Tokyo Solamachi

One of my go to places when I visit Japan. I come to Japan often and things get boring but I always love coming to solamachi. It’s continently located under the Tokyo skytree landmark and they have a bunch of stores that sell items only available at solamachi. There’s 7 floors with restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops, gift shops, bookstores, clothing stores, etc!
It’s also located above right above the oshiage train station so public transportation is super easy. It’s also only a 20min walk or 3 stations to Asakusa.
Even as a Japanese American it’s really exciting to come here and window shop, buy gifts or eat out.

Another mall. I can’t believe I’m writing a review for another mall in Tokyo. I swear there are so many malls here that you will lose your mind within a week from all the stores you will encounter.
Either way, this is one of the better ones as they have the most awesome Ghibli store in existence. It’s also located right by the Tokyo Skytree so you’ll more than likely pass through this mall on your way there.
Lots of good places to eat as well and of course thousands of people crammed in a little space. Either way, you’ll have plenty of variety at this mall.

This mall is huge and very fun. It’s multiple floors, and filled with outrageous stores, eateries (Ippudo is here!), dessert shops, Totoro store, and more! You can shop all you want, as you wait for your turn to go up the Sky Tree Tower. That’s what we did!
We ate at Ippudo Express inside the mall, and browsed around the mall until it was our turn to go up the Sky Tree. We even went to the Totoro store to buy a giant stuffed Totoro to bring back to the states. Hooray, what fun!
Escalators and elevators available all throughout the mall. People are friendly too and will direct you to find things that you’re looking for. Is easy to get lost though! Air conditioned inside.

The mall where Tokyo Skytree (tallest building in Japan) and one of my favorite ice cream spots are. Lots of snack, souvenirs, and clothing shops here too. I think it costs around $ 10 to go up the Skytree tower to see the entire city, but we came late so we didn’t get a chance to go to the top. Lots of things to see here though, stop by if you have time. Also, 63 degree’s ice cream shop is a MUST-​TRY! Green tea match ice cream with sesame cone. drools. Makes me drool thinking about it.

My cousins and I naturally headed here after checking out the Skytree tower on a Saturday. It’s basically like any other mall, just bigger and heavily advertised in Skytree and Solamachi merchandise.
We didn’t explore the entire mall as it’d take a good couple of hours (especially with the crowd), but still managed to quickly browse a couple of floors and had lunch on the 6^th floor. Here’s a few stores that stood out for me:
Hello Kitty Japan (4F) — One of my daughters love her; great for those who collect as they sell a lot of limited edition stuff.
Nanoblock (4F) — Their first exclusive store; they have a few Solamachi-​limited stuff.
Calbee Plus (4F) — The famous snack company’s store; they sell limited edition merchandise as well as freshly fried potato chips, Poteliko sticks, and Pote-​churro.
I’m sure there’s a lot more good stores to check out, but I wasn’t really interested in any Skytree or Solamachi limited stuff. Besides, we had other plans, and like I mentioned earlier, it’s like any other mall so I’d rather go elsewhere that’s less crowded to shop for souvenirs.

One of the first shopping malls I arrived to in Tokyo. Cannot even explain the chaos and hoards of people that are here even on early weekdays. There’s no room to move and walk without feeling trapped in the crowds that remain still. Hard to navigate.
I mainly came here in search of Eataly to purchase Chocolates and found out the hard way they’re located on the bottom of Tokyo Sky Tree hence the chaos. You won’t be missing out on much if you skip this place but then again you could find anything and everything here.
Shibuya Crossing was easier to navigate through than here so imagine that! If anything arrive with patience or take something for it if you don’t have any.

Skytree offers something for everyone. Shopping, dining, and incredible views of Tokyo and the surrounding area. Stop into the world beer museum if you’re a beer aficionado. You can find lots of free viewing points too. The higher floor restaurants have great views.