Someone asked me this very important question the other day, “what shopping did you do in Japan?” And two things came to mind.
1) boy, oh boy, did we shop
2) that would be a great blog post and social posts because I watched a lot of YouTube videos about shopping and saved posts on Instagram.
I’d be lying if I said our day trip to Tokyo DisneySea wasn’t entirely to buy cute Mickey merch. But, it didn’t stop there! I was looking forward to going to the home of my beloved Sanrio characters (I’m a HK, Keroppi, and Little Twin Stars girly) and H was excited to see the motherland of Nintendo. Which it is worth noting, these shops make for excellent photo spots. Exhibit A:
Japan is full of goodies beyond Kawaii culture. There’s something for everyone from kitchen and home goods to one fo the best second hand luxury markets. There’s also tax-free shopping that makes Japan even better for luxury goods than Europe (depending on conversations at the time of your trip, of course!). And don’t forget about Japanese Beauty! From face masks to hair balms, there’s tons of fun products to try.
And you can’t leave without Japanese treats! Japanese products get bonus points because they are often individually wrapped items, making it easy to buy and divide amongst friends and family. Like I did with this goodie box I made my mom.
Here’s a photo slideshow of all our goodies! I should note, this was the first trip we took a checked bag for and I’m glad we did. We bought a great luggage from The Home Edit’s Walmart line that also came with a duffle bag in it and I loved having it for this trip. It was also chilly so we needed bigger sweaters and jackets that took up more space.
If you’re building your Japan shopping list, I’d absolutely leave room in your suitcase. Between the incredible selection, tax-free shopping, affordable souvenirs, Japanese beauty products, and all the ridiculously cute Sanrio, Disney and Nintendo merchandise, Japan ended up being one of our favorite shopping destinations we’ve visited.
Let me know if you have any specific shopping questions about Japan!
And now, time to plug my absolute favorite credit card: the Capital One Venture One card*. It’s the same as a Venture BUT it has no annual fee. Yet, you still enjoy the perk of no foreign transaction fees. A MUST for anyone traveling, but who doesn’t need the fees to get lounge access.
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