Tokyoites love their shopping, and on any given day you’ll see thousands of people milling about the various department stores, shopping streets and areas. Virtually everything you can dream of is available, from traditional antique ceramics to the most cutting-edge fashion. Prices can be much steeper than in many other countries, and…

Online shopping has experienced a renaissance in the last few years, and Tokyoites do much of their shopping this way for the sake of convenience. For books, music and movies, Amazon, Tower Records, and HMV all have online shopping services. Many foreign companies also ship to Japan, although you may have to…

Japanese clothing sizes tend to be smaller, and tall people may find it difficult to get sizes that fit, although most of the larger malls and department stores will stock larger sizes. To find your equivalent Japanese size, visit www.onlineconversion.com/clothing. Shoe sizes are a bit trickier as they are measured in centimetres…

Refund and exchange policies vary greatly. Most retailers display their policy in the store (usually by the checkout desk), and it should also be printed on the receipt. Sometimes this may be in English. Often a shop will say it doesn’t give exchanges or refunds but when faced with an item in…