This is a MEGA beauty shopping guide in Tokyo Japan complete with all my recommendations listed on a Google Map and linked to a shit ton of individual photo tour posts so you’ll be a prepped shopper. First, start with my post on general Tokyo Shopping Tips As A Tourist so you’ll understand how tax-free and duty-free shopping works. I was on a mission to visit as many beauty stores in Tokyo during my one week stay because your girl has a small hoarding problem. Although most of my google searches told me to go to a Japanese drugstore for all J-Beauty needs, I wasn’t satisfied with the results. I looked up beauty haul and shopping guide videos on YouTube where I was able to find better information and compiled a list as best as I could from various sources. I think it helps to know the type of shopper I am so you can gauge if this list fits your taste. I tend to buy low to mid range products because I believe there are very effective products out there without the luxury mark-up. I’ll occasionally buy a luxury branded item if the hype is real. You can see my Japan #beautyp0rn from Haul Post and below are most of the stores I raided in Tokyo. Be ready to bookmark this guide because you’ll want to reference this again!

 Japanese Beauty Shops – Google Maps

I placed all my suggestions below in a handy Google Map! You can make it larger by clicking on the expand button in the upper-right hand corner. Print or save as a PDF by clicking on the expand button and then clicking on the 3 dots next to the map name. This will give you more drop down options to Print Map, you might need to zoom in on specific areas to really see street names. I color coded it as follows:

• Red: Beauty Shops from my list
• Purple: Miscellaneous non-beauty shops (home, stationery, etc)
• Blue: Various Matsumoto Kiyoshi locations
• Yellow: Various Don Quiote locations

Loft – Shibuya

〒150-0042 Tokyo, Shibuya, Udagawacho, 21−1

Loft isn’t a typical Japanese mega-department store but a variety store. Loft doesn’t sell any clothing and it’s most recommended to tourists because it specializes in a ton of suitcase-toteable souvenirs, knick knacks, stationery/post cards, and of course beauty products. I ooh’d and ahh’d at all the bento boxes and would’ve bought one if I didn’t already buy two at Franc Franc (I mention this store below too). Loft should be at the top of your list because there’s a center display that show what’s trending at the moment like the Keana Rice line, Kikumasamune Sake Skin Lotion, Hatomugi Skin Conditioner, or Halloween themed LuLuLun masks. They also carry Koh Gen Do’s full line and the typical Heroine Make mascaras, CanMake, Kate, and false eyelashes. It’s much more pleasant than shopping in a crowded Matsumoto Kiyoshi or Don Quijote. There are tons of nail items, beauty tools, hair care, etc. You would need to save your receipts then go to the top floor and wait on line again to get your tax refund with passport. I wish I came here first to shop!

Click here for a full Loft Photo Tour

Ainz & Tulpe – Harajuku

〒150-0001 Tokyo, Jingumae, 1-13-14 Harajuku Quest Building

This is the biggest and most recommended Ainz & Tulpe to visit in Tokyo is the Harujuku location. There’s a Top 10 wall and it contains 2 brightly lit floors. They even sell the popular anello backpacks that all the school girls are toting but you can also buy it through Amazon without splurging on a plane ticket. I bought one myself and it’s now my everyday bag because it’s lightweight and perfect for holding my gym clothes or packed lunches. This store contains a great selection of low and mid-range items like CanMake, Majorca Majolica, Opera Sheer Lippies, as well as skincare, haircare, beauty tools and nails. Ainz & Tulpe also carry Koh Gen Do too! I like how you only have to line up once to get your taxes deducted off once without having to wait on line again to get a tax refund.

Click here for a full Ainz & Tulpe Photo Tour

It’s Demo – Shibuya

〒151-0073 Tokyo, Shibuya, 1-56-18

It’s Demo specializes in beauty items with characters printed on them like Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Snoopy, Disney, Frozen and whatever characters that are high in demand. The packaging wasn’t for me but thankfully they also sold the typical drugstore beauty items downstairs too. I didn’t buy anything from this store but it’s a great playground for those who love characters on cosmetic packaging.

