There is one scene stealer in Japan’s ever-glamorous retail world: the chic, sleek and dizzyingly vast Ginza Six (ginza6.tokyo), a contemporary complex that recently opened its doors in the heart of Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza district. It’s home to 241 stores – around half are designer flagships – countless restaurants and contemporary art installations: don’t miss Yayoi Kusama’s spotted pumpkins floating from the ceiling. There’s even a historic cypress wood Noh theatre in the basement.
Not far away is Shiseido The Ginza (stg.shiseido.co.jp), an emporium devoted to all things Japanese beauty, from cosmetics counters and hair and makeup salons to beauty photography and powder rooms for trying out a raft of products. The first and second floors are under renovation until November, but the third and fourth remain open.
Meanwhile, the leafy lifestyle space Think of Things (think-of-things.com) opened its doors at the end of May, not far from Tokyo’s hipster haven Harajuku. It offers an array of lifestyle goods – from stationery to furniture – as well as quality coffee and food in its café.
Materiaali (mina-perhonen.jp/shop/tokyo/materiaali) – an interiors shop created by Mina Perhonen, Japan’s answer to Finnish home furnishings firm Marimekko – is the latest addition to the retail scene in Tokyo’s creative Daikanyama district. The shop, located just a few minutes walk from the popular T-Site bookshop complex (real.tsite.jp/daikanyama/english/), is a serene haven of warm woods, colourful textiles and ceramics.
