Street entrance for the original Mitsukoshi in Nihombashi

©Rebecca Milner/Lonely Planet

Mitsukoshi

Top choice in Tokyo


Mitsukoshi's venerable Nihombashi branch was Japan’s first department store. It's a grand affair with an entrance guarded by bronze lions and a magnificent statue of Magokoro, the goddess of sincerity, rising up from the centre of the ground floor. For the full effect, arrive at 10am for the bells and bows that accompany each day’s opening.

Check out the floor dedicated to the art of the kimono or peruse the morsels in the incredible depachika (department-store food floor).


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