Guide on How to Shop in Japan

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You need to learn how to shop in Japan for better shopping experience. Many foreign tourists find shopping in Japan as pleasant experience. The main reason that tourists find shopping in Japan enjoyable is mainly because of the high level of their customer service. Most sales staff in Japan are attentive, friendly and polite. Though services in foreign language are uncommon for most stores, numerous stores that has regular foreign customers usually provide staff who could speak foreign languages, especially English.

Opening and Closing Hours

Most department stores and other big stores open every day from ten am to eight pm, while some smaler shops around most tourists attractions might have shorter opening hours. Except for January 1, most stores open every day even on national holidays and weekends. Smaller shops probably close for a day in a week or a day in a month, yet big chain stores commonly open every single day.

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Tax Free Shopping and Consumption Tax

If you wish to know on how to shop in Japan, you should also learn about basic tax knowledge. In Japan, consumption tax is flat at 8% for all goods. Stores are needed to write the after-tax price so that what the customer see is what the customer pay. For foods or other consumable items such as cosmetics and medicines, the tax is waived for customer who purchase over 5000 yen. Tourists who want to shop tax free goods need to show their passport when shopping. For At some stores, the customers required to pay full price first at the cashier, and get a refund at the customer service desk later. When buying tax free goods, you should find out in advance whether or not the goods you purchase are subject to import tax in your country.

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Payment Methods

In Japan, cash is well accepted in any shopping facilitiies, even if you’re using large bills for small items payments. You can withdraw Japanese Yen of foreign bank ATMs which you could easily find at post offices or numerous convinience stores. More stores, especially main retail stores and electronics shop allowed their customer to use credit cards as payment tool. The most well accepted types of credit cards including Mastercard, JBC, Visa, Union Pay and American Express. On the other hand, accept at major shops that serve foreign customers, Traveler Checks aren’t widely accepted as credit cards. At some restaurants and stores in big cities, particularly around and inside train stations, Suica as well as other IC cards may increasingly be used by customers.

When you’re paying with cash, you should put the cash on the provided tray. Bills that are neatly unfolded is more preferable. And the cashier will give the change in the same manner. In most stores, bargaining is uncommon or unappreciated. After you pay the purchased item, it will be marked using colored tape and bagged right away. If you tell the cashier that you’re buying the item as a gift, they will usually wrap the item instead of putting it in bag right away. In Japan, this kind of service is usually free, yet some shops might charge abit for the wrapping. Hopefully these tips on how to shop in Japan could be beneficial for those of you who are wish to shop in Japan.

Osaka Shopping Guide For Great Trip

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If you’re thinking about traveling to Osaka, there are several Osaka shopping guide you need to follow. You can find a number of world class shopping areas along with miles of malls, shopping streets and shopping arcades. Osaka’s shopping is a combination of upscale designer products, brand name and cheap discount chains and thrift stores.

Popular Shopping Areas

Here are some of Osaka’s popular shopping areas:

• Namba and Umeda

Namba at the south and Umeda at the north are two of the city’s biggest shopping areas. Namba, or known as Minami is located around the Namba Station.

• Umeda

Umeda or known as Kita is located near Umeda Station and also JR Osaka Station. Both districts have large numbers of shopping arcades, department stores as well as numerous of Japan’s huge underground shopping malls.

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• Shinsaibashi Suji

Between Namba and Umeda, there is a covered shopping arcade called Shinsaibashi Suji, which is one among Osaka’s busiest and oldest shopping destinations that’s about six hundred meters long. What’s make Shinsaibashi Suji’s popular among shoppers is its collection of shops, chain stores, brand name shops, independent boutiques as well as a wide number of restaurants.

• Amerikamura

If you want to check out Osaka’s well known youth fashion center that has hundreds of inexpensive small boutiques, you should go to Amerikamura.

• Minami-senba

Not so far from Amerikamura, you’ll find the Minami-senba and Horie districts which cater to more sophisticated and older shopper with fitting prices.

• Nipponbashi

Nipponbashi’s Den Den Town is another specialized shopping area that’s dedicated to gaming and electronic goods. This shopping area is comparable to Akibara district in Tokyo.

