Tokyo is particularly awesome, but equally as frustrating (unless you have a personal guide). Just getting around on the trains can be pretty overwhelming at first, let alone trying to navigate the city using a map system that is totally different to anything you've ever seen before.
In terms of sneaks, Tokyo seems to cater more for hi-tops and basketball boots (Jordans, Freestyles and Dunks are big) than low cut sports styles (like Air Max etc). And sizing can be an issue if you need anything bigger than a US size 10 or 11. But then again, it really depends on where you look.
I've put together this guide of the Sneakers spots I'd recommend in Tokyo, including as many maps, simple directions and bits of advice I have to offer on where to go and how to find things...
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ABC Mart
Website: http://www.abc-mart.com/
Address: See ABC Mart website for details
Phone: See ABC Mart website for details
Open: Store hours vary from store to store. See ABC Mart website for details
ABC Mart is sort of equivalent to Footlocker or even Paul's Warehouse in Australia - with a much bigger range of shoes! They also have stores in most suburbs - they're pretty much everywhere. You'll find lots of styles, but primarily you'll find a large selection of Nike SBs, Dunks, Reebok Freestyles and heaps of Vans. If you are looking for different colourways - this is your store. And every different store seems to have a slightly different range - so the stock varies, as do the prices. You can get some great deals depending on what you are looking for.I wont write done specific addresses for ABC Mart stores because they are literally everywhere, but there are large stores in both Shibuya and Harajuku that you'd have to be blind not to stumble across. Check out the ABC Mart website here for more info: http://www.abc-mart.com/
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Adidas
Website: http://www.adidas.com/jp/
Address: 23-5 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (across from Shibuya 109)
Phone: (03) 5456 6820
Open: Monday - Sunday: 10AM - 9PM
The Adidas flagship store in Shibuya is a must see even if you're not an Adidas fan. Spread across 4 floors, including a basement dedicated to Adidas Originals featuring a reading corner and Adidas artifacts, the Adidas flagship store is definitely worth a look. They change their window and instore displays more than you can imagine and the stock is always changing. I was a little disappointed with their range of Jeremy Scott (they didn't have the latest season) but they did have more Respect M.E. and Jeremy Scott items than I'd ever seen anywhere else before. You'll also find another Adidas store in Harajuku on Meiji Street but their stock is quite limited.---
Adidas Originals
Website: http://www.adidas.com/jp/
Address: Cat Street, 6-14-7 Jingumae, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 5464 5580
Open: Monday - Sunday: 10AM - 9PM
There is also a dedicated 2 level Adidas Originals store located on Cat Street in Harajuku (right next to the Nike ID store - so if you're headed that way, you may as well check it out!). They had a slightly different selection of stock to the Adidas flagship store, including Respect M.E. and Jeremy Scott.How to get there: To get to Adidas Originals on Cat Street, take the train to Harajuku Station, and walk down Takeshita Street until you reach Meiji Street. Turn right at Meiji Street (walk past all the big department stores like Forever 21, H&M and Top Shop). Turn left at Omote Sandou and keep walking until you pass Kiddyland. The next street on your right is Cat Street.
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Alife
Website: http://www.alifenyc.com/
Address: 3-15-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 5775 0200
Open: Monday - Saturday: 11AM - 7PM, Sunday: 12 NOON - 5PM
Alife obviously don't have a huge range of sneakers other than their own shoes and collabs. But the store is definitely worth a look and you might just snap up something special - like a pair of Alife x Reebok or Adidas x Irak. And it's worth a look just for the design value of the store - very slick.How to get there: Quite possibly the easiest shop to find, walk straight down Takeshita Street from Harajuku Station, across Meiji Street and keep walking all the way to the end of Harajuku Street. Harajuku Street will curve off to the left, keep following it around and loo for the red Alife flag hanging from the second floor of a building on your right hand side.
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Atmos
Website: http://www.atmos-tokyo.com/
Address: 4-32-8 Jingumae, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 3408 3895
Open: Not sure - but assume they don't open until 11AM
Atmos have a couple of stores in Harajuku - one downstairs from either Supreme or Kicks Lab and another in the LaForet department store. The LaForet store has way more stock, but also caters much more heavily towards women (could be because the rest of LaForet caters mostly to women). Both stores are worth a look - they have some good t-shirts, kicks are fairly limited.How to get there: Walk straight down Takeshita Street from Harajuku Station, across Meiji Street to Harajuku Street where you take your second or third right (oops - not sure about that one!) into a laneway. It's about 50m down the lane.
