What to buy in Japan

Japan isn’t just ahead of trends, they make the trends. All those Matcha lattes you spend too much money on? Japan. That UNIQLO puffer jacket everyone owns? Japan. Sushi basically being a religion? Japan. Those QR codes you scan literally all of the time now? Japan. Emojis? Japan.

So if you’re heading on holiday to the land of the rising sun, you’ll 100% have to buy a new suitcase for everything you’re going to buy. And if you’re going there saying “I’ll control myself. Maybe just a keychain for Mum. Or a Matcha KitKat” you’re better off packing in the promises you won’t be able to keep and preparing.
How to prepare?

1. Put money aside in a Wise Jar for your trip. If you’re looking for a name for your Jar you could go for “ lol, what am I like?” or “here we go again.”

2. Be smart about how you’re going to spend. Order yourself a Wise card so you can spend like a local in Yen, withdraw money for free from ATM’s up to a certain limit and create up to three digital cards for your phone so you don’t have to worry about losing it while abroad. All of which you have full control over via the app or online, at all times.

3. And finally, research your socks off. There’s nothing worse than going to a food market, getting the first thing you see, then walking around and realising you’ve made a very, very bad decision, and are now too full for anything else. Go into your shopping excursion with this in mind. You’re an olympian, not a 10 year old at a school sports day.

Yes, my colleagues at Wise have put endless hours into creating these products and features to make your global life easier. But you know what they haven’t done? Made a list about what to buy in Japan. So, who’s the real hero here?

Them. It’s them.

Moving on.

Here’s some inspo for you. From cosmetics to clothes to look gifts for those back home.

Dōitashimashite (you’re welcome)

This is silly, show me the products

What’s cheaper to buy in Japan?

The all-important question.

I recently aggressively typed on my laptop to bring you an article on all the things that are cheaper in Europe, from Louis Vuitton to wine. If the products are from the country you're in, it’s going to be more affordable. So the answer is, yes, pretty much everything you’ll want to take home with you will be cheaper.

Now that’s covered…

What to buy in Japan

What cosmetics to buy in Japan 💅

K-beauty has gotten a lot of airtime over the years, and for good reason. It’s fabulous, it’s fun and we want to look as flawless as everyone in the K-Dramas, obviously.

But South Korea isn’t the only beauty big dog in Asia. Japan has got 10/10 cosmetics. Keep an eye out for brands like these:

Excel

Edgy makeup to shake things up.

SHISEIDO

Makeup, skincare and yummy, yummy fragrances.

Canmake Tokyo

Affordable, cute and high quality cosmetics.

DHC

One of the biggest skincare companies out there, specialising in skincare, body care and makeup tailored for healthy skin maintenance with natural ingredients.

Nadeshiko

Nadeshiko take a natural approach to skincare too and are known for staples like their facial treatment rice masks.

What Japanese electronics products to buy 🎮

Japan is one of the world's leading high-tech countries. And if you too, watch video after video of people walking you through their Tokyo apartments showing off all of their gadgets that make you feel like you’re living in the stone age and they’re in the future, then this one’s for you.

Go camera crazy

Nikon, Panasonic, Fujifilm. They're all from Japan, and if you’re wanting to go old school and stray away from that scary thing referred to as “the cloud” you’re in the right place.

Cook up a storm

Rice cookers, hot plates, compact bakers, censored microwaves, yakitori grills. Get it all. It’ll fit back at home. Don’t worry about it. You can chuck the kettle.

Stuff that just makes sense

TOTO toilets, all you need to know is these techie thrones have multiple spraying features, seat warming options, and built in deodorisation. What a time to be alive. Since these multifaceted miracles came into my life, I’ve been fascinated by Japanese appliances. You can’t fit a toilet in your suitcase but you can fit a portable mini washing machine, a body odour checker so you don’t scare people away with a sniff, maybe even a tiny dishwasher. Go on, upgrade your life.

Avoid people. Stare at a watch or get plugged in

Heard of Casio watches? Of course you have. Seiko, Orient and Citizen also fall under the affordable time teller umbrella. And if you’re on the hunt for a new pair of headphones, companies like Pioneer and Audio-Technica have some of the best noise blockers out there.

Popular Japanese clothing brands 🛍️

Last but not least, clothes. Clothes and I go way back. We’ve been through a lot together. From regretful fashion phases such as being an Emo, to my later/ongoing phase “oops, I bought too many clothes again, guess I’ll eat soup for a month.” Don’t be like me, but do checkout brands like GU, UNIQLO, Anello, Onitsuka Tiger, Bao Bao Issey Miyake AND MUJI.

We’ve reached the end. All there is to say is please remember to shop responsibly, load up your Wise card with Yen and good luck to you.

Find a shopping companion

P.S If you're based out of the UK you can see our Terms of Use for more information on what varies from region to region.