6 Best Shopping in Marunouchi, Tokyo

The unique geometric shape of Kitte’s interior, which was partly designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, sets this department store apart. It also has a notable free history museum (called Intermediatheque) and an expansive rooftop garden overlooking Tokyo Station on the sixth floor. The department store’s name, Kitte, is a play on the Japanese words “stamp” and “come”. It makes sense once you know that Japan Post was the building’s developer.

Bringing some much-needed retail dazzle to the area are these six shopping, office, and dining mega-complexes called Marunoucuhi, Shin-marunouchi, Oazo, Iiyo, Brick Square, and Tokia. Highlights include the fifth-floor open terrace on the Marunouchi building, with its view of Tokyo Station, and Bricksquare, which has its own oasislike European garden on the ground floor to rest in between bouts of shopping at the luxury and everyday boutiques.

In this flagship branch of the Maruzen chain in the Oazo building, there are English titles on the fourth floor as well as art books; the store also hosts occasional art exhibits.

Zakka is what the Japanese call small knickknacks and gifts, and this eccentric store is brimming with zakka from the coffers of local fashion designers, artists, magazine editors, celebrities, and other stylish Tokyo denizens. The carefully curated goods are fixed up and resold, with an option to give a portion of the profit to charity. It is tucked inside the Brick Square complex, next to an English rose garden.