Every year, the closing of the rainy season marks the opening of Tokyo’s famous “end-of-summer” bargain sales—which, despite the name, happen before summer has even reached its peak. The Tokyo summer sales are a clever ploy to lure shoppers out from under their home air conditioners for a chance to score savings of around 30-50% on fashion and all sorts of other stuff, and a way for shops to clear their inventory.
One thing to be aware of is that most retailers don’t like to make much noise about their summer sale dates. While many of the listings below state a mid-July closing (or no closing), many of them start right up again with a “Summer Sale Part 2”. Also, as usual there are always lots of “Up to XX off” and other not-so-subtle ways to convince you you’re getting a better deal than you think.
Here’s when and where to go bargain-hunting in summer 2018!
Pro tip: Online stores like Zozotown also have sales and you can pick up bargains all year round.
Ginza/Yurakucho/Nihonbashi
- Mitsukoshi – Summer Clearance Sale / Mid-Summer Sale | From Friday, July 27th to Tuesday, August 7th
- Mitsukoshi’s online store will also have a clearance sale from June 29th (Friday) to July 27th (Friday).
- Marronnier Gate Building 1 + 2 & 3 – Marronnier The Sale | From Friday, June 29th to Sunday, July 29th
- After over 30 years of doing business in Tokyo, the Printemps department store closed down and reopened in March 2017 as Marronnier Gate. Just like last year, they’re having a big summer sale this year.
- Daimaru – Clearance Sale | From Friday, June 29th
- While most items will go on sale from June 29th, the dates vary for others. Most will be on sale as long as supplies last.
- Matsuya Ginza – Clearance Sale | From Friday, June 29th to Tuesday, July 10th
- As in the case of Daimaru, the starting date varies per brand.
- Hibiya Chanter – The Chanter Bazaar | From Thursday, July 12th to Monday, July 16th
- This sale will be held as a celebration of Chanter’s 30th anniversary. On the 1st, 2nd, 8th, 15th, and 17th, selected shops will drive their prices down even further from 2:00 pm-3:00 pm.
Shinjuku/Ikebukuro
- Keio Shinjuku – Keio Big Bargain | From Thursday, July 19th
- Ending dates vary per shop. For sporting goods, the sale ends Wednesday, July 25th.
- Isetan – Summer Clearance Sale | From Friday, June 29th to Friday, July 27th
- Fun fact: Isetan and Mitsukoshi are owned by the same holding company, so, like Mitsukoshi, Isetan’s online shop will also have a clearance sale from June 29th to July 27th.
- Odakyu – Part 1: Friday, June 29th to Tuesday, July 10th | Part 2: Wednesday, July 11th to Tuesday, August 21st
- Lumine – Lumine the Bargain | From Friday, July 27th to Thursday, August 2nd
- This applies not only to Shinjuku’s multiple Lumine branches, but also to the others in Ikebukuro, Tachikawa, Shibuya, Kita-Senju, Yurakucho, and more.
- Seibu Ikebukuro – Summer Clearance Sale | From Tuesday, July 17th to Thursday, July 26th
- Parco Ikebukuro – Grand Bazaar (“Granba”) | From Thursday, July 5th to Sunday, July 22nd
- Other Parco branches in Tokyo will also be having a Grand Bazaar for the same duration.
- Marui City Ikebukuro and Shinjuku Marui – Final Sale | From Friday, July 13th
- No, Marui shops are not closing down, despite the odd choice of name for this year’s summer sale. Other Marui branches in Tokyo – such as the Shibuya branch – will also be holding this sale around this time. The ending date varies per brand.
- Tobu Ikebukuro – Summer Sale – Thursday, July 12th to Wednesday, July 25th | Premium Sale – From Thursday, July 26th
- Sunshine City – Alpa Good Bargain and Alta Go! Go! Sale
Alpa Good Bargain – From Friday, June 22nd to Sunday, July 8th |
Alta Go! Go! Sale – From Friday, June 22nd to Sunday, July 22nd
- Sunshine City’s two main shopping areas are known as Alpa and Alta, and the good news is that both will go on sale. About 90 shops will participate in Alpa’s Good Bargain sale. Alta’s sale will also see several shops participating, with discounts of up to 70% off . Sunshine City is definitely a place to shop till you drop!
Incidentally, Alta will also have summer sales at its Shinjuku (Saturday, June 30th to Tuesday, July 31st) and Harajuku (Saturday, June 30th to Sunday, August 19th) branches.
- Sunshine City’s two main shopping areas are known as Alpa and Alta, and the good news is that both will go on sale. About 90 shops will participate in Alpa’s Good Bargain sale. Alta’s sale will also see several shops participating, with discounts of up to 70% off . Sunshine City is definitely a place to shop till you drop!
