malls for Design Lovers

From the world-famous Depachika (vast underground food halls), to breathtaking rooftop gardens, elegant fashion and design dining, Tokyo’s shopping mall and department store game is hard to beat — and with so many choices out there, it’s easy to get lost. 

For the best shopping malls and department store this megalopolis has to offer, follow our guide and immerse yourself in the über-commercial world that Tokyo is just so good at...

It happens only rarely that a shopping complex can inspire your mind beyond superficial shopping goals, but a visit to Ginza Six will do just that. Besides its stunningly elegant shops, this gigantic shopping complex which takes up a whole block on Ginza’s main street, boasts one of Tokyo’s best (and free) rooftop gardens, an outstanding art and design bookstore, an art gallery, a chic food hall on the basement level, and a Noh Theatre for traditional Japanese entertainment. 

Make sure not to miss:
Rooftop Garden, RF
Tsutaya Art and Design Bookstore, 6F
Starbucks Tsutaya, 6F
Food Hall, B2F
Noh Theatre, B3F

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︎ 10:30-20:30
︎6-10-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
︎Google Maps
︎Website

Left: Ginza Six Interior in 2018
Center: Tsutaya Bookstor, 6F
Right: Rooftop Garden

Tokyo Midtown is another stunning example of what a shopping complex can look like if it’s put together with the right concept in mind. Fusing modern office space, a hotel, elegant shops, an art museum and a park (with yet another art museum), Tokyo Midtown will offer you more than just one way to spend your hard-earned money. Be sure to check out the terrace-side dining options with stellar park views, and refresh your mind at the excellently curated exhibitions at Suntory Museum of Art and 21_21 Design Sight.

Make sure not to miss:
Time and Style, Furniture, 3F
Nihonbashi Kiya, Knives, 3F
Suntory Museum of Art, 3F
Toraya, Japanese Sweets, B1F
21_21 Design Sight, Museum, Inside Park

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︎ 11:00-21:00
︎9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
︎Google Maps
︎Website

Left: Tokyo Midtown
Center: Toraya, B1F
Right: Suntory Museum of Art, image courtesy of Suntory Museum of Art

Featuring a stunning lounge on its 6th floor with amazing views of Sukiyabashi Crossing in Ginza, a vertical rooftop garden with a pool, as well as chic fashion boutiques and a moderately-priced basement-level food court, Tokyu Plaza Ginza has set the bar high in Tokyo’s competitive shopping mall game. The restaurants on Ginmachi dining floors at the top of Tokyu Plaza Ginza offer stellar views of the surrounding area and a perfect break from a busy shopping tour of Ginza but the mall’s true highlight is and remains its 6F Kiriko Lounge where you can take a well-deserved break — for free.

Make sure not to miss:
Kiriko Lounge, 6F
Ginmachi Dining Floor, 10F+11F
Kiriko Rooftop Terrace, RF

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︎ 11:00-21:00
︎5-2-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
︎Google Maps
︎Website

Left: Tokyu Plaza Rooftop 
Center: Kiriko Lounge
Right: Inside Tokyo Plaza Ginza

Left and center images courtesy of Tokyu Plaza Ginza

Housed in an elegant complex designed by dutch architecture firm MVRDV, GYRE is still one of the city’s design gems that is spared by masses of visitors, making it a pleasure to stroll through GYRE’s serene floors of high-end fashion, interior design and dining. The B1F interior floor hosts some of Tokyo’s best spots to pick up furniture and design objects while on the beautiful 4F dining floor you can enjoy your next coffee or lunch surrounded by Omotesando’s best indoor jungle. 

Make sure not to miss:
GYRE.FOOD floor, 4F
Interior floor, B1F

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︎ 11:00-20:00
︎5-10-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
︎Google Maps
︎Website

Left: GYRE Exterior (photo by Robert Hart)
Center: eatrip soil, 4F (photo via GYRE)
Right: B1F HAY (photo via GYRE)

Built in 2005 by none other than legendary Japanese architect Tadao Ando, Omotesando Hills is not just a must-see for fans of concrete-architecture, but also provides a welcome escape from busy Omotesando Avenue. The shopping complex’s design takes advantage of the natural hillside shape of Omotesando and features triangular, inclined walkways which gracefully connect the six shopping and restaurant floors from the basement all the way to the roof.

Make sure not to miss:
Restaurant Floor, 3F
Urban Research (Fashion), B3F

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︎ 11:00-21:00
︎4-12-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
︎Google Maps
︎Website

Left | Right: Omotesando Hills Interior
Center: Omotesando Hills Exterior

Joining the ranks as one of Tokyo’s most exciting shopping complexes, NEWoMan Shinjuku might not be Tokyo’s biggest, but certainly one of the city’s finest destinations to shop for fashion like a Tokyoite. Be sure to check out the rooftop gardens with views of Shinjuku station on the 6th and 7th floors on your way out, and head to stylish Rosemary’s on the 6th floor for one of Shinjuku’s best after-work dining experiences.

Make sure not to miss:
Rooftop Garden, 6F, 7F , South Terrace, East Terrace
Rosemary’s, Restaurant, 6F

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︎ 11:00-21:30
︎4-1-6 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
︎Google Maps
︎Website

Left: NEWoMan Exterior
Center: Aesop inside NEWoMan (via Aesop)
Right: 6F Rooftop Garden

Takashimaya’s long history reached new heights in 2018 when its Tokyo flagship store in Nihonbashi was reborn into the Takashimaya S.C. shopping complex - boasting three buildings covering over 20 shopping and dining floors in total. Especially worth mentioning is the new Annex (新館) with its beautifully designed fashion and lifestyle floors which clearly outshine the outdated main building.   

Make sure not to miss:
Annex building, Lifestyle floors 4F+5F
Tea Salon Michikusaya, 4F

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︎Annex: 10:30-20:00
︎Takashimaya New Building, 2-5 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
︎Google Maps
︎Website

Left: Nihonbashi Takashimaya S.C. Exterior (via Takashimaya)
Center: Salon Nihonbashi, courtesy of Michikusaya (courtesy of Michikusaya)
Right: Passageway connected the annex and main building (via Takashimaya)