5 More Tokyo Shops For Kawaii Fans

My 5 Tokyo Shops Every Kawaii Fan Should Visit post from 2016 is still really popular so here’s 5 more favourites from our trip last year.

Sumikko Gurashi Shop

While you can buy Sumikko Gurashi merchandise all over Tokyo (especially at Kiddyland), big fans won’t want to miss the Sumikko Gurashi Shop in Tokyo Station. It’s part of Character Street which has shops dedicated to various popular kawaii and anime characters. Not only did this have the largest selection of products, including older themes, but you could even buy freshly baked custard tarts decorated with the characters! The shop decor is adorable too – look out for sumikkos hiding in all the corners.

Wrapple

If you love stationery and journaling, Wrapple is the place for you. It’s a stationery store, cafe and craft space close to LoFT and Tokyu Hands in Shibuya. As well as browsing the huge range of washi tape and other stationery, you can pick up a drink and snack and bring it upstairs where there’s a big table full of washi tape to use! It’s a great place to take a break or to meet up with friends – I spent a lovely few hours there with Kaila of Rainbowholic.

ITS’DEMO

Nearby in Shibuya is a branch of ITS’DEMO, a lifestyle store aimed at girls. It has beauty products, accessories, fashion items, stationery and candy, which are all really cute and quite affordable. Best of all are their character collaborations, which have the cutest artwork that you can’t get anywhere else. There are regular product ranges with Pokemon, plus Sailor Moon, Sanrio, Kirby and more. They don’t like you taking photos though so go check out their Facebook page to see more.

ASOKO

ASOKO is another lifestyle store and very much the Japanese version of Flying Tiger or HEMA. You’ll find stationery, kitchenware, fashion accessories and novelties all at cheap prices with products changing regularly. They often do character collaborations too, which make for great souvenirs. When we visited there was a really fun Sanrio series and there’s one with Sesame Street at the moment. The easiest store to visit is in Harajuku, around the corner from Kiddyland.

Yodobashi Camera

If you love gachapon, try to fit in a visit to Akihabara, but if can’t manage it, make a quick stop at Ueno. I love this branch of Yodobashi Camera as it’s very close to the train station and Ueno Park, plus you don’t need even need to go inside as there’s a huge row of gachapon machines outside to help you empty your purse.

Make sure to stop at Yamashiroya toy shop on the way as they have some gachapon too – and lots of kawaii inside. There are branches of Yodobashi Camera all over Tokyo and Japan so it’s always worth going past to see what they have – and go inside if you have time as there will be floors of games, toys and weird gadgets.

Which shop would you most like to visit? You can find even more shopping and sightseeing ideas in our Visiting Japan section or my Asking For Trouble blog and guide books.

All photos by Marceline Smith except where stated