• Doguya Suji

Doguya Suji located around namba Station. Doguya Suji is a shopping arcade that sell all kinds of cooking tools and accessories. You can find restaurant grade dishes, stove tops, pans to kitchen staff’s uniform.

Low Budget Shopping Areas

Good Osaka shopping guide should always include information on low budget shopping destinations. There are various collection of shops that sell all kinds of inexpensive stuffs within the Osaka’s northeasern called Tenjinbashi Suji. This shopping arcade located near the Tenmangu Shrine. What makes this shopping arcade special is the fact that it claimed to be longest of it kind in Japan, since it’s about 2.6 kilometers long.

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Flagship Stores

Osaka is considered as one of the biggest shopping destination that many Japan’s major department stores set up their flagship stores and headquarters here. You can find most of them within the Umeda district around and inside the complex of Osaka Station City, where Daimaru, Hankyu, Mitsukoshi Isetan, and Hanshin stores are located. Japan’s biggest department store that’s owned by Kintetsu and was opened earlier this year is located next to Tennoji Station at Abeno Harukas complex.

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There are various opening and closing time of shopping facilities in Osaka. Even so, most of the shops are open around ten to eleven am and close around seven to eight pm. On Sundays and national holidays, most shops stays open. The only standart closing day only occur on January 1. If you’re traveling in a short period of time, I hope this Osaka shopping guide help you decide which place to visit in Osaka.

Latest Kyoto Shopping Guide

You will need Kyoto shopping guide if you’re planning on traveling to Kyoto. Kyoto has a distinctive mixture of shopping culture, as modern and higher end fashion stores can easily be found side by side stores with that has hundred years of history in offering traditional Kyoto specialty foods or crafts. This is highly shown in Kyoto’s biggest shopping district at Shijo Street in the center of Kyoto.

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Shijo Street

You’ll be able to find the famous Takashimaya and also Marui department stores on Shijo Street shopping area. Nearby there are high fashion brand such as Louis Vuitton and well known department store, Daimaru. If you go along the Shijo Street just across Kamo River to Yasaka Shrine, you could see how the big stores give opportunities for smaller shops to sell fashion goods or Kyoto crafts and specialty foods. You can also find Shin Kyogoku and Teramachi Shopping Arcades around Kawaramachi intersection, which is the branch off Shijo Street. You may also found Nishiki Market in this particular area, which is a lovely food market road that runs almost one block from the Shijo Street. The second biggest shopping area in Kyoto is near the station of JR Kyoto. This shopping area includes a huge Aeon shopping mall at the south of the JR Kyoto station, also an extensive Porta underground shopping mall. This particular shopping area offer a variety of souvenir shops, restaurants and boutiques.

Higashiyama

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Higashiyama District

Most Kyoto shopping guide emphasizes the importance to experience a traditional Kyoto atmosphere. That is why you should go to the roads at the east of Higashiyama District. Here you can find a broad variety of crafts, specialty foods as well as souvenirs, in addition the well-known Kiyomizu-yaki pottery. The area’s stores and eateries have the experience in serving vacationers and visitors for a few centuries, while the district keeps the traditional touch using the narrow lanes, pebble paved streets as well as wooden buildings.

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Kyoto Craft Center

To get mementos, you can go to one stop craft shopping at Kyoto Craft Center north of the Heian Shrine. You can find high end goods such as folding fans, lacquerwares, swords and armors and damascene jewelry on the first floor of Kyoto Handicraft, as its upper floors there are retailers selling less expensive crafts such as kokeshi dolls, wooden block prints and yukata. Kyoto also has several flea markets which are one of the most visited place by tourists. One flea market is held on 21st of each month at Toji Temple, which is located south of the Kyoto Station, whereas the other flea market is held every month on 25th at Kitano Tenmangu Temple. Both flea markets are full of vendors selling tools, clothes, arts, plants and antiques.

Kyoto has a wide variety of lodging for all budgets and preferences. This include Western style hotels, low-budget hostels and historic ryokan. One among the most pleasant districts to lodge is the Kyoto Station area, which is the city center near Shijo Street and also the Higashiyama District. If you want to want to have the best travel experience when visiting Kyoto, then you definitely need a good Kyoto shopping guide.

