Guide for Shopping/staying in Tokyo

I'll be going to Tokyo for 5 days from 22-27 in November, was wondering if anyone can give me some updated info on places to stay and shop in Tokyo?

Not looking for a super fancy room, just a single bed in a convenient location in the city will do.

As for shopping, I am aware that I ought to just stick to Isetan, but I'll definitely visit stores like Ring Jacket and United Arrows, but any tips are welcome.

Also going to be shopping for street brands as well...looking forward to your replies!

You might get more replies if you are more specific on accommodation. What is your budget? Are you talking youth hostal, Japanese or western hotel?

Bic

Isetan, Tie Your Tie and make sure to get something from Porter-Yoshida, it's crazy expensive outside of Japan.

I can't help with accommodation recommendations in Tokyo as I always stay with family when I'm there. If it's just you, then you should be able to find a reasonably priced hotel pretty easily. You might also look for a serviced apartment (usually rented by the week) or a place via something like AirBnB.

With regard to shopping, there are many districts of Tokyo, quite a few of which have different flavours and which appeal to different demographics.

Shinjuku has a number of large department stores, including the famous - or infamous - Isetan Men's Annex. There are also quite literally hundreds of smaller stores and a few other large department stores (Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya, Marui). Marui has a few different buildings in Shinjuku, including a men's building and a sporting goods building.

Harajuku, a couple of stops further along the Yamanote line from Shinjuku, is a popular destination for shopping, with quite a few upmarket boutiques along the main street which heads up towards Aoyama (which is a very upmarket residential/shopping district), including a Ralph Lauren mansion, an H&M department store, an architecturally-interesting Prada store, and dedicated Puma, New Balance and Adidas stores. Running parallel to the main street for a while, down in the direction of Aoyama, is Takeshita dori (Takeshita St). This street is filled with clothing stores – some of them selling second-hand clothes – for younger people, mostly street fashion. There are quite a few interesting stores and it’s interesting to watch the people, too.

Right next to Harajuku station is the entrance to Meiji-jingu, a large shrine dedicated to the Emperor Meiji (widely regarded as having modernized Japan). The shrine is located in a huge park/garden which is lovely to walk through. It is actually possible to walk through parkland from Harajuku to Shinjuku on one side and Shibuya on the other. It's a pleasant walk and you can navigate by aiming towards the Tokyo metropolitan government buildings in Shinjuku.

Also on the Yamanote line is Yurakucho station. Yurakucho is essentially in the heart of Tokyo, and is next to (and within a few minutes walk from) Ginza and Marunouchi. There are more department stores, menswear stores and shoe stores in Ginza (including Trading Post for shoes, but most imported shoes are pretty expensive in Japan unless on sale) and also in Marunouchi. As an example, in a small area in Marunouchi, you can find United Arrows, Beams, Ships, Tomorrowland, Marinella, Maker's Shirt (the parent company of Kamakura Shirts), Strasburgo, Brooks Brothers and many other menswear stores.

I just discovered that you can get an idea of different shops in the Marunouchi area here:

http://www.marunouchi.com/e/shop?type=top

There's also an enormous variety of places to eat in Tokyo, including a plethora of Michelin-starred restaurants. Quite a few restaurants - expensive ones included - will have lunch specials where you get, say, two courses and a drink for a price that is far, far below what you would pay for dinner. It can therefore be attractive to indulge a bit at lunch and then have a simple dinner at cheap neighbourhood place.

I hope that gives you some ideas.