16 Best Shopping in Aoyama, Tokyo

Sinuous low walls snake through Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo's flagship store, a minimalist labyrinth that houses the designer's signature clothes, shoes, and accessories. Staff members do their best to ignore you, but that's no reason to stay away from one of Tokyo's funkiest retail spaces.

This two-story boutique sells an incredible range of chopsticks, from traditional to pop motifs, and wooden to crystal-encrusted sticks that can be personalized. Children's chopsticks and dishes are housed in their own boutique behind it, but it's a must-see no matter your age.

The otherworldly creations of internationally renowned brand Issey Miyake are on display at his flagship store in Aoyama, which carries the full Paris line. Keep walking on the same street away from Omotesando Station and also find a string of other Miyake stores just a stone's throw away, including Issey Miyake Men and Pleats Please. At the end of the street is the Reality Lab with a barrage of Miyake's most experimental lines like BaoBao, In-Ei, and incredible origami-like clothing.

This fashion "epicenter," designed by Herzog & de Meuron, is one of the most buzzed-about architectural wonders in the city. Its facade is made up of a mosaic of green glass "bubble" windows: alternating convex and concave panels create distorted reflections of the surrounding area. Many world-renowned, nearby boutiques have tried to replicate the significant impact the Prada building has had on the Omotesando, but none have been unable to match this tower. Most visitors opt for a photo in front of the cavelike entrance that leads into the basement floor.

Since the late 1990s, no brand has been more coveted by Harajuku scenesters than the BATHING APE label (shortened to BAPE) founded by DJ–fashion designer NIGO. At the height of the craze, hopefuls would line up outside NIGO's well-hidden boutiques and pay ¥7,000 for a T-shirt festooned with a simian visage or Planet of the Apes quote. BAPE has since gone aboveground, with the brand expanding across the globe. You can see what the fuss is all about in this spacious two-story shop with an upstairs conveyor belt of sneakers that is always a draw.

This branch of the popular chain sells very reasonably priced interior goods that are trendy among young, urban Tokyoites. Here you'll find everything from the funky to the silly. Expect to see things like waffle irons shaped like cartoon characters, and kitchenware items from chopsticks to things you never knew you needed.

An English-speaking staff, a central Omotesando location, and antiques ranging from ceramics to swords are the big draws at this shop, in business since 1948. In particular Fuji-Torii has an excellent selection of folding screens, lacquerware, painted glassware, and ukiyo-e (woodblock prints). You can also pick up contemporary gifts, such as reading glasses with frames wrapped in traditional fabric.

Kawano sells kimonos and kimono fabric in a variety of patterns. A satchel made of crepe fabric called kinchaku is the bag traditionally held when wearing a kimono, and cute little patchwork ones here make a unique find.

Virtually defining Aoyama elegance is this small cobblestone shopping center, which draws well-heeled young professionals to its handful of fashion boutiques, spa, and a specialty store of Japanese crafts from Fukui Prefecture.

Near the Harajuku end of Omotesando, this mall houses luxury-brand shops such as Chanel and Maison Martin Margiela, three concept shops by Comme des Garçons, and one of only three Museum of Modern Art Design Stores outside New York City.

The half-Japanese, half-French duo who make this brand are former DJs and music producers, which may explain why the funky clothes have such a cool edge to them. The Kitsuné Café, which is just up the street and around a corner, serves some of the best coffee in the area and sells some Kitsuné-branded goods.

Architect Tadao Ando's adventure in concrete is also one of Tokyo's monuments to shopping. Despised and adored with equal zeal, the controversial project demolished the charming yet antiquated Dojunkai Aoyama Apartments along Omotesando Avenue. Six wedge-shape floors include some brand-name heavy hitters (Yves Saint Laurent, Jimmy Choo and Harry Winston) and a wide range of smaller stores whose shelves showcase mid- to high-end shoes and bags. It's worth a stroll to see the latest in Japanese haute couture, and restaurants and cafés can also be found here—but beware of long lines at weekends.

Tabi are the traditional cloth socks and shoes with a cleft-toe shape. This Kyoto-based brand creates graphic, cute, and funky patterns that are so ready for this era, you'd never know they were traditional. Other cloth items with fun designs are also available making the shop a great place for gifts.

Ikebana (flower arrangement) and sado (tea ceremony) goods are the only items sold at this shop, but they come in such stunning variety that a visit is definitely worthwhile. Colorful vases in surprising shapes and traditional ceramic tea sets make unique souvenirs.

Antiques and new mingei (Japanese folk crafts) are on display alongside a large stock of textiles from throughout Asia. An easy-to-transport gift would be furoshiki, which is rather inexpensive woodblock-printed cloth used as decorative covers in daily life.

This stark shop houses Paris darling Jun Takahashi's cult clothing. Racks of punk clothes sit under a ceiling made of a sea of thousands of hanging lightbulbs.