I just came back from my dream trip to Tokyo and wanted to share my experience Liberty fabric shopping in Japan. To figure out all the shops in Japan carrying Liberty, I went to the Liberty Japan website to get the list of stores. This is the English translated link to the Kanto region which includes Tokyo and here is the original link in Japanese. There are some stores on the list that are permanently closed so check using Google first to make sure they are still open before you go. I didn’t visit the entire list of fabric shops carrying Liberty in Tokyo but I did manage to find the majority of Liberty prints on my wish list. I also visited the famous Nippori fabric town which I talk about in a separate blog post.
I think with the exception of one store, every shop that carried Liberty sold it for 3,000 yen per meter. At the current exchange rate at $1 USD to 106 JPY this translates to roughly $28 USD per meter. Keep in mind Liberty printed in Japan is only 43 inches wide compared to Liberty London which is 53 inches wide so $28 USD gets you less fabric compared to what you get in the US.
For shops in department stores, check if they offer to refund you the 8% tax if you’re a foreign visitor. It is usually noted as “tax-free” in the store and you need to go to the tax-free area in the store to get your refund. It’s hit or miss as one store I went to had a huge line and I didn’t want to spend an hour in line getting my refund.
This post by Blossom Heart Quilts on Japanese numbers was a extremely helpful when I needed to specify how much fabric I wanted to buy. Keep it on standby when you’re ready to purchase as the employees at these shops spoke limited English.
The Liberty Japan website provides the list of stores but doesn’t appear to group them by area so I’ll list the ones closest to each other so you can maximize your visit with the most stores by location. I’ll use the names listed in the English translated page so you can cross reference with the Liberty Japan store list. Before you visit, street view the store using Google maps as I couldn’t figure out the address on the building even when I got there and could only recognize it by the street view picture. Also, note the floor the store is located on in the list as it may be hard to figure out where it is located one you get to the department store which many of these shops are located in. It should also say in the building directory and the floor is usually labeled as “handicraft”.
I have a small amount of prints available in my Etsy shop. See the bottom of my post for more details.
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A side note if you’re interested on my trip booking. I purchased a package trip to Japan using Expedia flying with Japan Airlines ( JAL ) and stayed in the Ginza area at the Daiichi Hotel Tokyo. The hotel room was very roomy and even came with a free local mobile phone you could use called Handy. The apps are limited on the phone but it has Google search and maps so that was all I really needed. It turns out Ginza was a great central location to go to all the fabric shops because they were all about 20-30 minutes by train.
Ginza
I stayed in the Tokyo Ginza area so I went to the stores closest by my hotel first. These 2 shops are within walking distance of each other but make sure to check the store hours so both are open when you plan to visit.
1. Yuzawaya Ginza Core Store 6th Floor – Yuzawaya is fabric store chain in Japan similar to Joann Fabric in the US. This store occupied the whole floor and had a good selection of fabric, notions, and craft supplies. Of course I was on the hunt for Liberty and did find a decent selection but the majority of prints were available in the US so I didn’t purchase anything here.
2. Hobbyra Hobby Ginza store – This is a tiny standalone shop on the street level with a small selection of Liberty by the meter. Minimum purchase for each bolt is 30cm ( 11.8 inches ) and 10cm increments thereafter. They also sell precut fat eighths and by different lengths which appeared to be remnants as I couldn’t find those prints by the bolt.
Nihonbashi
Close by to the 2 shops in Ginza about 1.24 miles walking or 10 minutes by Ginza train. There is a decent selection of Liberty by the bolt, fat eighths, and remnants in these 2 Hobbrya shops.
1. Cutyriere Hobbyra Hobby Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi main store 8th floor – There are 2 buildings for this department store and the address is the same on the Liberty site but I believe the shop is in the Annex building so make sure you’re in the right building. It should say in the building directory and should be labeled as “handicraft”.
2. Hobyra Hobby Nihonbashi Takashimaya store 5th floor – This is a small shop tucked in the corner of the floor and was easy to overlook.
Okachimachi
About 15 minutes from Ginza near Akihabara.
Yuzawaya Okachimachi Yoshike branch 7th floor – This was a very large Yuzawaya occupying the whole floor in a building with Uniqlo and sister store GU. There was a good selection of Liberty prints only found in Japan.
Shibuya
Shibuya is about 15 minutes from Ginza by train.
Material Shop Shibuya branch 7th floor – This is the name in the Liberty store list but look it is in the Seibu department store. This is a small fabric section in the store but there was a decent selection of Liberty and precuts and I found a few Liberty Hello Kitty prints there too! Incidentally there was a good range of the latest Tilda fabric collections there as well including precuts.
Shinjuku
Shinjuku is about 15 minutes from Ginza by train. These 2 shops are within walking distance of each other but make sure you check the store hours before you go as the first time I went to Okadaya the shop was closed.
1. Hobyra Hobby Keio Department Store Shinjuku branch 6th floor – I missed the shop my first time around the floor and had to loop around to find it as it was a huge floor. This shop had a bigger selection of Liberty by the bolt ( 30cm minimum ) but less fat eighths and remnants.
2. Okadaya Shinjuku main store -There are 2 buildings of fabric but Liberty is in the main store on the ground floor. There were 4 shelves of Liberty and I did find some prints only available in Japan. I was only interested in Liberty but if you want to look at other fabrics and notions this is a gold mine.
There is a good selection of fabrics and I found some lovely florals and Atsuko Matsuyama prints.
There is a good selection of Liberty prints here but a majority of them can be found in the US.
Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro is about 15 to 20 minutes by train from Ginza. The 2 shops are within walking distance and were the largest Yuzawaya and Hobbrya stores I had visited so if you’re in this area they are definitely worth a visit.
1. Yuzawaya Ikebukuro store 3rd floor – This store had a huge amount of fabric, notions and craft supplies. They had about two shelves of Liberty and I did see some colorways of prints only found in Japan.
2. Hobyra Hobby Level Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store 7th floor – This is by far the largest Hobbrya shop I visited with a huge selection of Liberty by the bolt, fat eighths, remnants, and other precut sizes. This picture is only half of the shop! If you could only visit one shop for Liberty I would recommend this one.
I believe they had 6 shelves or more of Liberty by the bolt.
And multiple drawers of fat eighths and precuts and another couple just for remnants!
Now on to the lovelies I purchased from these shops. I ended up buying all my Liberty from the Hobbrya shops and the Seibu department store in Shibuya but that’s just because I was really on the hunt for colorways and prints I could only get from Japan.
I found these gorgeous Liberty Felicite colorways. The one on the left is a smaller 75% print scale of the original Felicite and after seeing it in person I love it even more than the original scale of Felicite. The Felicite on the far left is available in my Etsy shop.
This is an adorable print named Fergus which was very high on my wish list. This pink Fergus on the top is available in my Etsy shop.
And a rare find named Mercerie, a bespoke design from Hobbyra Hobbyre. This beauty is also available in my Etsy shop.
Here are a few Etsy shops I’ve purchased Liberty Japan from if you’re interested in more Liberty Japan prints : lilymeru, petitJapan, washimatta, FloweryInHand, and Essheva. Refer to my Liberty shopping guide for a list of shops that ship to the US.
I hope you find this list useful when you plan your trip to Tokyo. I would love to hear where you shopped for fabric and your experiences when you were in Japan. Thanks for visiting and happy “mad” fabric shopping!