Shibuya
- Shibuya Mark City – Summer Sale | From Saturday, June 30th to Monday, July 16th
- Tokyu Department Store – Summer Clearance | From Thursday, July 12th to Wednesday, July 25th
- Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs – Play Last Off! Sale | From Thursday, July 12th to Tuesday, July 31st
- Omotesando Hills – Summer Sale 2018 | From Saturday, June 30th to Monday, July 16th
- Laforet – Laforet Grand Bazaar | From Thursday, July 26th to Monday, July 30th
- While hugely popular, this sale is short and fleeting (and incredibly crowded, too), so make the most of it while it lasts! It runs from 9:00 am-9:00 pm on the 26th, and 11:00am-9:00 pm from the 27th to the 30th.
- While hugely popular, this sale is short and fleeting (and incredibly crowded, too), so make the most of it while it lasts! It runs from 9:00 am-9:00 pm on the 26th, and 11:00am-9:00 pm from the 27th to the 30th.
Roppongi/Akasaka
- Roppongi Hills – Final Sale | From Saturday, July 14th to Tuesday, July 31st
- If you’re lucky, you can get a discount of 70-80% off at this sale!
- Tokyo Midtown – Tokyo Midtown Sale | From Friday, June 29th to Sunday, July 22nd
- Get discounts of up to 50% off at this summer sale.
Ueno/Asakusa
- Tokyo Solamachi – Summer Sky Bargain | From Friday, July 13th to Tuesday, July 31st
- Get discounts of 40-80% off at participating shops.
- Matsuzakaya Ueno – Clearance Sale | From Friday, June 29th
- Marui Ueno – Final Sale | From Friday, July 13th
Odaiba
- Venus Fort – Venus Fort Final Bargain | From Saturday, June 14th to Sunday, September 2nd
- Aqua City – Aqua the Bargain | From Friday, July 13th to Tuesday, July 31st
- DECKS Tokyo Beach – DECKS Big Sale | From Friday, June 22nd to Monday, July 16th
- Diver City Tokyo Plaza – Diver City Tokyo Plaza Bargain | From Friday, June 22nd to Monday, July 16th
The Chain Gang
Although a lot of the summer sales going on in Tokyo involve big chains, they tend to ignore what is going on around them. They also seem to be a lot cagier about revealing the exact start and end-of-sale periods. Based on previous years, here’s what we can tell you:
- Gap – Summer Sale | Usually throughout July
- As of this writing, Gap Japan’s online store has an ongoing sale.
- H&M – Summer Sale | Usually throughout July
- Check their online store for updates, as it typically also holds a summer sale.
- Zara – Summer Sale | Throughout July
- Don’t forget to check out the online store as well!
- Uniqlo – Summer Sale | Throughout July
- The online shop also has a sale as of this writing.
- GU – Summer Sale Final | Until Thursday, July 19th
- Check out the online sale, which goes on until Thursday, July 19th, here. Additionally, those who have the GU app (and have registered accounts) can unlock special prices.
And for year-round deals, check out our Tokyo outlet mall guide.
Location Map:
| Name: | Places mentioned in this article: |
|---|---|
| Location(s): | Akasaka, Azabu Juban, Chiba, Ginza, Harajuku, Nihonbashi, Odaiba, Omotesando, Roppongi, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Tachikawa, Yoyogi, Yurakucho, |
| Show All Locations Mentioned | |
Our favorite (read: cheapest) maid cafes in Akihabara. These types of cafes are one of Japan’s pop culture icons.
I’m totally going to check out some of these sales! Thanks!
Normal prices during the ‘sale’ period at the beginning of a season, inflated prices mid-season for all those shoppers who only realised into the season they have “nothing” to wear, with occasional ‘limited stock’ sales here and there.
That’s always been how I’ve interpreted it, anyway – many clothes stores here in South Africa seem to do things that way. “Oh, we’re sorry, we’ve run out of stock of sale item x….”. Next day the sale for that item is finished, but it’s back in stock already.
Are there equivalent sale periods for Fall, Winter and Spring?
Summer and winter are the two big ones but yes, there are Fall and Spring sales as well. It all doesn’t make much sense to me – it’s about 34 degrees outside at the moment but if you go into any fashion store they’re full of jackets and sweaters at the moment.
i’m planning to head to tokyo in october. are all the shops going to be selling only autumn/winter clothing? Where can i get summer clothing at affordable prices?
Hi po, you might be able to find some summer items in the bargain bins if the stores have them. Otherwise, your best bet is to try some of the second-hand stores.
heloo Greg! (^o^) Thanks lots for e info! When does Keio Dept Store Sale end ? & also do you have info on Odakyu Dept Store Summer Sale start & end dates? Thanku!!