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Department stores and flagship boutiques of global brands line the streets, and right next to them a Western-style restaurant founded in the Meiji era hangs out its noren curtain as it has for over a century. Ginza is the place in Japan where the "new" and the "old" sit closest together. It is compact enough to explore on foot in a day, yet it works whether your goal is shopping, dining, theater or architecture. This article is for first-time visitors and covers how the district came to be, the pedestrian-paradise hours, the spots worth seeing, and how to get there.
Ginza is in Chuo City, Tokyo, and as an official address it runs from Ginza 1-chome to 8-chome. It has long been called "Ginza Hatcho" (the eight blocks of Ginza). The heart of the district is the Ginza 4-chome Crossing, where Chuo-dori and Harumi-dori meet. This corner, with the Wako clock tower facing Ginza Mitsukoshi, is the view that defines Ginza.
The main street is Chuo-dori (Ginza-dori), lined with department stores and flagship stores of luxury international brands. Step one street back and you find narrower lanes such as Namiki-dori, Miyuki-dori and Hanatsubaki-dori, where street-level boutiques, long-established shops and small bars appear. If you only walk the main avenue, you will see less than half of Ginza.
The name Ginza literally comes from the "Ginza," the government office that minted silver coins. It was established in Fushimi in 1601, moved to Sunpu in 1606, and in 1612 (Keicho 17) was relocated to Shin-ryogae-cho in Edo, the area that is now Ginza 2-chome. That is the origin of the place name. The office itself moved to Kakigara-cho in Nihonbashi in 1800, but "Ginza" survived as a popular name and became the official town name in 1869 (Meiji 2).
After the Great Ginza Fire of 1872 (Meiji 5) burned the area down, the Tokyo Prefecture drew up a plan to rebuild it as a fireproof city. The design was handled by the British architect Thomas Waters. Brick streetscapes were completed one after another through the 1870s, and Ginza became a symbol of Japan's modernization.
Ginza was later devastated twice, by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and by the air raids of 1945, yet it came back as a commercial district each time. The pedestrian paradise began in 1970, and for more than half a century since, Chuo-dori on weekends has been a street where people come first.
If you plan to walk around Ginza, knowing the pedestrian-paradise hours makes planning easier. It takes place on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Outdated information saying "Sundays only" is still circulating, but Saturdays are included too.
The hours switch with the season.
The section runs about 1,100 meters along Chuo-dori from the Ginza-dori-guchi Crossing to the Ginza 8-chome Crossing. Because no vehicles enter during this time, you can do things like photograph the Wako clock tower from the middle of the road.
However, it is cancelled or suspended in bad weather, over the New Year holidays, and on days of large events such as the Tokyo Marathon. If you are aiming for a weekend visit, check whether it is running that day before you set out.
Built by redeveloping two blocks including the former site of Matsuzakaya Ginza, it opened in April 2017. At opening it housed 241 brands, 121 of them flagship stores. It was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi. The rooftop garden of about 4,000 square meters is one of the largest in Ginza, a place to rest while looking out over the surrounding buildings.
On the third basement level is the Kanze Noh Theater with about 480 seats, marking the return of the Kanze school's home base to Ginza after 150 years. GINZA TSUTAYA BOOKS on the 6th floor has a selection built around art books, with a gallery and café attached. The tourist service center "TERMINAL GINZA" on the 1st floor brings together a tax-free counter, currency exchange and luggage storage, making it a convenient base for international visitors.
Ginza Mitsukoshi opened in 1930. It is directly connected underground to Tokyo Metro Ginza Station, so you can get in without getting wet on rainy days. "Ginza Terrace" on the 9th floor is a place to take a breather between shops.
Matsuya Ginza opened in Ginza 3-chome in 1925 and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025. It is well known for its design-focused homeware and lifestyle floors.
