Department Stores in Tokyo and the Best Malls in Japan: 15 Worth a Detour (2026)

The best department stores in Tokyo are Isetan Shinjuku for fashion, Mitsukoshi Nihombashi for tradition and Ginza Mitsukoshi for location; for modern malls, go to Ginza Six, Azabudai Hills and Toranomon Hills. Most open from 10:00 to 20:00, and foreign visitors can get 5% off with the Isetan Mitsukoshi app or Hankyu’s guest coupon.

This guide covers 15 buildings in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and two outlet malls within reach of Tokyo, with checked hours, visitor discounts, food-hall (depachika) tips and how the tax refund works at each from 1 November 2026. Everything was checked between 19 and 21 October 2026.

Department store or mall: which should you visit?

Department stores (depato) are one company selling everything under one roof, with a food hall in the basement, gift wrapping and a single tax-free counter. Malls and mixed-use towers lease space to separate brands, so service and tax-free procedures differ shop by shop.

For gifts, food and one-stop tax-free paperwork, go to a department store. For new brands, restaurants and architecture, go to the new towers.

For discounts, take the bus to an outlet. If you’d rather walk the streets than shop indoors, that’s a different guide; this one is about buildings.

Department stores in Tokyo: hours at a glance

Store	Nearest station	Shop hours	Restaurants	Visitor perk
Isetan Shinjuku	Shinjuku-sanchome (1 min)	10:00–20:00	7F, 11:00–22:00	5% via Isetan Mitsukoshi app
Mitsukoshi Nihombashi	Mitsukoshimae (1 min)	10:00–19:00; food and 1F to 19:30	New building to 22:00	5% via app
Ginza Mitsukoshi	Ginza (1 min)	10:00–20:00	11F–12F	5% via app
Daimaru Tokyo	Tokyo Station	10:00–20:00 (B1–11F)	13F, 11:00–23:00	Seasonal cosmetics coupons
Ginza Six (mall)	Ginza	10:30–20:30	11:00–23:00	Varies by shop
Azabudai Hills (complex)	Kamiyacho, exit 5	11:00–20:00; Market 10:00–20:00	11:00–23:00	Varies by shop
Toranomon Hills (complex)	Toranomon Hills	11:00–21:00	11:00–23:00	Varies by shop

Hours come from each store’s own page, linked below. Individual shops and restaurants can keep different hours.

Which are the best department stores in Tokyo?

1. Isetan Shinjuku (fashion)

Isetan is the one fashion people travel for. It opens 10:00–20:00, with the Eat Paradise restaurant floor on 7F open 11:00–22:00 (Isetan).

From the Marunouchi Line, the Isetan-side gate at Shinjuku-sanchome is about a minute away. Isetan’s international page lists Wi-Fi, a currency-exchange machine, and travel bags and overseas shipping on B1 (Isetan for international guests).

2. Mitsukoshi Nihombashi (tradition)

Mitsukoshi’s flagship is the most traditional of the department stores in Tokyo, and the place for kimono, crafts and serious gift shopping. The store opens 10:00–19:00, with the food floors and 1F open until 19:30 (Mitsukoshi Nihombashi).

Restaurants in the main building close at 19:00, but those in the new building (B1, 9F and 10F) stay open until 22:00. Mitsukoshimae Station is a minute’s walk, and a free Metro Link Nihombashi bus runs from Tokyo Station’s Yaesu side.

Two notes from the store’s own notices: it no longer accepts cheques or issues handwritten receipts, and the Rolex boutique on 6F closed in October 2026 (store notices).

3. Ginza Mitsukoshi (location)

It sits on the Ginza 4-chome crossing, a minute from the Ginza Station gate, open 10:00–20:00 (Ginza Mitsukoshi). The food floors are B2 and B3, where the Ginza Food Garden has eat-in seating, and the restaurants are on 11F and 12F. Events often close at 17:00 on their final day.

4. Daimaru Tokyo (for the station)

Built into Tokyo Station, Daimaru is the easiest department store in Tokyo for last-minute gifts before a Shinkansen. Floors B1 to 11F open 10:00–20:00 and the 13F restaurants 11:00–23:00. It closes only on 1 and 2 January (Daimaru Tokyo).

Which new Tokyo malls are worth a detour?

5. Ginza Six

Ginza’s biggest mall mixes luxury flagships, art and a rooftop garden. Shops open 10:30–20:30 and restaurants 11:00–23:00 (Ginza Six). Pop-ups change monthly; a Timberland space runs on 4F until 9 November 2026.

