Listed are some of the coolest japan shops around.
To begin, select a metropolitan area from below.
The stores associated with your selection will appear right here and on the map.
Reader Suggested:
This downtown Seattle fashion boutique carries exclusively Japanese designer clothing for men and women. Atsui concentrates on the up and coming designers of Tokyo which include labels like MofM...
The typical Blue in Green customer will not only care a particular pair of jeans are blue but also what sort of indigo dye was used, what type of loom the fabric was woven on and what weight fabric...
If you haven't had the pleasure of eating the Black Sesame Pocky snack or using an eraser shaped like sushi or writing on a notepad decorated with some cutesy critter on acid, it's never...
If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of...
If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of...
If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of...
If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of...
If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of...
Kita Ceramics & Glassware is dedicated to two ancient art forms: glass making and pottery making. They carry an extensive and amazing assortment of Murano glass. In 1292, when government...
Following age-old Japanese techniques, Kozo Arts is all about the art of paper making and book binding. Their silkscreen prints are printed on handmade paper, each color individually screened to...
A purveyor of Japanese hand stenciled paper, Miki's Paper proves that on rare occasions a store can be a calm, tranquil space. We're not sure why it happens, but as soon as you walk into...
In New York, there are 84,000 places to eat Japanese food, a few dozen places to buy Japanese clothes, maybe 2 or 3 place to buy Japanese toys and thanks to Seasons International at least one...
Reader Suggested:
Self Edge is the San Francisco version of Blue In Green and Denim Bar. Walking along the hip Valencia Street/18th, you will see this store stacking many different Japanese denim labels, KMW, Skull,...
Who would know better what the hottest toys are, who the most talented designers and artists are, who to see about designing a mean looking T-shirt, than a store that's an arm of a magazine...
That's The Paper Place, with an emphasis on the "The," as in once you walk inside you really wont consider getting fine paper from anywhere else. Opened in 1982 as The Japanese...
Most of us know futons as "college furniture". Enter Thousand Cranes, the Japanese futon shop. It seems in Japan futons are perfectly stylish and functional pieces of furniture....
Despite alluded to affiliations, Tokio7 actually does a fine job of bringing together clothing from all the world's fashion centers. From Europe come luxury standards like Prada, Gucci and...
So you thought you were cool when you saw "Lost in Translation" before anyone else, but now the whole world has seen it. It's time to kick your Japano-phile induced coolness up a...
Toy Tokyo is not snobbish--they don't claim that Japanese toys are superior and refuse to bring in anything else. The store embraces cool toys of all origins and gives each an area in the...
Billed at "America's First Sake Store" True Sake has made it its mission to educate the unwashed masses about this lovely, complex beverage. There are dozens upon dozens of pretty...
Japanese surfwear sounds about as conceivable as Los Angeles snowwear, but the stuff does exist and has for decades. In a kind of global fashion ping-pong match Waraku brings back to America...
Zakka is a one of a kind shop and gallery, collecting design books from many different design disciplines. Furthermore it keeps an office Japan and thus is in tune with what's happening in...
Atsui Tokyo
Reader Suggested: This downtown Seattle fashion boutique carries exclusively Japanese designer clothing for men and women. Atsui concentrates on the up and coming designers of Tokyo which include labels like MofM (manofmoods), Mr. Olive, Kunna, Stodja, Filly O'Lynx, Cookie Fortune, Balcony & Bed, Hysteric Glamour, Citrus Notes, Gunze, and more.
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Full Details 
Address:90 Madison Street
Seattle WA 98104
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-206-264-2728
Hours: Mon-Sun: 10-7
Blue in Green
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ny/new_york/blue_in_green_1_web.jpg
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The typical Blue in Green customer will not only care a particular pair of jeans are blue but also what sort of indigo dye was used, what type of loom the fabric was woven on and what weight fabric was produced. The denim specialist won't carry the denim brands that American magazines typically cover but instead focuses on the product of (mostly) Japanese companies for whom jean quality...
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Full Details
Address:8 Greene Street
New York NY 10013
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-212-680-0555
Hours: Mon-Fri: 11-8 Sat-Sun: 12-7
Chamalyn
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/san_francisco/chamalyn_1_web.jpg
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If you haven't had the pleasure of eating the Black Sesame Pocky snack or using an eraser shaped like sushi or writing on a notepad decorated with some cutesy critter on acid, it's never too late to start. Chamalyn stock the sorts of snacks, gifts and diversions you'll typically only find in Tokyo.
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Full Details
Address:
3491 19th Street
San Francisco CA 94110
Online Shopping: No
Phone: 1-415-850-9955
Giant Robot
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/san_francisco/giant_robot_1_web.jpg
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If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of pop-y Asian items (and some American stuff that is just cool enough to be sold in Japan). Comic and design books, funky accessories, stickers and stationary, cooky toys and figurines and strange plush...
