Ginza District
The Ginza (銀座) is Tokyo's most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes.
One square meter of land in the district's center is worth over ten million yen, making it one of the most expensive real estate in Japan. It is where you can find the infamous $10 cups of coffee and where virtually every leading brand name in fashion and cosmetics has a presence.
From 1612 to 1800, today's Ginza district was the site of a silver coin mint (Ginza means "silver mint" in Japanese), after which the district was eventually named. The Ginza evolved as an upmarket shopping district following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
Most shops in the Ginza district are open every day of the week. A visit is most pleasant on weekend afternoons when the central Chuo Dori street is closed to automobile traffic and become a large pedestrian zone. The road closure takes place from 12:00 to 17:00 (until 18:00 from April through September).
Shopping
- Ginza Wako
- Built in 1932, the clock tower of the Ginza Wako building is the symbol of the Ginza, standing at the northwest corner of the district's centrally located Ginza 4-Chome junction of Chuo and Harumi Dori. Inside the building, jewelry and luxury items are sold.
- Ginza Six
- Opened in spring 2017, Ginza Six is the district's largest shopping complex. Besides many floors of cosmetics and fashion, the complex offers interesting floors devoted to foods and interior design, a large Tsutaya bookshop specialized in art publications, a pleasant rooftop garden and a Noh theater in its basement.
- Tokyu Plaza Ginza
- Opened in 2016, the Tokyu Plaza Ginza shopping complex features 14 floors of shopping and dining, including two floors of tax free shopping for foreign tourists and an interesting open rooftop with views over the city.
- Mitsukoshi
- The Ginza store of the Mitsukoshi department store chain was opened in 1930 and offers goods and services on twelve floors. Mitsukoshi's history reaches back to the year 1673.
- Matsuya
- The Ginza store of the Matsuya department store chain offers fashion, foods, household goods, a pet shop, a travel agency and an exhibition hall on its eleven floors.
- Marronnier Gate
- Marronnier Gate is a shopping complex consisting of three buildings, including the buildings of the former Printemps department store. The complex contains a large number of shops ranging from small boutiques to the Ginza branch of the popular Tokyu Hands department store which covers five floors of building number one.
- Itoya
- This narrow but tall and elegant store is arguably Japan's best stationery shop, selling everything from paper to paint supplies. The store is bright and modern and contains various food and relaxation spaces on its upper floors. A separate, second building is located nearby one street off the main street.
- Uniqlo
- This gargantuan Uniqlo branch sprawls over twelve floors and purportedly offers the most diverse range of Uniqlo products anywhere in the world. Visiting here is a must for any fans of Japan's most famous clothing brand.
Access
The most convenient stations for accessing the Ginza district are Ginza Station on the Hibiya, Marunouchi and Ginza Subway Lines and Yurakucho Station on the JR Yamanote Line, JR Keihin-Tohoku Line and Yurakucho Subway Line.
Links and Resources
