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JAPAN EXCEPTIONAL / GUIDE

Japanese Luxury Goods Worth Bringing Home

Some of the best things you can buy in Japan don't look particularly luxurious at first.

Luxury Without the Logo

There is no enormous logo.

No marble boutique.

Sometimes not even a brand you've heard of.

Instead, there is an object that has been made extraordinarily well.

That is one of the things I love about shopping in Japan.

Luxury here can be quiet.

It can be a knife whose maker has spent decades refining one particular shape. A piece of leather that gets better with age. A glass that catches the light differently because every surface has been cut by hand. A fountain pen that feels almost absurdly considered.

And sometimes, of course, it is a ¥10 million watch.

The point is not the price.

It is the feeling that someone cared about making the thing exceptionally well.

Start with the things Japan does differently

If I had one piece of advice for someone visiting Japan with money to spend, it would be this:

Don't spend the entire trip buying things you could have bought at home.

Japan has excellent international luxury brands. Tokyo has some of the world's best boutiques. If you want a Louis Vuitton bag or a Cartier watch, you'll find them easily.

But those aren't necessarily the purchases I would remember.

I'd start with the things where Japan has developed its own language.

Japanese watches.

Exceptional leather.

Denim.

Knives.

Ceramics.

Lacquer.

Edo-kiriko.

Stationery.

Furniture.

Vintage clothing.

Small independent makers whose names may barely exist outside Japan.

This is where the country becomes much more interesting.

A great Japanese object doesn't need to announce itself

One of the pleasures of Japanese design is restraint.

The object doesn't necessarily need to tell you how expensive it was.

Take Japanese leather goods.

The attraction can be the leather itself, the construction, the ageing and the small details that become apparent only after living with the piece.

The same is true of clothing.

Japan has an extraordinary culture of people who care deeply about fabric, construction, fading, finishing and provenance.

You can spend a surprising amount of money on a pair of jeans.

And, yes, that sounds slightly ridiculous until you understand why.

Then you start noticing things.

Craft is not the same as souvenir

This distinction matters.

Japan produces an enormous amount of beautiful traditional craft, but not everything labelled “traditional Japanese craft” deserves a place in your suitcase.

I'd rather own one extraordinary piece of Edo-kiriko than a shelf full of generic Japanese objects.

One exceptional ceramic vessel can have more presence than an entire collection of souvenirs.

The same goes for lacquerware, textiles, knives and other traditional crafts.

Look for the maker.

Ask how it was produced.

Understand where it comes from.

If possible, see the work in person.

The story isn't decoration around the object.

The story is part of what you're buying.

The joy of the specialist shop

This is where shopping in Japan becomes slightly addictive.

You turn a corner and find a store devoted almost entirely to one thing.

Knives.

Pens.

Vintage cameras.

Leather.

Denim.

Ceramics.

Watches.

The shop may be tiny.

The owner may know every maker represented on the shelves.

There may be things you cannot find through an English-language search.

And suddenly you're no longer “shopping for Japanese luxury.”

You're discovering a subject.

That is a much better way to buy.

Some of my favourite categories are surprisingly ordinary

The things I would encourage a first-time visitor to look at aren't necessarily the obvious luxury categories.

A beautiful fountain pen.

A serious kitchen knife.

A pair of handmade scissors.

A Japanese umbrella.

A pair of exceptionally constructed glasses.

A leather bag from a small maker.

A piece of contemporary ceramics.

A beautifully made piece of furniture.

These are objects that become part of your life.

And because they are used rather than displayed, you have the chance to appreciate them repeatedly.

That's a very different kind of luxury.

Then there are the things you simply won't encounter at home

This is where Japanese-market products become interesting.

A limited edition.

A domestic reference.

A collaboration.

A colour that never made it into the international collection.

A small maker with almost no distribution overseas.

A discontinued piece that happens to have survived in Japan.

These aren't necessarily better products.

But they can be better finds.

And finding something is part of the pleasure..

What I would actually put in a suitcase

If I had a week in Tokyo and a generous budget, I wouldn't make a shopping list of twenty famous Japanese brands.

I'd leave room for discovery.

I'd probably look for one serious watch or piece of jewellery, one exceptional object made by a Japanese craftsperson, something beautifully made that I would use every day, and—if I came across the right piece—a vintage or discontinued item that I couldn't realistically find elsewhere.

The combination is more interesting than buying five recognisable luxury logos.

And I'd be prepared to spend less than I expected.

Because sometimes the thing you end up loving most costs ¥80,000.