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Full Details
Address:618 Shrader Street
San Francisco CA 94117
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-415-876-4773
Hours: Mon-Fri: 11:30-8 Sat: 11-8 Sun: 12-7
Giant Robot
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/los_angeles/giant_robot_1_web.jpg
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If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of pop-y Asian items (and some American stuff that is just cool enough to be sold in Japan). Comic and design books, funky accessories, stickers and stationary, cooky toys and figurines and strange plush...
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Full Details
Address:2015 Sawtelle Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90025
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-310-478-1819
Hours: Mon-Sat: 11:30-8 Sun: 12-6
Giant Robot
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/los_angeles/giant_robot_silverlake_1_web.jpg
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If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of pop-y Asian items (and some American stuff that is just cool enough to be sold in Japan). Comic and design books, funky accessories, stickers and stationary, cooky toys and figurines and strange plush...
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Full Details
Address:4017 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90029
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-323-662-4752
Hours: Mon-Sat: 11:30-7 Sun: 12-7
Giant Robot
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ny/new_york/giant_robot_1_web.jpg
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If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of pop-y Asian items (and some American stuff that is just cool enough to be sold in Japan). Comic and design books, funky accessories, stickers and stationary, cooky toys and figurines and strange plush...
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Full Details
Address:437 East 9th Street
New York NY 10009
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-212-674-4769
Hours: Mon-Thu: 12:30-8:30 Fri-Sat: 12-9 Sun: 12-7
GR2
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/los_angeles/gr2_1_web.jpg
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If Giant Robot the magazine began as an ode to Asian pop culture, then Giant Robot the store is now a mecca for the same. Alongside copies of the latest issue of GR you'll find all sorts of pop-y Asian items (and some American stuff that is just cool enough to be sold in Japan). Comic and design books, funky accessories, stickers and stationary, cooky toys and figurines and strange plush...
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Full Details
Address:2062 Sawtelle Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90025
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-310-445-9276
Hours: Mon-Sat: 11:30-8 Sun: 12-6
Kita Ceramics & Glassware
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/san_diego/kita_ceramics_and_glassware_1_web.jpg
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Kita Ceramics & Glassware is dedicated to two ancient art forms: glass making and pottery making. They carry an extensive and amazing assortment of Murano glass. In 1292, when government officials banned glass-making in Venice, all the glass makers moved to Murano. The secrets of their extraordinary techniques have been maintained throughout history and Kita Ceramics & Glassware...
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Full Details
Address:517 4th Avenue #101
San Diego CA 92101
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-619-239-2600
Hours: Mon-Sun: 12-10
Kozo Arts
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/san_francisco/kozo_arts_1_web.jpg
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Following age-old Japanese techniques, Kozo Arts is all about the art of paper making and book binding. Their silkscreen prints are printed on handmade paper, each color individually screened to achieve a gorgeous layered effect. Their albums, guest books and journals are made with heavy, archival quality paper and beautifully bound and covered with a decorative print. For the ultimate...
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Full Details
Address:1969A Union Street
San Francisco CA 94123
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-415-351-2114
Hours: Mon-Sun: 10:30-6:30
Miki's Paper
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/berkeley/mikis_paper_1_web.jpg
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A purveyor of Japanese hand stenciled paper, Miki's Paper proves that on rare occasions a store can be a calm, tranquil space. We're not sure why it happens, but as soon as you walk into Miki's Paper the tone and volume of your voice changes. Perhaps it's the thought that you are in the presence of fine art, as you look at walls covered with gorgeous paper, even the plain...
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Full Details
Address:
1801 4th Street
Berkeley CA 94710
Online Shopping: No
Phone: 1-510-845-9530
Hours: Mon-Thu: 10:30-6 Fri-Sat: 10:30-6:30 Sun: Closed
Seasons International
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ny/new_york/seasons_international_1_web.jpg
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In New York, there are 84,000 places to eat Japanese food, a few dozen places to buy Japanese clothes, maybe 2 or 3 place to buy Japanese toys and thanks to Seasons International at least one place to buy Japanese antiques and home crafts. The full breadth of Japanese craftsmanship is available in the humble space, antique furniture to paper lanterns, ceramic tea sets to beautiful tapestries,...
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Full Details
Address:115 Crosby Street
New York NY 10012
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: No
Phone: 1-212-226-0797
Hours: Mon: 12-7 Tue: Closed Wed-Sat: 12-7 Sun: 12-6
Self Edge
Reader Suggested: Self Edge is the San Francisco version of Blue In Green and Denim Bar. Walking along the hip Valencia Street/18th, you will see this store stacking many different Japanese denim labels, KMW, Skull, Iron Heart, Sugarcane, Samurai, etc... Great store.
