Doing the Ginza
Today will be the Ginza shopping experience, where the main street is closed to traffic from noon to five and the area gives itself up to a mob of brand-hungry consumers.
How brand-hungry, you ask? Here's a quote from today's Japan Times: "More than 94% of Tokyo women in their 20s own something made by Louis Vuitton; at least 92% have goods from Gucci; nearly 58% own a Prada item; and more than 51% have something with a Chanel label on it . . . when Vacationer's shopping is included, Japanese consumers may scoop up as much as 45% of all the luxury goods sold worldwide."
U.S. retailers would kill for statistics like that.
UPDATE:
Here are a couple of photos from our Sunday shopping stroll (it was a gray and hazy December day with only a bit of weak sunshine struggling through now and then, so the photos are a little washed out):
For larger versions, click here and here.
Yes, those are tables and chairs set up in the middle of the street. Literally thousands of people were in Ginza -- window shopping, actual shopping, hanging out in the cafes and restaurants, socializing. Ginza, at one point in time, was considered "the" place to shop in Tokyo, though it has since taken a backseat to the high-fashion districts of Aoyama and Ometesando. Sundays in Ginza, however, are still very popular (as you can see).
One more photo after the jump:
Larger version here.