6. Azabudai Hills

The newest Mori complex has the best food of the new towers. Azabudai Hills Market is a 33-shop food hall on the 1st floor and B1 of Garden Plaza C, open 10:00–20:00, selling produce, meat and fish, deli dishes, sake, wine and bread, with some places to eat in (Azabudai Hills).

Other shops open 11:00–20:00 and restaurants 11:00–23:00 (hours). Kamiyacho Station exit 5 connects to Garden Plaza A.

7. Toranomon Hills

Toranomon Hills is mostly offices, but its Station Tower has T-Market, a food hall on B2 that runs from early to late. It opens 8:00–23:00 Monday to Saturday and 8:00–22:00 on Sundays and holidays, so it works for breakfast or a late dinner (Toranomon Hills). Shops open 11:00–21:00 and restaurants 11:00–23:00.

8. Shibuya Sakura Stage

Shibuya’s newest complex opened fully on 25 July 2024, on the south-west side of Shibuya Station, linked by a new JR ticket gate, a deck over Route 246 and an underground passage (Wikipedia). It has about 15,200 square metres of shops and restaurants under its two towers. We could not confirm its shop hours between 19 and 21 October 2026, so check before you go.

Two Tokyo buildings already have their own guides on this blog, so we don’t repeat them here: The Hyundai Omotesando, and Shibuya Marui.

Are the outlet malls near Tokyo worth the trip?

9. Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu

Kisarazu is across Tokyo Bay in Chiba, and the highway bus makes it an easy half day. Shops open 10:00–20:00 (gates 9:30), the food court 10:30–21:00 and restaurants 11:00–21:00 (Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu). It closes on 16 and 17 February 2027.

Buses leave Tokyo Station’s Yaesu side daily at 9:05 and 9:25 (arriving 9:55 and 10:15), with more at weekends. Others run from Busta Shinjuku (9:00 daily, about an hour), Shinagawa, Yokohama and all three Haneda terminals.

The last bus to Tokyo Station leaves at 20:30 (timetable). Until 31 March 2027, the outlet also offers discounts at nearby places such as Umihotaru and local hot springs.

10. Gotemba Premium Outlets

Gotemba, in Shizuoka at the foot of Mt Fuji, is Japan’s big outlet mall: 290 stores, open 10:00–20:00 according to its official site. Seasonal hours and closure days were not listed on the pages we could read, so check before booking.

What are the best malls in Japan outside Tokyo?

11. Hankyu Umeda, Osaka

Hankyu’s Umeda main store is the strongest department store in western Japan, especially for food. It opens 10:00–20:00 daily, with restaurants on 12F and 13F open 11:00–22:00 (Hankyu Umeda).

Its visitor offer is the clearest of any store here. Show your passport at the B1 Overseas Customer Counter, the 1F Information Center or the 1F Duty Free Counter for a 5% guest coupon, valid for seven days (Hankyu services).

It excludes items under ¥1,000, sale goods, food and restaurants. Spend ¥1 million tax-free in a year and the VIP Club gives 7% off (Silver) or 10% (Gold, from ¥5 million).

12. Grand Front Osaka

Grand Front Osaka is the mall next to JR Osaka Station’s north side. Shops open 11:00–21:00 and restaurants and cafes 11:00–23:00 (Grand Front Osaka).

The Umekita Floor food area lets a group order from several shops at one table. From Kyoto, the JR special rapid to Osaka takes about 30 minutes (access).

13. Daimaru Shinsaibashi, Osaka

Daimaru anchors the Shinsaibashi-suji arcade. It opens 10:00–20:00 every day except 1 and 2 January; the 10F restaurant floor and B2 food hall stay open until 22:00, and Shake Shack on 1F runs 10:00–22:00 (Daimaru Shinsaibashi). Daimaru Matsuzakaya runs short cosmetics coupons for overseas visitors, most recently 1–14 October 2026 (Daimaru Matsuzakaya).

14. Kyoto Takashimaya S.C.

At the Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing, Kyoto Takashimaya combines a department store with the T8 specialty building. Both open 10:30–20:00 (Kyoto Takashimaya).

T8 has Nintendo Kyoto on 7F (Nintendo), Mandarake on 4F (12:00–20:00) and the Kyoto Tsutaya Books lounge on 6F (8:30–21:00). The Dining Garden Kyokairo restaurants run 11:00–21:30.

15. JR Kyoto Isetan

Built into Kyoto Station, it belongs to the Isetan Mitsukoshi group. The group’s app gives 5% off only at participating stores (Isetan Mitsukoshi app), and we could not confirm between 19 and 21 October 2026 whether JR Kyoto Isetan is one, so check the app’s store list and the store’s hours before you go.

