Shopping
Tokyo's shopping spans several completely different registers, and matching the right neighbourhood to what you want saves a lot of walking.
Tax-free shopping
Many stores offer tax-free purchases for visitors above a minimum spend — bring your passport and keep receipts until departure, as customs can request them.
Department store basements (depachika)
The food floor of any major department store is worth a visit on its own — exceptional prepared food, and often free samples.
Vintage and secondhand
Shimokitazawa and parts of Koenji specialise in vintage clothing at a level not common outside Japan's resale culture.
Stationery and craft
Itoya in Ginza and Loft locations citywide cover Japan's outsized stationery culture, a genuinely good souvenir category.
100-yen shops
Daiso and similar chains are a reliable source of well-made, cheap souvenirs and travel odds and ends.