Shopping In Tokyo – Bargains, Best Deals and Discounts

 Before I left for Tokyo, some friends who had travelled to the city warned me that they didn’t  get much shopping done.   Asked why, majority said that it’s quite expensive and that the place was only for sightseeing and not for serious retail therapy. Well, not if you’re on a regular tourist budget anyway.   Being the bargain sleuth that I am, I took this a s a challenge.  Here’s my special report on Tokyo shopping and the great bargains,  deals and discounts that I took advantage of.
LALA PORT TOKYO BAY (Hamacho, Funabashi, Chiba Perfecture) –  I had high hopes for this mall.  Online info touted it as the largest mall in the area with over 500 shops.  A good 45 minutes via JR line (from out hotel – Grande Sheraton) and a 15 walk from the exit point, this port didn’t  excite me much.  Most of the shops are Japanese brands and most sold winter apparel.  I only got to explore this for an hour at night. Maybe you’ll have better luck than I did.

The selection of restaurants are good though.  You can get your Starbucks drink and there’s a Toys R Us store where my daughter bought a Hello Kitty dollhouse –  a prize her daddy gave her for braving the long cold winter walk from the station exit.  We CALLED the taxi company  (with the help of a restaurant manager) and paid 7500 Yen to get back to the hotel.
AEON MALL – This mall is very similar to LALA PORT but a liitle  bit more upscale.   I was able to get some good deals at H&M and ZARA and so did my 11 year old.  Discounts ranged from 20 -50%.

A short bus ride will take you across the road to MITSUI OUTLET PARK .  This is a small outlet where you can find KATE SPADE,  MICHAEL KORS, LEVI’s and  FOLLIE FOLLIE.  There’s a NIKE GOLF outlet  (If I played gold, this store  would be heaven! Sadly, I don’t).  Three other stores located on the second floor got us excited- UNDER ARMOUR,  ADIDAS and NIKE.

There’s a taxi station right outside the mall so that was convenient for us.
DIVER CITY PLAZA– In and earlier post, I told you that we went to GUNDAM FRONT TOKYO ,  and that it was situated inside this mall.  Aside from mainstream brands LACOSTE, H&M and FOREVER 21, this mall had BLACK LABEL and BLUE LABEL by BURBERRY, MARC by MARC JACOBS,  See by CHLOE and AJ (Armani Jeans).

A five minute drive from DIVER CITY PLAZA  will take you to . VENUS FORT, ODAIBA.  We love this place!!!  ZARA was at 70% (whole store), TOMMY at 50% off,  and DESIGUAL at 50% off.   NIKE  yielded the best buys for my boys, and my littlegirl’s charms worked on her dad (yet again) at the LEGO store.   There’s also ONITSUKA TIGER and a RALPH LAUREN store but discounts were only at 20%.

Our travel agent arranged for a car pick up and a guide to DIVER CITY.  I saw VENUS FORT on the way there and made sure we had enough time to discover the place. GREAT FINDS!!!!

 SHISUI PREMIUM OULTETS – You definitely need a car to get here.  All those who have been in the Premium Outlets in the US will surely like it here.  WE DID!!!

 
IXPERIA – Just two stops aboard the Disney line from our hotel,  this mall is our favorite!  HILFIGER, CROCS,  and the DISNEY STORE were all on sale.  GAP had its items all marked down and was giving extra discounts on top of that.   I was able to get the best deals for my kids here.

  
I hope you found my tips helpful.   Remember the golden rule  — Buy only what you can afford.  It pays to be a smart shopper!
Until my next post,