I was just there, in fact, so I found a couple of good places. Being a lousy tourist (and being exhausted from work each day), I stuck around in the Shinjuku area. Spellings are approximate.
Tokyu Hands (in Shinjuku, it's in the Takashimaya department store, which is also worth a visit) -- the most insane crafts and home store ever. Impossible to describe how the N floors include both the cruddy and the sublime. For example, in the tools section, they had both "Sunday Man" (cheesy handyman brand) and precision tools from Mitutoyo almost next to one another. There was another section that sold brightly colored foam pieces, from hand-sized sheets a few mm thick to big chunks and spheres. Not to mention the section with hundreds of family names on rubber stamps (and incomprehensible but mundane stamps for routing, approvals, etc.).
Keio department store (Shinjuku). From the basement food halls (better than Harrods) to the upper floors with antiques and prints, it's a class act, and appears to be priced to match. Earlier this month, there was a big display of Atomu (Astro Boy) paraphenalia which I couldn't resist.
Yoyodabayashi electronics/camera/watches -- a cluster of several building with all of the gadgets you might ever want. Picked up a "Wicca" watch for Janice (made by Citizen) which does not seem pagan or witchy in any way, so they seem to have picked the wrong deity/religion for a solar-powered watch.
Bring your passport with you when shopping, by the way. There are tax refund and special round-eyed barbarian discounts, apparently. Takashimaya has English speaking guides if you need one; I don't know whether the other department stores do as well.
During peak times, there must have been hundreds or thousands of young people dressed in the livery of their corporate masters -- promoting cell phone services, computer brands, etc. The information staff at Keio was particularly well-dressed, in prim dresses and matching hats.
Shibuya is supposed to be nice as well, but I managed to satisfy my shopping urges without venturing too far from my home base. I'm really pathetic as a tourist, I'm afraid
Visiting Tokyo suggestions
Bring your passport with you when shopping, by the way. There are tax refund and special round-eyed barbarian discounts, apparently. Takashimaya has English speaking guides if you need one; I don't know whether the other department stores do as well.
During peak times, there must have been hundreds or thousands of young people dressed in the livery of their corporate masters -- promoting cell phone services, computer brands, etc. The information staff at Keio was particularly well-dressed, in prim dresses and matching hats.
Shibuya is supposed to be nice as well, but I managed to satisfy my shopping urges without venturing too far from my home base. I'm really pathetic as a tourist, I'm afraid
Ken Meltsner