A stationery store founded in 1904. The main building, rebuilt in 2015, has a theme for each floor from B1 to 12F — a floor for fountain pens, a floor carrying over 1,000 kinds of paper alone — so the whole building feels like a museum of stationery. The upper floors even have a hydroponic vegetable farm and a café. Many overseas travelers come here specifically for Japanese stationery.
Kyobunkan is a bookstore founded in 1885. Its current nine-story building was completed in 1933 and designed by Antonin Raymond, making it architecturally worth a look as well. It is known for its children's book section, "Narnia."
Ginza Sony Park, which had its grand opening in January 2025, is an experimental facility with no permanent shops, where the content of each floor changes over time. It carries on the lineage of the former Sony Building from 1966.
*The former "Tokyu Plaza Ginza" was renamed "GINZA NOVO" in December 2025 and is undergoing a large-scale renovation scheduled for completion between the end of 2027 and early 2028. Only some stores are open, so check in advance if you are visiting to shop.
The clock tower standing at the Ginza 4-chome Crossing was completed in 1932 (Showa 7) and designed by Jin Watanabe. It was built as the headquarters of the Hattori Clock Store, and its granite walls and curved façade have become the face of Ginza. Counting from the first clock tower built in 1894, a clock has stood on this corner for more than 130 years.
Since the first theater opened in 1889 (Meiji 22), it has been rebuilt four times after fires, earthquakes and war, and the current fifth-generation theater reopened in April 2013. It forms a single complex with the Kabukiza Tower rising behind it. It has 1,808 seats in total.
If watching a full day of kabuki feels like too much, there is the option of Hitomakumi seats (single-act seats). They let you watch just the one act you like from the 4th-floor seating; after being suspended in March 2020, they resumed in June 2023. Note that sales are split: reserved seats are sold online with credit card payment only, while non-reserved same-day seats are sold at the box office for cash only. Earphone guides and English-subtitle tablets are available to rent, so even first-timers can follow the story.
Kabukiza is directly connected to Higashi-Ginza Station. "Kobikicho Plaza" on the second basement level has souvenir shops and bento stands in addition to the ticket office, so even people not seeing a show can stop by.
Ginza is a district where shops dating back to the Meiji era are still in business today. If you are choosing a gift, picking from this group is a safe bet.
Ginza has several gateways.
From Tokyo Station it is just a few minutes either way: take the Marunouchi Line to Ginza Station, or ride JR one stop to Yurakucho Station.
In the morning, enter from Yurakucho Station and head south along Chuo-dori, dropping into Kyobunkan and Itoya. When the pedestrian paradise begins at noon, photograph the Wako clock tower at the 4-chome Crossing and have lunch at Ginza Mitsukoshi or Matsuya. In the afternoon, shop and visit the rooftop garden at GINZA SIX, and if you have time, head to a Hitomakumi seat at Kabukiza. Finishing in the evening by buying gifts at a long-established shop should make for an easy flow.
There is an important change for international visitors. For purchases from November 1, 2026, the tax-free system will switch to a "refund method." Until now you could buy at the tax-exclusive price in store, but from now on you will first pay the tax-inclusive price, then, after customs confirms the items when you leave Japan, the store refunds the amount equivalent to the consumption tax.
You must show your passport and have the items confirmed by customs when you depart Japan within 90 days of the purchase date. Note that if even one item in the same purchase record cannot be confirmed, all items in that record lose their tax-free eligibility. Refund methods differ by store. Also, the "separate shipment" system for mailing purchases separately was abolished at the end of March 2025, so you must carry your purchases with you when you leave the country.
As a rough guide, department stores are open from about 10:00 to 20:00, and at GINZA SIX shops are open 10:30–20:30 and restaurants until 23:00, but hours differ by floor and store and temporary changes are frequent. If there is a particular shop you want to visit, be sure to check that day's hours on its official website before heading out.
*The information in this article is current as of August 2026. Opening hours, prices, products and event schedules are subject to change. Please check each facility's official information before you go.
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