Tokyo for design lovers

What makes Tokyo an incredible city for design lovers? This Tokyo design guide covers all the best spots.

In Tokyo great design is everywhere you look. It’s like a huge playground for design lovers, and it’s a bit overwhelming at first.

I wrote this guide after my second visit to Tokyo. I discovered wonderful design spots on both trips.

Tokyo is famous for its sensory overload, but I also found many smaller and quieter places with traditional hand-made items, cool design shops, and some museums that are unique to Tokyo.

I loved the mix of cutting-edge, futuristic design, and classic, authentic, hand-made crafts.

In this Tokyo design guide, I share my top spots for design lovers in Tokyo, including Tokyo neighbourhoods to visit if you love design, museums for design lovers in Tokyo, local craft workshops, and some off-the-beaten-path finds.

Use my list to add unique places to your itinerary and to navigate Tokyo’s incredible design scene beyond the famous places in the city centre.

This guide is part of my series of city guides for design lovers.

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This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Tokyo.

Tokyo design guide: my top picks

21_21 Design Sight

Fashion icon Issey Miyake and minimalist architect Tadao Ando created a design museum together, and it’s as sleek as it sounds.

The building is impressive, with clean lines, concrete, and glass. The folded steel roof designed by Tadao was inspired by Miyake’s ‘A Piece of Cloth’ concept.

Architect Tadao Ando’s style was easy to recognise because I’d been to the art island of Naoshima just a couple of weeks earlier.

The rotating exhibitions at 21_21 Design Sight look at everyday objects and ideas through a design lens, seeing the beauty in the ordinary.

I enjoyed both the curation and the display.

Located in Tokyo’s Midtown complex, it’s close to a shopping centre by the same name that has some excellent design shops, so you can visit both on the same day.

Tokyo Midtown shopping centre

Next to 21_21 Design Sight, this upscale shopping centre has a sophisticated feel. It’s pretty calm and felt quite different to the super busy shopping streets of Tokyo.

It was fun to browse the elegant complex, and even more so as it was very cold outside that day…

I went up to the third floor where I found some beautiful design shops.

My favourites were:

• The Cover Nippon – a Japanese craft boutique.
• Time & Style – a gorgeous interior design shop.
• Style Meets People – a “relaxury = relax + luxury for mind + body” concept store.
• The Suntory Museum of Art is also located inside the same shopping centre.

Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum

This is one of the most remarkable museums in Tokyo. It’s a bit out of the centre, but certainly worth the ride to the suburb.

If you love architecture and interior design, this open air museum is a must-see. I visited twice, on both my trips to Tokyo, and would definitely go there again next time.

Located inside a park, this museum is like a time machine that takes you to see restored historic houses and shops in different styles.

It’s a wonderful introduction to Japanese architecture, especially of the middle class, but there are many other surprises, like a beautiful Art Deco building, and a restored public bathhouse.

The restoration is impressive and there are many types of buildings to see, so you can easily spend half a day there.

Entry is included in the Tokyo Pass.

Traditional crafts workshops

While you’re in Tokyo I highly recommend taking part in at least one local craft workshop. It’s a way to make your trip more memorable and take home a hand-made souvenir.

I noticed that coin purses were very popular in Japan, you can buy them at many gift shops.

In fact, you can buy tons of mass manufactured souvenirs in Japan, it’s a huge industry, but making one yourself is just so much more meaningful.

The purse making workshop I joined was a great experience with a super friendly instructor who spoke enough English to communicate clearly and explain what to do.

No prior experience is needed and there’s no sewing involved, so no need to worry if you’re not particularly crafty. The purse will come out great anyway.

I also enjoyed other traditional Japanese culture workshops in Tokyo and recommend you add some to your itinerary. It will really make your visit much more interesting:

• Japanese calligraphy class – it was easier than I’d expected.
• Kintsugi workshop – a Japanese practice with philosophical roots.
• Washi paper workshop – sweet , colourful and lightweight souvenirs.

Edo Taitō Traditional Crafts Museum

After the purse making workshop, I walked about 10 minutes to see the Edo Taitō Traditional Crafts Museum. It’s free to enter.

You’ll find a display of all kinds of crafts, from textiles to sculptures, everyday objects, and paintings.

Ad Museum Tokyo

One of my favourite museums in Tokyo. I think it’s a must-see if you’re into graphic design.

The Ad Museum covers the history of advertising in Japan with a fantastic display of its development over the years in chronological order.

Seeing advertising techniques from decades ago made me think about how much has changed, and at the same time how the rules of chasing after attention are essentially the same.

The museum has old posters, video screens, animations, a library, and much more.

Everything is accessible in English and it’s free to enter.

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Tokyo districts to visit for design lovers

When you leave the city centre, you’ll see a different side of Tokyo, much less intense and more traditional.

With its excellent public transport, getting anywhere in Tokyo is easy, so it’s worth adding some non central neighbourhoods to your Tokyo trip plan.

Here are some places I enjoyed strolling through, with a special appeal for design lovers.

Yanaka

In the north of the city there’s a charming and creative neighbourhood called Yanaka with very relaxed vibes.

It’s outside the city centre and a lot less crowded and with a more traditional feel.

To reach Yanaka, take the train to Nippori station. When you exit the station you’ll soon see Yanaka’s famous staircase called Yūyake Dandan. It leads you down to the main street, which feels like a small market.

There are many design and souvenir shops on the main street, and I also recommend taking a walk through the smaller side streets.

They’re mostly residential but I also found many cute shops and small galleries there.

Some of my favourites were:

• Kanekichien – a Japanese tea shop with minimalist-style tea accessories.
• Hagiso – a small café, gallery, and creative space with art exhibitions.
• Yanaka Matsunoya – a craft shop for traditional Japanese design.
• How House – a colourful design shop and a great art gallery in two different buildings a couple of minutes from each other.

Shimokitazawa

Tokyo’s indie design paradise is located outside the city centre, where you can browse vintage fashion and see the hip and youthful side of Tokyo.

Apart from vintage fashion, you’ll come across record stores, retro toy shops, antique dealers, small galleries, and the occasional flea market.

It’s one of Tokyo’s most bohemian neighbourhoods that’s also home to fringe theatres and jazz bars, so you can stick around for the nightlife.

I went there on a Sunday when the flea market was running. It was popular but not too crowded and certainly more chilled compared to the city centre.

Jimbocho Book Town

For vintage design lovers, I recommend taking a walk around Jimbocho, aka Book Town.

This Tokyo neighbourhood is packed with bookshops and galleries selling vintage and retro books and prints.

You’ll find rare art books, architecture magazines, Japanese woodblock art prints, comic books, and so on.

I spent an afternoon just wandering the streets of Jimbocho. You’ll see the bookshops and galleries just about any way you look.

Koenji

Koenji is another trendy neighbourhood with some amazing vintage shops.

It’s similar to Shimokitazawa, but also quite different. Its alleyways give you a feeling you’re in a small town inside of Tokyo.

I’ve seen it described as “retro wonderland” and it certainly is. You’ll see the colourful shops everywhere you look and you can browse them on quiet, less touristy streets.

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Have you been to any other places that should appear in this Tokyo design guide? Tell us about them in the comments below.

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