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Full Details
Address:714 Valencia Street
San Francisco CA 94110
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: No
Phone: 1-415-558-0658
Super7
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/san_francisco/super_7_1_web.jpg
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Who would know better what the hottest toys are, who the most talented designers and artists are, who to see about designing a mean looking T-shirt, than a store that's an arm of a magazine covering the world it inhabits. The Super7 store is just that. A side project of Super7 magazine, which covers Japanese toys, art and design, the shop is adeptly merchandised with toys (from classic...
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Full Details
Address:1628 Post Street
San Francisco CA 94115
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-415-409-4700
Hours: Mon-Thu: 12-7 Fri: 12-8:30 Sat: 11-8:30 Sun: 11-7
The Paper Place
That's The Paper Place, with an emphasis on the "The," as in once you walk inside you really wont consider getting fine paper from anywhere else. Opened in 1982 as The Japanese Paper Place, the store still carries an incredible collection of traditional Japanese papers. Chiogami (machine-made silk-screened papers) and Katazome-shi (stencil-edged papers) come in dozens of...
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Full Details
Address:887 Queen Street West
Toronto ON M6J 1G5
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-416-703-0089
Hours: Mon-Wed: 10-6 Thu-Fri: 10-8 Sat: 10-6 Sun: Closed
Thousand Cranes
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/berkeley/thousand_cranes_1_web.jpg
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Most of us know futons as "college furniture". Enter Thousand Cranes, the Japanese futon shop. It seems in Japan futons are perfectly stylish and functional pieces of furniture. Thousand Cranes lets you pick a frame and match with a ridiculous number of different fabrics for coverings. But calling Thousand Cranes a futon shop would be selling it ridiculously short. You'll...
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Full Details
Address:
1803 4th Street
Berkeley CA 94710
Online Shopping: No
Phone: 1-510-849-0501
Hours: Mon-Sun: 10-6
Tokio7
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ny/new_york/tokio7_1_web.jpg
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Despite alluded to affiliations, Tokio7 actually does a fine job of bringing together clothing from all the world's fashion centers. From Europe come luxury standards like Prada, Gucci and friends. From America come stylish standards from Theory and Chaiken. And, of course, from Tokyo come the avant-garde designs of Yohji, Comme des Garcons and associates. With an eye towards high-end,...
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Full Details
Address:
64 East 7th Street
New York NY 10003
Online Shopping: No
Phone: 1-212-353-8443
Hours: Mon-Sun: 12-8:30
Tortoise
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/venice/tortoise_1_web.jpg
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So you thought you were cool when you saw "Lost in Translation" before anyone else, but now the whole world has seen it. It's time to kick your Japano-phile induced coolness up a few notches by visiting Tortoise. "Those are some cool forks you have there". Gee thanks, if memory serves they were designed by Sori Yanagi in 1974. "Where did you get these cool...
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Full Details
Address:1208 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice CA 90291
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-310-314-8448
Hours: Mon-Tue: Closed Wed-Sun: 12-6
Toy Tokyo
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ny/new_york/toy_tokyo_1_web.jpg
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Toy Tokyo is not snobbish--they don't claim that Japanese toys are superior and refuse to bring in anything else. The store embraces cool toys of all origins and gives each an area in the store. Display case after display case holds cool toys from Japan, North America and Europe. From America are cool small-run urban vinyl toys from the coolest design houses, plus an awesome collection...
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Full Details
Address:121 2nd Avenue #2F
New York NY 10003
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-212-673-5424
Hours: Mon-Sun: 1-9
True Sake
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/san_francisco/true_sake_1_web.jpg
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Billed at "America's First Sake Store" True Sake has made it its mission to educate the unwashed masses about this lovely, complex beverage. There are dozens upon dozens of pretty bottles to choose from but if you don't know the first thing about sake fear not. The staff is eager to educate.
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Full Details
Address:560 Hayes Street
San Francisco CA 94102
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: No
Phone: 1-415-355-9555
Hours: Mon-Sat: 12-7 Sun: 11-6
Waraku
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ca/venice/waraku_1_web.jpg
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Japanese surfwear sounds about as conceivable as Los Angeles snowwear, but the stuff does exist and has for decades. In a kind of global fashion ping-pong match Waraku brings back to America Japanese clothing, denim and sneakers that were heavily influenced by American street/skate/surf culture. If the clothing and shoes at Waraku are representative, let the boys play we say.
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Full Details
Address:1225 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice CA 90291
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-310-452-5300
Zakka
http://www.jargol.com/images/stores/us/ny/new_york/zakka_1_web.jpg
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Zakka is a one of a kind shop and gallery, collecting design books from many different design disciplines. Furthermore it keeps an office Japan and thus is in tune with what's happening in Japanese design and subculture. The result is a unique, worldly space where one can learn about myriad popular and obscure design subjects. Pick up a tribute to Helvetica (the font), or the latest...
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Full Details
Address:147 Grand Street
New York NY 10013
Site: Official Site Online Shopping: Yes
Phone: 1-212-431-3961
Hours: Mon-Fri: 12-7 Sat-Sun: 12-7