Click here for a full It’s Demo Photo Tour

Shiseido The Ginza/Shiseido Parlour – Ginza

Shiseido The Ginza: 〒104-0061 Tokyo, 中央区Ginza, 7−8−10
Shiseido Parlour: 〒104-0061 Tokyo, 中央区Ginza, 8-8-3

Shiseido is like the L’Oreal of Japan and they own many, many sub-brands like Clé De Peau, Majolica Majorca, Anessa, Maquillage, Avéne, Za, Qiora, IPSA, NARS, Tsubaki haircare etc. The Shiseido Store in Ginza all these brands under one glamorous roof where you can test on the “Beauty Marché” floor. Prices are the same if you were to find Shiseido-owned drugstore brands in a drugstore but harder to find high-end brands like Clé De Peau, Elixir, ettusais, HAKU, d program, IHADA and Qiora are worth coming to Ginza for.

The Shiseido Parlour is an 11 story building where the company was founded. It houses a restaurant, confectionery store, cafe, reception hall and penthouse bar. I only visited the confectionery store and it has cute, old-timey packaged sweets to take home as souvenirs.

Click here for a full Shiseido The Ginza and Shiseido Parlour Photo Tour

Yodobashi –  Akihabara

1 Chome-11-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to 160-0023, Japan

This is the most popular electronics palace that’s mentioned on every blog! However, they also have an awesome beauty section as well! Everything from the most high-tech curling irons and straighteners to a large range of beauty products. I was able to find the Fairy Drops BB cream and mascara kit that no other drugstore carried as well as the Heroine Make BB Cream although I think both of these were starting to get discontinued. If you have a hard time finding a particular item that’s not in stock at the Don Quijote or Matsumoto Kiyoshi, there’s a good chance it’s at Yodobashi. While my boyfriend perused the electronics, I was happily in the beauty section.

Bonus: There’s an awesome food court are on the top floor! There are also old school arcade video games to kill some time.

Click here for a full Yodobashi Photo Tour

Isetan – Shinjuku

3 Chome-14-1 Shinjuku, 新宿区 Tokyo 160-0022, Japan

I’ve said that I tend to buy low to mid-range products and occasionally high-end if they’re worth the hype. If there’s a store for that, it’s Isetan – a favorite department store for locals and tourists. You can buy Lunasol, RMK, THREE, Addiction, SUQQU brushes, Anna Sui, Hakuhodo brushes, Paul and Joe’s cute cat packaged makeup, and Ladurée’s famous rose petal and egg-shaped blushes. They even have an entire basement floor dedicated to natural beauty, called Beauty Apothecary! It was gorgeous and although I was unfamiliar with organic brands, I’m sure their selection would wow the organic beauty lover.

Bonus: Their food hall is one of the best in the world! It’s worth visiting and grabbing a lunch in between shopping and eating it on their rooftop terrace. They have great French inspired desserts and it would be so hard to leave with only one treat!

Click here for a full ISETAN Photo Tour

Jill Stuart Beauty

Various locations but I went to the TOKYU PLAZA OMOTESANDO Mall location in Harajuku
4-30-3 3F, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0001

Jill Stuart Beauty is only available in Asia and it’s known for its ultra feminine and girly packaging. I particularly like the lip products but their eye shadow quads and cheek quads are also pretty. I recommend you visit a retail location to test and look at your options in real life then buy your selection at Narita Airport where it’s duty-free.

Click here for a full Jill Stuart Beauty Photo Tour

Cosme Store

3 Chome-38-1 Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0022, Japan

The Japanese cosmetic ranking website has a store where you can buy all the top products! You’ll notice that Japanese beauty products have a foil sticker that most likely says #1 or some other eye catching statistic like it’s been #1 since 2014. Well, no need to scour store to store looking for only the best! Go to the Cosme store to pick up everything you’ll ever need and want! I actually did not go to this store myself because I found out about it after I already came back but I can’t imagine the Ainz & Tulpe or Loft not carrying #1 ranked products already.

Tokyu Hands

Japan, 〒150-0002 Tokyo, 渋谷区Udagawacho, １２−１８

I didn’t personally go into a Tokyu Hands store because I thought it was mainly a DIY and crafts shop but from viewing IG Stories from other bloggers, I quickly saw that there’s a pretty decent beauty department hidden away! You can find the popular Kuramoto Bijin Hakumai Ferment Milk or the Kuramoto Bijin Komeyu Beauty Rice Bran Oil!  I had a hard time trying to find these in Japan left with no success! The Rice Bran Oil can be found on ebay or Amazon now and the Ferment Milk is on ebay! Browse around for stationery, yarn, leather pieces, etc. It’s a handi-craftsman’s dream.

