Tokyo's luxury quarter — flagship stores, department halls at Mitsukoshi and Matsuya, and Uniqlo's twelve-floor global flagship. The main avenue closes to traffic at weekends.
Tip: Cat Street, running between the two districts, is where the independent and vintage shops are, away from the Takeshita crush.
3. Akihabara Electric Town
Photo: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
The electronics and anime district — Yodobashi's enormous flagship, plus floors of components, retro games, figures and secondhand hardware in the side streets.
Tip: Duty-free counters need your passport at the time of purchase. Voltage is 100V — check compatibility before buying appliances.
Watch outTouts on the street offering maid cafés and 'concept bars' lead to venues with undisclosed table charges that can run to tens of thousands of yen. Choose a café from its own shopfront, not from a tout.
Nakamise is the traditional craft approach to Senso-ji — fans, crackers, woodblock prints. Kappabashi nearby is the restaurant-supply street, famous for knives and plastic food models.
Isetan is the country's most respected department store; Don Quijote is the chaotic discount chain open all night; the surrounding streets carry everything in between.