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Heatwave
Website: http://www.heatwave.co.jp/
Address: Harajuku - See Heatwave website for details
Phone: See Heatwave website for details
Open: See Heatwave website for details
Heatwave is a chain of stores that stock second-hand and discounted designer streetwear (Nike, Supreme, Alife, Bape, Billionaire Boys Club etc). They have a few stores in the laneways off Harajuku Street in Harajuku - well worth a look if you want to find some bargains or old stock that you're probably not going to find anywhere else.
How to get there: Walk straight down Takeshita Street from Harajuku Station, across Meiji Street to Harajuku Street where you take your third or fourth street on the right (oops - not sure about that one!). Both stores are on the second floor, one about about 50m down the street and the other about 100m afte that.
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Kicks Lab
Website: http://www.kickslab.com/
Address: 4-32-5 Jingumae HTS Bild. 2 Floor, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 6459 2124
Open: Not sure, but go after 11AM to be safe!
Kicks Lab located in one of the small streets off Harajuku Street in Harajuku. If you're walking down Harajuku Street away from Harajuku station, it's a street on your right hand side (you're going to want to explore all these little streets btw!).Kickslab is located upstairs, and has a really great selection of shoes. They do have a slightly larger selection of low cuts that many other stores in Tokyo, so it's well worth checking out. Saying that, they are also quite expensive, so charge up your plastic. The good thing is, you might find something really special here.
How to get there: Walk straight down Takeshita Street from Harajuku Station, across Meiji Street to Harajuku Street where you take your second or third right (oops - not sure about that one!) into a laneway. It's about 50m down the lane.
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Kiks Tyo
Website: http://www.kikstyo.com/
Address: 15-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 3464 5111
Open: Monday - Sunday: 11AM - 9PM
Kiks Tyo is one of Japan's most well known homegrown streetwear labels, and they have a cool little store on Cat Street right near NikeID. The address of this little shop can be confusing, because technically it's Shibuya, but NikeID is Harajuku. Whatever suburb it is, it's probably worth checking out Kiks Tyo at the same time as you visit NikeID.Kiks Tyo are famous for their t-shirts featuring scantily clad Asian bikini models posing with sneakers. Not to everyone's taste (ie me, hetrosexual female), thankfully Kiks Tyo also do other t-shirts with cute slogans like '5000 records, 300 sneakers, no wife' (gee, I wonder why this one resonates with me so much? Note the tone of sarcasism).
How to get there: To get to Kiks Tyo on Cat Street, take the train to Harajuku Station, and walk down Takeshita Street until you reach Meiji Street. Turn right at Meiji Street (walk past all the big department stores like Forever 21, H&M and Top Shop). Turn left at Omote Sandou and keep walking until you pass Kiddyland. The next street on your right is Cat Street. You can walk to Kiks Tyo from Shibuya Station too - but you'll need to find your own directions!
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K-Skit
Website: http://www.k-skit.com/
Address: Kichijoji (no English address for this one!)
Phone: 0422 47 6671
Open: Monday - Sunday: 11AM - 7PM
Of all the sneaker shops in Tokyo, this is easily the most impressive. Not because of it's impressive interior or location - but because of their range and sheer number of shoes.
If you can find K-Skit, you will not be disappointed. They stock both brand new and second hand stock, including Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Puma etc, with a huge range of basketball boots. Their range of low cut styles is big, but is mostly SBs and dunks. However, they do have an interesting range of Air Max, Lights, TNs etc, and you might just find a pair you never thought you'd find in your wildest dreams. For example, these mint original Black and White Nike Huaraches - quite a find!
How to get there: K-Skit is located in Kichijoji and to get there, you need to take the Keio Inokashira line from Shibuya - this line ends at Kichijoji and costs ¥190 each way (however there are other ways to get to Kichijoji from other stations). Finding the actual store location can be even more confusing. K-Skit is located on the 2nd floor in an older-style building in an alley way located in the block next to the 0101 department store. To find the store, leave Kichijoji station via the South Exit, walk down the alley way past McDonalds and across the road past the 0101 department store. Here's a little map (follow the green line!):
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L.A. Avenue
Website: http://www.k-skit.com/
Address: 1-7-1 Kichijoji, Honcho, Tokyo
Phone: 0422 21 8333
Open: Monday - Sunday: 11AM - 8PM
L.A. Avenue is in Kichijoji - the same suburb as K-Skit. You can easily make it to both stores in less than a few hours, and Kichijoji is a great spot for grabbing a cheap and tasty lunch!L.A. Avenue is worth a look if you're going to K-Skit anyway - but you wont find the same range as at K-Skit. LA Avenue stock mostly basketball boots but they do have quite a lot of limited edition stuff in glass cases. And if you're looking for Air Max, Triax etc, you won't find much here. Still, definitely worth a look while you're in Kichijoji.
