Hi Everyone! I can’t believe it’s been a few months since I was in Japan, but I wanted to write this post as a heads-up for any foreigners looking to shop at these stores. I was really excited and never thought I could shop here, but unfortunately, I didn’t have a good experience in every store. In this blog post, I will share pictures, tips, and honest thoughts and experiences while shopping at these stores individually. Of course, I did browse other stores but these are the stores I spent the most time in (besides Uniqlo Ginza). Below your read below, please consider following me on social media (Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook) as I will be posting more streetwear and Japan travel content in the future! See below for a visual preview.
Please note this blog post uses affiliate banners and affiliate links that help promote products. Transactions done by clicking can support CHIP Lifestyle financially.
Klook.comKith Tokyo
Kith Tokyo is located in Miyashita Park, a big retail space with an indoor shopping mall (BTS Dynamite x Lego Display and more) with stores and restaurants outside as well, such as Kith. The exact location is 6 Chome-20-10 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo, and is a 4-minute walk from Shibuya Sky with some parking options available.
As you may know, I am a huge fan of Kith and I have done reviews of the Los Angeles and SOHO NY store before, so visiting the Tokyo location was a must! Overall, the store was a pleasure to visit and the staff was nice and helpful. The pricing is the same as what you will expect online or at any other Kith locations. They didn’t have anything special in terms of collections, but some of the recent drops were remaining. Personally, I wasn’t keen on spending too much as I wasn’t satisfied with the pants they had at the time.
In terms of staff, they were really nice and friendly. I ended up buying a pair of Kith x Stance socks. The only unfortunate part of my visit was that the app wasn’t working at this store which is a bummer since I was looking to collect a Kith Tokyo icon for my Kith app. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful store and a nice atmosphere. Also, just my luck, I happened to be in Osaka when Ronnie Fieg came to visit the store and was a little sick when I visited which prevented me from enjoying Kith Treats.
Human Made Harajuku
Human Made is a brand created by Nigo, who founded BAPE and is currently the artistic director of Kenzo. They have some nice simple pieces which are similar to Kith, it is not 100% streetwear, but it can be as it is also a lifestyle brand. The physical location is Japan, 〒150-0001 Tokyo, Shibuya City, 11, 神宮前１丁目１１−６ 1F in the busy streets of Harajuku. Google Maps describe this store as “pint-size” and that’s exactly what it is. It is very small and you can easily miss it, but it wasn’t bad and had some exclusives as well that you can only get in Japan and only in the store such as clothing, stationary, and more. We ended up getting some shirts, socks, and a pen. One of the staff seemed a bit rude, but it might be because of the customer she was helping. However, the one helping us was extremely nice. I even asked her if Nigo ever comes to the shop and she said he does but because of his role at Kenzo, he’s been occupied but still tries to come by when he can.
BAPE Harajuku
Speaking of Nigo, the brand that he created in 1993, A Bathing Ape better known as BAPE, became a legendary streetwear brand. The brand crossed over to North America and globally, especially due to a lot of artists like Pharrell and Lil Wayne. Therefore, you can imagine how excited I would be to visit this store, especially since Nigo created it in Ura-Harajuku and opened shop here. Ura-Harajuku is also a cultural movement led by Hiroshi Fujiwara, founder of Fragment, who Nigo was heavily inspired by. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great experience.
The selection was decent and there were some cool things you can buy in terms of collectibles, sneakers, and clothing across the two floors, and even a special side for women. However, you need to remember that BAPE is expensive and unfortunately, the bigger sizes tend to sell out. Fortunately, it will be easier to spend ¥,50,000 to get your purchase tax-free. I think it was a few dollars cheaper compared to online so I was set on buying something from the shop. I browsed through their Marvel collab but unfortunately, my size was sold out.
What ruined the experience for me was the staff. The staff were not the greatest, except for maybe one or two. There were a lot of staff walking around but not willing to help and had terrible customer service. I felt bad for the one staff member upstairs who was by himself helping over ten people and myself. I ended up helping myself to the free coffee as I waited for him to help me with the size. I understood he was by himself so I didn’t mind but it was annoying that he was the only one upstairs where there were several people downstairs not doing anything. What really irritated me was that when I went downstairs one of the staff just grabbed the coffee out of my hands without saying anything. I was startled and confused. After I asked her why she did that since I got it from upstairs she said you’re just not allowed to drink it downstairs which would make sense but there was no sign and it was extremely rude the way she grabbed it out of my hand. I also had to ask her for help to get these socks (was contemplating getting a belt) because a staff passed me along to her and she had a terrible attitude throughout. I remember when I was waiting for the product, she told her coworker to give it to me and I thought it was strange she described me with my hair as if there was something odd about it. She was being really awkward and rude and wasn’t sure why. Only near the end, was her boss (I think) being really nice to me because he can tell I was visibly upset when I finally got the chance to check. I spent maybe an hour or more but really should’ve been twenty minutes max. I hope no one else experiences this terrible experience but I hope if you are a fan of the brand and its history, you get to enjoy it with some decent customer experience.
All in all, I am blessed to have been able to even go to Japan and visit these stores, and despite the bad experience at BAPE, I am still happy to have gone. I found that the vibe in some of these stores seemed to be worse in Harajuku compared to when I was shopping at other places in Tokyo. Of course, not all of Harajuku was disappointing as the one staff at Human Made was nice and so were the people at the Samsung store. I was also pleased with Kith and might go again if I have the time during my next visit. If you have been to any of these places let me know in the comments below or on social what your experience was like. Please also give follow on Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook for more Japan travel content!
Klook.com
2 Replies to “Honest Review: Tokyo Streetwear Shopping – Kith, BAPE, and Human Made”