Tokyu Hands

Full of useful stuff, and non-useful stuff, and wacky stuff, and just… full of awesome.

Every chance and every paycheck I got while living in Japan, I went to Tokyu Hands.. BEST store ever.. I could spend hours in there.. so many fun things to buy and materials to make fun stuff
I miss it terribly :(

Just what I had been looking for in terms of wacky gifts.

When I was 18 I went to Tokyo with no money and was homeless for 10 days.
My friend and I bought some sleeping bags and a tarp at Tokyu Hands.
We slept in Yoyogi Park.

Has everything and anything you would want – furniture, homewares, hardware, souvenirs, stationery, cosmetics & healthcare, knick-knacks. You name it, they’ve got it.

I went to the flagship one in Shinjuku which was massive. My tip is to take the elevator to the top and work your way down!

Tokyu Hands is like a giant department store for the younger, hipper crowd than the more traditional Isetan, Takashimaya and other chains. They stock everything from gardening supplies to complete cosplay costumes to hardware to electronics. They also happen to be one of the few places where I could find a cell phone jammer. That’s right: for about $80, you can buy a pocket device that, when the button is pushed, will knock out the signal of that idiot jabbering away in the seat behind you on the bus. Great fun!

Anyway, Tokyu Hands is well worth a visit-especially the one in Shinjuku, right next to Takashimaya, and kitty-corner from the giant (and wonderful) Kinokuniya Books-the best big bookstore in Tokyo. And if you get hungry, don’t miss the food court in the basement of Takashimaya next door; it will blow your mind.