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 2017!
Ginza/Yurakucho/Nihonbashi
- Mitsukoshi – Summer Clearance Sale | From Wednesday, July 12th to Tuesday, July 18th
- Check out their branches in Chiba, Ebisu, and Tama Center for clearance sales as well. Mitsukoshi’s online store will also be having a clearance sale from the 12th until supplies last.
- Marronnier Gate Building 1 and 2&3 – Summer Sale “The Bargain” | From Friday, June 30th to Sunday, July 30th
- After over 30 years of doing business in Tokyo, the Printemps department store closed down and reopened in March 2017 as Marronnier Gate. Despite it having only been a few months since their reopening, they’re still gearing up for a big summer sale.
- Daimaru – Clearance Sale | From Friday, June 30th
- While most items will go on sale from June 30th, the dates vary for others, with some brands even going on sale as late as July 14th (Friday). Most will be on sale as long as supplies last.
- Matsuya Ginza – Clearance Sale | From Friday, June 30th to Tuesday, July 11th
- As in the case of Daimaru, the starting date varies per brand.
- Hibiya Chanter – The Chanter Bazaar | From Saturday, July 1st to Monday, July 17th
- 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
- Takashimaya – Summer 2017 Takashimaya Clearance | From Friday, June 30th
- The starting date varies depending on the brand or type of item.
- Keio Shinjuku – Keio Clearance | From Friday, June 30th
- Isetan – Summer Clearance Sale | From Wednesday, July 12th to Tuesday, July 18th
- 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 the 12th
- Lumine – Lumine the Bargain | From Friday, July 28th to Sunday, August 6th
- 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 – Seibu Summer Market | From Friday, June 30th to Monday, July 10th
- Parco Ikebukuro – Grand Bazaar (“Granba”) | From Saturday, July 1st to Tuesday, July 18th
- Other Parco branches in Tokyo will also be having a Grand Bazaar for the same duration.
- Marui City Ikebukuro and Shinjuku Marui – Sparkling Sale | From Friday, June 30th
- Other Marui branches in Tokyo, as well as the online shop, will also have the Sparkling Sale from June 30th. For those buying online, all items will be shipped for free until Monday, July 17th. Unfortunately for our international readers, they only ship within Japan. At least this gives you motivation to come check out our Tokyo summer sales in person!
- Tobu Ikebukuro – Summer Sale | From Friday, June 30th
- Sunshine City – Alpa Good Bargain and Alta Go! Go! Sale
Alpa Good Bargain – From Friday, June 23rd to Sunday, July 9th |
Alta Go! Go! Sale – From Friday, June 23rd to Monday, July 17th
- 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 Thursday, June 29th to Wednesday, July 12th
- Tokyu Department Store and Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs – Summer Clearance | From Friday, June 30th to Wednesday, July 12th
- Note that at Tokyu, start and end dates for the sale may vary depending on the brand.
- Omotesando Hills – Summer Sale 2017 | From Saturday, July 1st to Monday, July 17th
- With about 45 shops participating, you can get bargains of up to 70% off (though most items will be 30-50% off).
- Laforet – Laforet Grand Bazaar | From Thursday, July 27th to Monday, July 31st
- 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 from the 27th to the 30th, and from 11:00 am-9:00 pm on the last day.
- Marui City Shibuya – Sparkling Sale | From Friday, June 30th
Roppongi/Akasaka
- Roppongi Hills – Summer Sale 2017 | From Saturday, July 1st to Friday, July 14th
- If you’re lucky, you can get a discount of 80% off at this sale!
- Tokyo Midtown – Tokyo Midtown Sale | From Friday, June 30th to Sunday, July 23rd
- Get discounts of up to 50% off at this summer sale.
Ueno/Asakusa
- Tokyo Solamachi – Summer Sky Bargain | From Friday, June 23rd to Thursday, July 6th
- With over 100 participating stores to choose from, lucky shoppers can get up to 70% off on selected items. From June 24th to July 3rd (Sunday), early birds can also get restaurant coupons worth 10% off for shopping in Solamachi.
- Matsuzakaya Ueno – Clearance Sale | From Friday, June 30th
- Marui Ueno – Sparkling Sale | From Friday, July 1st
Odaiba
- Venus Fort – Venus Fort Bargain | From Friday, June 23rd to Friday, July 14th
- As if the sale wasn’t enough, Venus Fort has even more promos to spice things up. From 3:00-4:00 pm on all weekends of the sale period, participating shops (which will be designated by a yellow sign) will further slash the prices of selected items. Also, during all Fridays, from 3:00 pm-9:00 pm, shoppers can get 500-yen coupons from the information counter on the second floor. The catch is that the coupons can only be used for purchases of above 10,000 yen, and are only valid on Fridays of the sale period (and only within the designated time frame).
- Aqua City– Aqua the Bargain | From Friday, June 23rd to Friday, July 14th
- DECKS Tokyo Beach – DECKS Big Sale | From Friday, June 23rd to Monday, July 17th
- Get discounts of up to 70% off!
- Diver City Tokyo Plaza – Gekiteki Summer Bargain | From Friday, June 23rd to Sunday, July 9th
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
- Like Gap, H&M’s online store also has an ongoing sale of up to 50% off selected items.
- 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 Red Sale | From Friday, June 24th to Thursday, July 14th
- Check out the online sale here. Additionally, those who have the GU app (and have registered accounts) can unlock special prices.
And for year-round deals, check out 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 | |
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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!!