World Porters is a huge complex housing shops, restaurants, a multiplex movie theater with eight screens and seating for 1,600, conference and meeting rooms, and exhibition halls. There are over 170 shops, many of which are import stores specializing in overseas fashions, and the prices are quite reasonable for Japan. The great variety of cuisine available among the over thirty restaurants gives you plenty to choose from when the shopping tires you out. If you want to catch movie while you are here, the eight-screen multiplex variety puts on road shows, recent Japanese blockbusters, cinema classics and reruns.
Queen's Square is another of Yokohama's modern success stories. Opened in 1996, it is almost a city in itself, combining business and commercial zones with cultural facilities. Altogether, it has a total floor space of about 500,000 sq. m. and houses specialty shops, offices, restaurants, a concert hall (the Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall), and the 485-room Pan-Pacific Hotel Yokohama. In the center of this huge complex there is an atrium that starts at B3 and goes up to the 5F. Take a walk along the Queen Mall, a huge shop and restaurant-lined passageway that runs right through Queen's Square linking the Landmark Plaza with the Pacifico Yokohama. If you do not want to do any shopping, stop by for a break in one of the many restaurants or cafes.
This huge shopping mall is conveniently located just inside the west exit of Yokohama Station and it has something for just about everybody. There are four floors above ground and two basement levels and each floor has a theme (or a variation on a theme). There are over 300 outlets in this complex, including boutiques, brand and specialty shops, restaurants, coffee shops, as well as, shops selling local and overseas delicacies. Although most of the stores represent popular brands and are therefore not the cheapest shops in town, there are frequent bargain sales when you can come away feeling pleased with what you have bought.
Eye-catching shelves at the front of the store draw you into the shop. They are filled with new and used items, including many retro things such as old lamps and telephones. Inside, the concrete flooring and multitude of different lights make a slightly cave-like atmosphere. The casual clothing for men and women include shirts, skirts, T-shirts and sweatshirts in an array of colors and fabrics. Bright colors and comfortable styles are the main criteria here. There are leather shoes and boots (including Dr. Martens), leather belts, leather bags, glasses, jewelry, embroidered bags, rucksacks and scarves. These are displayed with old-fashioned accessories such jars, boxes and other quirky ornaments. -AH
This small candy shop, conveniently close to Kiddyland on Cat Street, sells handmade candies and showcases the production process. A counter along one wall with a glass partition has space for the three or four people who knead and roll the sweet, colorful, sticky confections. When the candies are shaped and set, they are sold in small bags or glass bottles in the shop.
If you are looking for good bargain deals in Tokyo, then the Kinji is the place for you. The secondhand shop offers a wide variety on clothing, accessories, and other products at pocket-friendly prices. From pajamas and hoodies to band t-shirts and knee-high leather boots, the sheer range of items here is quite amazing. Despite the fact that the clothes are secondhand, they are quite fashionable and in good shape.
Over the past few years a new breed of shops has arrived in Tokyo. They are called "c" shops because everything they sell, or almost everything, costs just one hundred yen. Most of these shops stock the same goods: stationery, kitchen utensils, detergents and soaps, and accessories. But there are subtle differences in these shops and each has its own distinct character. Hyaku-en Merugard offers two things that most of these shops do not. The first is simply friendliness. The couple who run the shop are extremely patient with non-Japanese speaking customers and very willing to help them find what they want. The other thing is a clothing reform service. If you need something repaired, just drop it off and they will do the rest.
The Lacoste shop has a minimalist feel with neatly folded clothes carefully spaced on the shelves and carefully coordinated racks of clothes. The interior has a crisp black and white color scheme in keeping with the black on white logo outside. Stock includes the well-known crocodile logo T-shirts, as well as bags, belts, shoes, sweaters, shirts, hats and socks for men and women. Many of the clothes are well discounted from usual store prices. -AH
If you have half a day to spare, then Loft Shibuya will easily eat that time up; spanning an impressive seven floors, it has the same scale, range and scope as an Ikea - possibly more so. The objects it sells are largely unbranded and you can find everything from health products to homeware to seasonal goods to accessories. There is a staggering amount to look through and around and it's also a fantastic place to find gifts. Look out for the distinctive black and yellow logo.
Disk Union is a popular second-hand CD chain with five of its stores situated in Ochanomizu, each specializing in different music. Predictably, their clientele is mostly students from the nearby Meiji and Shenshu universities. They have a large stock of discs and a number of bargain bins that are worth rummaging through.
Queen's Square is another of Yokohama's modern success stories. Opened in 1996, it is almost a city in itself, combining business and commercial zones with cultural facilities. Altogether, it has a total floor space of about 500,000 sq. m. and houses specialty shops, offices, restaurants, a concert hall (the Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall), and the 485-room Pan-Pacific Hotel Yokohama. In the center of this huge complex there is an atrium that starts at B3 and goes up to the 5F. Take a walk along the Queen Mall, a huge shop and restaurant-lined passageway that runs right through Queen's Square linking the Landmark Plaza with the Pacifico Yokohama. If you do not want to do any shopping, stop by for a break in one of the many restaurants or cafes.
This bookshop is one of a kind, with a collection of books pertaining to the literature and social movements of the 1960-70s. This store gives you a chance to go back to the era when there was relentless social flux; the Beat Movement, the Black Power Movement, Women's Liberation Movement, drugs, hippies and Woodstock all belong to that power packed generation. Books by authors like William S. Burroughs, Tim Leary and the like, copies of which are impossible to find elsewhere, are worth seeking out. Keep an eye out for first and limited editions.