How to get there: L.A. Avenue is in Kichijoji - the same suburb as K-Skit. I'd reccommend you visit both of these stores in one trip. You need to take the Keio Inokashira line from Shibuya - this line ends at Kichijoji and costs ¥190 each way (however there are other ways to get to Kichijoji from other stations). L.A. Avenue is located on the opposite side of Kichijoji Station to K-Skit. To find the store, leave Kichijoji station via the North Exit, walking through the department store that is located above Kichijoji Station. Cross the road outside the station and you'll find yourself walking into a series of small outdoor walkways/malls lined with shops. Here's a little map - it's hard to give the exact location, but it'll give you an idea of the approx. location. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the red sign above:
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Nike Sportswear / NikeID
Website: http://www.nike.jp/nike_id/
Address: Cat Street, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 5774 5585
Open: Monday - Sunday: 12PM - 8PM
The NikeID store is located on Cat Street in Harajuku. Without a map, this can actually be a bit difficult to find, because it's on the other side of Omote Sandou. But the best way to find it without a map is to head to Kiddyland (pretty much anyone can point you in the right direction to find Kiddyland) and then take you first right before Chanel. This semi-hidden street is Cat Street. Keep walking until you see an odd looking building on your right hand side, a little past the Adidas Originals store.The exterior design of this place looks more like a museum than a retail store, which is echoed by the split level interior, full of clean lines and modern textures. The only difference is the artworks are trainers and Nike apparel. It's impressive to say the least.
If you haven't been to NikeID before, it's pretty impressive. At the Tokyo store, they have a wall of every style imaginable displayed in white. They also have a bunch of Macs you can use to design your custom NikeIDs.
How to get there: To get to Nike Sportswear on Cat Street, take the train to Harajuku Station, and walk down Takeshita Street until you reach Meiji Street. Turn right at Meiji Street (walk past all the big department stores like Forever 21, H&M and Top Shop). Turn left at Omote Sandou and keep walking until you pass Kiddyland. The next street on your right is Cat Street.
A word of warning: If you intend to get yourself some NikeIDs, make sure you order your kicks online at least 8 weeks before you intend to be in Japan, and make sure you have an address in Tokyo where your kicks can be delivered to. NikeID will not deliver outside of the country to store is in - which can be pretty disappointing if you're hoping to have them delivered to you back home...---
Oshmans
Website: http://www.oshmans.co.jp/
Address: See Oshmans website for details
Phone: See Oshmans website for details
Open: Opening hours vary from store to store. See Oshmans website for details
Oshmans is a spoting goods chain that can be a bit of a hidden gem (stock may vary from store to store). They stock some casual Nikes, a big range of Reebok Freestyles and somewhat surprisingly - L.A. Gear.How to get there: There is an Oshmans right across the road from Harajuku station. cross the road to Takeshita Street, and instead of going down Takeshita Street, go right and walk towards the Omote Sandou. The store is split over two levels, one on the ground level, and one downstairs. You'll find the Reeboks upstairs and most other brands downstairs.
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Undefeated
Website: http://www.undftd.jp/
Address: 2F Houseton Building, 4-28-2, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 5772 2680
Open: 11AM
Undefeated is located above the Stussy store in Harajuku. Their range is quite small and sizes can be limited. But the store is definitely worth a look. They have some interesting merchandise including Undefeated rugs and insense. Plus Stussy is downstairs so if you don't find anything at Undefeated, just go downstairs for a look.How to get there: Walk straight down Takeshita Street from Harajuku Station, across Meiji Street to Harajuku Street where you take your second right into a small laneway. Look for the signs (in the photo above) and you can't miss it!
Please Note: I've done my best to make the information above as accurate as I can - but make sure you check the addresses and take a map with you just in case!