Unique Japanese Vending Machines

Japanese vending machines are popular because of their diversity as well as their uniqueness. There are approximately 5.5 million vending machines in the entire Japan, while the goods they sell are limitless, including beverages and items such as newspaper, sweets and bread, ice cream, paperback books, fruit, vegetables, even shrine charms. You can also find vending machines with very unique features such as helping the customers enjoying their time that they spent in front of the machine by talking to them.

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Sophisticated Design and Features

The newly developed vending machines in Japan have sophisticated design and features. Through the advanced design of recent machines, the sensation of operating the touch display is actually as if you’re using a big smart phone. Goods in the vending machine which have been sold out then immediately removed from the line-up. In several cases, soon after purchasing a product, the machinery will show a slot machine that is allowing buyers pleased with campaigns where winners could obtain another drink free of charge, or will show data such as temperature in addition to weather data on the monitor, allowing them to become helpful for people who passing by.

Virtual Store Manager

These days, the vending machine developer introduces virtual store manager. There are possibly some individuals who think that although vending machines are very convenient, they’re still merely machines. There isn’t affection for the customers like if you purchase from a normal store. Therefore, some beverage producers in Japan have developed the virtual store manager service. The virtual store manager was firstly introduced in approximately 980000 coffee vending machines all over Japan just for a limited time last fall.

Live Footage of Machine’s Progress Inside

You can also find vending machines where you could get pleasure from authentic drip brewed coffee. These coffee vending machines serves coffee that is almost as good as coffee that actually has been brewed cautiously by a real coffee shop master. Though the coffee shop master shown from the vending machine is not real, customer can still feel its genuine. This is the machine works; after pushing the purchase button, coffee beans will start grinding followed by coffee that will be gradually drip brewed and served a cup at a time. This machine is developed by Japanese companies for the very first time in the world

Only in Japan you can find vending machines with such unique features such as life footage, virtual store manager, and more. It won’t be long before Japanese vending machines become trend setter of vending machines all over the world.

Best Places for Shopping in Tokyo

If you like to enjoy your travel in Japan, then you have to make time to go shopping in Tokyo. Shopping around Tokyo is recommended seeing as you can get unique shopping experiences. Tokyo has many shopping districts with their own specialties and character. You can find almost anything that your money can buy, from branded fashion goods to traditional crafts, cutting edge electronic to anime goods. You could go to Shinjuku shopping and entertainment district to check out major department stores or the largest electronic retailers, visit Shibuya Station to get yourself some trend setter clothing, also walk around at Harajuku Street to shop or check out the Japanese youth fashion trend.

Shinjuku

When you’re shopping around Tokyo, the main factor you need to think about is going to Shinjuku as soon as possible. You have to go to Shinjuku shopping and entertainment district so that you could check out major department stores or the largest electronic retailers. Shinjuku shopping district is located around Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station and transportation hub in the world, you can find six major department stores in this area, including some of companies’ flagship shops and several outlets of Japan’s biggest electronics retailers. You can also find various boutiques and shops along the streets as well as underground shopping arcades.

Shibuya

If you would like to enjoy your travel in Japan, you need to also visit the infamous Shibuya Station. Shopping in Shibuya shopping district is recommended for people who wish to get yourself some trend setter clothing. Shibuya is home to several famous clothing stores like Shibuya 109, as well as numerous small fashion stores along the streets. There are also small boutiques that are selling high fashion and designer brands.  You will feel excited as you set your foot on Shibuya, because the atmosphere made by the bright lights along the street is very overwhelming.

Harajuku

Besides shopping in Shibuya shopping district, you might want to walk around at Harajuku Street too.  Taking a stroll at Harajuku street enables you to shop or check out the Japanese youth fashion trend. Harajuku is basically split into 2 parallel shopping streets, which cater to quite different types of shoppers. There is the Omotesando, which is an avenue with mostly upscale cafes, boutiques, numerous leading designer brand stores. And there’s also the Takeshita Dori, which is the center of counter culture and youth fashion. Hence, if you want to enjoy your travel in Japan, be sure you make time to go shopping in Tokyo.

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