How do tourist discount coupons work at department stores in Tokyo?

Group	Stores here	Discount	How to get it	Catches
Isetan Mitsukoshi	Isetan Shinjuku, Mitsukoshi Nihombashi, Ginza Mitsukoshi (check JR Kyoto Isetan in the app)	5%	MITSUKOSHI ISETAN JAPAN app, foreign passport holders	Participating stores only; some goods excluded; not available to residents of mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau (WeChat account instead)
Hankyu	Hankyu Umeda	5% (VIP 7–10%)	Passport at B1 or 1F counters	7 days; excludes items under ¥1,000, sales, food, restaurants
Daimaru Matsuzakaya	Daimaru Tokyo, Daimaru Shinsaibashi	Short campaigns	Global customer page	Cosmetics coupons for set dates

Sources: Isetan Mitsukoshi, Hankyu and Daimaru Matsuzakaya. The old Mitsukoshi Isetan Guest Card was replaced by the app; cards issued up to 25 March 2025 have their own terms. Malls such as Ginza Six don’t run a building-wide visitor discount.

How does tax-free work at department stores from 1 November 2026?

From 1 November 2026 you pay the tax at the till and get it back after customs confirms you have taken the goods out of Japan, within 90 days (National Tax Agency). The ¥5,000 minimum now counts all goods together, per store, per day, which suits department stores: food gifts and clothes add up.

• Isetan Mitsukoshi: do the procedure at the store’s tax-free counter on the day you buy, before closing. Bring your passport, receipts, the goods and the card or app you paid with. Refunds go to your own credit card, Alipay or WeChat Pay, minus a processing fee (Isetan Mitsukoshi).
• Hankyu: a designated area in each store handles it on the purchase day. Refunds go by card, WeChat Pay, Alipay or cash; a Global Blue fee applies, and cash costs more. The old fee was 1.55% (Hankyu).
• Malls: each shop handles its own tax-free paperwork, so you need ¥5,000 in each shop, not across the building.

The airport steps are in our Japan tax refund guide.

Depachika tips: how do you eat well in a food hall?

The depachika is the reason to visit a department store even if you buy nothing else. These are the habits that help:

• Know the closing time. Food floors close with the store: 19:30 at Mitsukoshi Nihombashi and 20:00 at Daimaru Tokyo. At Daimaru Shinsaibashi the B2 food hall runs to 22:00.
• Find the eat-in seats. Ginza Mitsukoshi’s Ginza Food Garden (B2–B3) and parts of Azabudai Hills Market have seating. Elsewhere, don’t eat on the shop floor.
• Shop late for bargains. Perishable counters often mark down bento and sushi in the last hour, but the best items sell out first.
• Use the long-hours halls. Toranomon’s T-Market opens at 8:00, and Kyoto Takashimaya’s EAT8 dining on B1 runs 11:00–22:00.
• Buy gifts last. Packaged sweets travel well, and they count towards the ¥5,000 tax-free minimum if you keep them sealed until you fly.

How do you plan a day around department stores in Tokyo?

Do the old-guard department stores in Tokyo in one east-side loop. Start at Daimaru Tokyo when it opens at 10:00, then take the free Metro Link Nihombashi bus from the Yaesu South stop to Mitsukoshi Nihombashi. From Mitsukoshimae, the Ginza Line takes you to Ginza for Ginza Mitsukoshi and Ginza Six, which stays open until 20:30.

Day	Morning	Lunch	Afternoon	Evening
East: tradition	Daimaru Tokyo	Mitsukoshi Nihombashi food floors	Ginza Mitsukoshi	Ginza Six restaurants (to 23:00)
West: fashion	Isetan Shinjuku at 10:00	Isetan 7F restaurants	Shibuya Sakura Stage	Back to Shinjuku
New towers	Toranomon Hills T-Market (from 8:00)	Azabudai Hills Market	Azabudai Hills shops	Restaurants in either tower (to 23:00)

Do the tax-free paperwork at each department store before you leave it, because it must be done on the day. For eating and drinking around Isetan, see things to do in Shinjuku.

Department stores in Tokyo FAQ

Sources and how we checked

Every opening time, coupon rule and bus time on this page was checked between 19 and 21 October 2026 against each store’s or mall’s own website and the National Tax Agency notice on the new tax-free system. Shibuya Sakura Stage’s shop hours and Gotemba’s seasonal hours could not be confirmed, and we say so above.