Shopping in Tokyo

Q: I am accompanying my husband to a conference in Tokyo and want to experience the legendary shopping. As we will be staying in Ginza, I am sure I will find the big department stores and the famous Dior and Prada outlets. However, as my daughter will be with me, we would very much like to check out the trendy areas frequented by the uber-fashionable Japanese youth. Can you help with some advice? - Tracee Evington

A: While Ginza will seem like a shopper's paradise (and it is for the label-conscious), you need to head for the Shibuya shopping area to find the really trendy boutiques and shops. Here you'll also see the trendiest young Japanese doing their thing. Stop over in the Shibuya 109 Building, a shopping centre where the "kogal" subculture was born. Kogals were platform shoes and tiny miniskirts and sport heavy make-up, dyed hair and artificial suntans. Check out the boutiques for outrageous fashions and dazzling accessories. Another area well worth visiting is Takeshita-dori, which is located opposite the Harajuku Station, A narrow street packed with fashionable boutiques and cafes, Takeshita-dori is the place to be seen if you're hip, trendy and on the cutting edge of Japanese fashion.

You are likely to find prices high, so you may choose to buy your gifts at the Oriental Bazaar in Harajuku and the many flea markets that abound, especially over weekends. Also don't forget to visit the "100 Yen" stores, where you can buy the most amazing goods for less than a dollar. Found in many railway stations and shopping areas, you'll find some great souvenirs like origami paper, chopsticks, 'Hello Kitty' goods and much more.