Japan is famous for its department stores, and with good reason. Arrive at 9 or 10 when the doors open and every worker will line your entrance, bowing and welcoming you to their shop. File out at closing and the same applies. The downstairs are upscale food bazaars, top brands like Tiffany’s and Louis Vuitton have their own stores within the building, and top floors have all sorts of bargains. Not to mention great works of art for sale, kimono silks that can be handmade for customers, fashion that would fit right in with New York or London – you must visit at least one department store while in Japan, even if you’re not a shopper. The biggest and best in Kyoto is the Takashimaya on the corner of Shijo and Kawaramachi. Across the street is an impressive Hankyu, and west on Shijo are a number of smaller (and more affordable) options, like Daimaru. Walk north from Shijo along Kawaramachi to find all sorts of smaller boutiques. Head west on Shijo to Teramachi for the ultimate Japanese experience. Turn south and you’ll enter Kyoto’s small den-den town, full of all the electronic gadgets that get techies blood rushing. Turn north and you’ll be in one of Japan’s covered street malls, restaurants, 100 yen shops, pachinkos, and clothing stores intermingling with Buddhist temples and artifacts shops. Just off Teramachi, halfway between Shijo and Sanjo streets is a narrow alley full of intrinsically Japanese foods. Teas that come in all shades and varieties, miso sauce which varies from blonde to a dark brown and resembles fudge, seafood still struggling to escape Styrofoam cages, and a myriad of other culinary surprises await you. Small boutiques populate the narrow streets between Kawaramachi and Teramachi, stretching from Shijo to the south, all the way north of Oike Dori. If you’re templed out, you could easily spend a day wandering this maze of colorful shops. On Shijo between the Kamogawa River and Higashiyama is the Gion shopping district, full of souvenir shops and Japanese crafts. Sweets abound, as well as fans emblazoned with famous Geiko’s names, the reknowned incense blends of the old capitol, the most famous make-up shop in Japan ( which has served Geiko for centuries), along with plenty of other unique goodies. Near Kyoto Station there is another shopping district, complete with an underground mall (very Japanese) and a plethora of huge department stores. The upscale ones are to the north, while discounted shops are south of the station, in the Avanti department store. |
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