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Home - Travel - Sightseeing Guide - Kanto - Tokyo
Ginza	# 4   of 49 sights in Tokyo

The Ginza is Tokyo's most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes. One square meter of land in the district's center is worth more than ten million yen (more than 100,000 US dollars), making it one of the most expensive real estate in Japan. It is where you can find the infamous $10 cups of coffee and where virtually every leading brand name in fashion and cosmetics has a presence. From 1612 to 1800, today's Ginza district was the site of a silver coin mint (Japanese: ginza), after which the district was eventually named. The Ginza evolved as an upmarket shopping district following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. A visit to the Ginza is most pleasant on a weekend afternoon, when the central Chuo Dori gets closed to traffic and become a large pedestrian zone. The closure takes place from 14:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays and from 12:00 to 17:00 on Sundays (until 18:00 from April through September). Points of Interest: Ginza Wako 10:30 to 18:00. Closed on Sundays and public holidays. Built in 1932, the clock tower of the Ginza Wako building is the symbol of the Ginza, standing at the northwest corner of the district's centrally located junction of Chuo and Harumi Dori. Inside the building, jewelry and other luxury items are sold. Sony Building Showroom and shops open daily 11:00 to 19:00. Restaurants typically open 11:30 to 9:30. The newest products by Sony, including DVD recorders, televisions, cameras, audio sets, mobile phones, computers and Play Station products, are displayed to the public in the showrooms in this building. There are also a few shops, restaurants and cafes. Kabukiza Theater (to be closed in April 2010) Two shows per day are performed on most days of the year, one matinee show (usually starting at 11:00) and one evening show (usually starting at 16:30). Consult the website (see external links below) for details. Ticket prices typically range from 2,000 to 20,000 Yen for a whole show (depending on the seat and show) or 500 to 1,500 yen for just one act. Kabuki pieces are performed around the year in this theater which was opened in 1889. Shows typically last three to five hours and are divided into three or four acts. Tickets are sold for either a whole show or just a single act. English earphone guides are available. Department Stores: Mitsukoshi Daily 10:00 to 20:00. The Ginza store of the Mitsukoshi department store chain was opened in 1930 and offers goods and services on twelve floors. Mitsukoshi's history reaches back to the year 1673. Matsuya Daily 10:00 to 20:00. The Ginza store of the Matsuya department store chain offers fashion, foods, household goods, a pet shop, a travel agency and an exhibition hall on its eleven floors. Matsuzakaya Daily 10:30 to 19:30 (until 20:00 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays). The Ginza store of the Nagoya based Matsuzakaya department store chain offers goods and services on ten floors. Matsuzakaya has a history that reaches back to the year 1611. Printemps Daily 11:00 to 20:30 (Sunday and Monday until 19:30). The Ginza store of the Paris based Printemps department store chain offers fashion, accessories, wines, foods and restaurants on ten floors. Printemps Ginza was opened in the year 1984. Hankyu Yurakucho Hankyu: 11:00 to 20:30 (until 21:00 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; until 20:00 on Sundays and national holidays). Mosaic Ginza Hankyu: 10:30 to 21:00. Osaka based Hankyu operates the "Yurakucho Hankyu", a conventional department store in the Yurakucho Marion Building and "Mosaic Ginza Hankyu", a collection of fashion and lifestyle stores. Seibu (to be closed in December 2010) 11:30 to 20:30 (Mon to Wed), 11:30 to 21:00 (Thu to Fri), 11:00 to 20:30 (Sat, Sun) Located in the Yurakucho Marion Building, the Yurakucho store of the Seibu department store chain consists of nine floors, offering a wide array of fashion and accessories.

How to get there

The most convenient stations for accessing the Ginza district are: Ginza Station on the Hibiya, Marunouchi and Ginza Subway Lines and Yurakucho Station on the JR Yamanote Line, JR Keihin-Tohoku Line and Yurakucho Subway Line. Orientation in Tokyo

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Travel Community

Popularity of Ginza: Users who have been to Tokyo: 3005 Users who have been to Ginza: 1760 4th of 49 most visited sights in Tokyo. 4th of 589 most visited sights nationwide. Have you been to Ginza? No - I have not been there yetYes - no ratingYes - highly recommendedYes - recommendedYes - mildly interestingYes - nothing specialYes - not recommended Ratings for Ginza: japan-guide.com Rating:   outstanding   User Rating (by 1011 users): 76/100   recommended User Feedback We strive to keep japan-guide.com up-to-date and accurate, and are always looking for ways to improve the user experience. If you have any updates, suggestions, corrections or opinions, please let us know:

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Shop Directory

Seibu Yurakucho Store Our themes are fashion and beauty! We are a department store comprised of two buildings - a fashion building... Yurakucho Marui We're full of the latest fashions! Our 1st to 8th floors host 160 stores such as ladies and mens fashion, lifestyle... Iki-iki Toyamakan Toyamakan gives you the opportunity to experience the beauty of Toyama, right in the heart of Tokyo! Iki-iki... Miki House - Ginza Branch Miki House is a renown children's clothing brand from Japan. We don't just stock clothing, but also babies'... More shops...

Tours and Packages

Tokyo Tours Various tours and travel packages for Tokyo and surroundings.

English Links

Ginza Concierge Portal website by the Ginza Street Association. Sony Building English version of the official website. Kabuki-Za Practical information about the kabuki theater.

Japanese Links

Ginza Concierge Portal website by the Ginza Street Association. Sony Building Official website. Kabuki-Za Official website. Mitsukoshi Ginza Official website. Matsuya Ginza Official website. Matsuzakaya Ginza Official website. Printemps Ginza Official website. Ginza Core Official website. Ginza Wako Official website. Hankyu Yurakucho Official website. Mosaic Ginza Hankyu Official website. Seibu Yurakucho Official website.