When we (the bean’s humans) booked a trip to japan over the holidays, we were extremely nervous to leave our beans behind for 2 whole weeks but PUMPED on the possibility of finding amazing dog clothing and accessories. We were not disappointed. Japanese people take their relationships with their dogs seriously and that means including them in new years celebrations, staging crazy photoshoots and dressing their dogs in amazing outfits. Plus almost every dog rides in a stroller - regardless of size. Amazing.
For those of you planning travel to Japan, here are the best places we found to shop for dog clothing.
Starting in Shibuya, in Omotesando Hills Mall, you can find the super high end store ‘Chucks’. Chucks sells brands familiar to American audiences like Max-Bone and Found My Animal and brands that are harder to find in the US, like the Korean brands like Monchouchou and Black Mayonnaise. They also have an in-house line of pet care products and brands of dog clothing we’d never seen before. This store is over the top cutesey luxe - a definite must see.
VENUS FORT MALL
This was one of the craziest unplanned experiences in my life. We spent the morning at teamlab borderless digital art museum (which btw, totally lives up to the hype) and wandered into this mall accidentally while looking for a snack. we noticed an abnormally high number of dogs in strollers, more than we’d gotten used to seeing around Tokyo and decided to follow. Well - we stumbled on the holy grail of dog clothing. The first floor of this mall has pretty much an entire wing dedicated to dog clothing. We saw the most incredible dogs, including a chihuahua wearing blush (?) and a round headed shih tzu with gorg eyelashes. There are little areas set up for extravagant dog portraits. and we definitely bought our fair share of dog clothing. There is an extension of a chain that sells puppies, but as you know, we’re anti-pet store puppies, so we skipped past that.
The stores:
Joker’s Town: also multiple locations, but this one is HUGE with indoor agility, grooming, pet photography and a massive selection of clothing. You can also find a smaller Joker’s Town in the Roppongi Hills mall.
Pet Paradise: multiple locations, also in Harajuku, but this one has a MUCH better selection
JewelCake: luxe brands and lots of glitter!
In one of Tokyo’s trendiest neighborhoods, Daikanyama, you’ll find a pet store that also houses a grooming salon and outside, a clean dog park, so if you are missing your dog, you can dog watch! There are multiple locations of this store too.
This store sells EVERYTHING - home goods, beauty, health, home - but we shopped the PET section! Go to the 6th floor for the pet stuff. This store sells the mundane (pet food, bowls, etc) and the amazing - we bought our good friend Sprout (who’s mom babysat the beans!) a fedora and peacoat for when he’s feeling fancy. We also got Coconut’s aqua full body sleeve here. It’s a can’t miss.