Matsumoto Kiyoshi – Various Locations

Matsumoto is essentially a drugstore with a beauty department on steroids. Cult beauty products and drugstore brands will be here but the selection stops there. You can pick up different vitamins, collagen drinks and other cool pharmacy items like mosquito patches or cooling Rohto lychee eyedrops for contacts.

Don Quijote – Various Locations

Also known as “Don.ki”, this is variety store that also sells electronics, home goods, stationery, appliances, snacks, etc. Beauty is part of the selection but only expect to find cult drugstore items and basics like Hada Labo, Biore sunscreen and a few of the makeup brands. To find bigger selection, go to Loft or Ainz & Tulpe. Expect rush hour when the after-work crowd comes in, best to go before 5pm on a weekday. I loved looking at cute character socks, face clothes and cheap Japanese snacks. The majority of my Japan Haul post was from Don.ki and Matsumoto!

Don’t Bother Going

LAOX

This place was listed as a must-go in one of my google searches and I have to warn everyone to NOT go because the selection was underwhelming AND it was overpriced even though it’s duty-free! Can you believe that?! I noticed Kose sheet mask packs were priced a little higher than what I saw inside Don.ki or Matsu so I didn’t look at anything else inside the store. They had mutli-lingual salewomen walking the floor (I heard Mandarin mostly) but they were aggressive and in your face. One woman even pointed and poked at my freckles saying I need to brighten and I was about to go Godzilla on her. In what culture is it okay to poke someone’s face? Anyway, the store has multiple levels but it was mainly other duty-free items like appliances, cameras, vitamins, more collagen drinks so I didn’t bother going upstairs.

Koreatown (Shin-Okubo)

Yes, there’s K-Town north of Shinjuku and its walking distance too! Before you get too excited, K-beauty is way overpriced and marked up. It will be cheaper to place your order through ebay or other Korean etailers and get it shipped home, trust me! When in Japan, buy Japanese beauty! Now it’s worth just checking out for one night and feel like you’re transported to Seoul. There’s cool street food like mozzarella stuffed hot cakes and Korean food if you feel like you need a break from sushi (but again, WHY?!). Other things you can buy are pop idol fan gear like posters, mouse pads, stickers, shirts, and CDs. EXO and SHINEE were everywhere. So I think K-Town is skippable you think you’ll find any “deals” in K-beauty but worth going for other reasons.

Click here for a full Tokyo Koreatown Photo Tour

Miscellaneous Recommendations (Non-Beauty)

Hakuhinkan Toy Park

8 Chome-8-11 Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan

Not beauty related but if you want to bring home some cute toys and knick knacks, go to a Japanese Toy Store! Hakuhinkan is located right in Ginza at the end of the Chuo Dori block. Stuff animals, stationery, gel pens, stickers, toys for a range of ages, tons of classic and new character items (yes, Gutetama is sold there), even Star Wars, the list goes on! I believe this store is packed with 6 floors for your enjoyment. I’ve also added a few locations for Kiddy Land on the map; I haven’t been myself but I’ve read they are also worth visiting.

Franc Franc

Japan, 〒150-0042 Tokyo, Shibuya, 宇田川町12−9
Japan, 〒151-0053 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku, 渋谷区Yoyogi, 2 Chome−2−2−1 新宿サザンテラス

Also not beauty related but I loved visiting this home and furniture store that reminded me of Kate Spade, C Wonder and IKEA. The store had contemporary home goods and accents for kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedrooms. You can take home some fun picture frames, origami crane chopstick holders (squee!), jewelry plates, or mugs. I bought two ultra practical bento boxes and had to stop buying any more! They have an entire home fragrance/scents section too. You can shop online to get an idea of what they have but the store experience is so much better. They are a Japanese company and they have physical stores in Japan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong so far. I added the Shinjuku and Shibuya locations on the map.

Comment!

Whew! This took me a year to compile and write all the individual photo tour posts! Leave a comment if you found this helpful or if you have your own tips to contribute! Share what your most favorite thing you bought from Japan! I’d love to hear it!