PePe Mall, which sits atop the Seibu Shinjuku Station and adjacent to the Shinjuku Prince Hotel near the edge of Kabukicho, is one of the best kept secrets of the area. For a relatively small shopping mall, it punches way above its weight in terms of what it has to offer.
The basement level houses a selection of food outlets, including a bakery, a St Marc Cafe that specialises in chocolate filled pastries, a rice ball shop and an organic food store.
The Ground Level features a branch of Segafredo Zanetti Coffee, which serves excellent dine in or takeaway Italian-style coffee, a selection of sweets and a range of melts and panini that make for a great light brunch or lunch.
Level 2 features a selection of vendors selling various local and international sweet treats, mostly to take away, while Level 3 is more focused on fashion and accessories.
Level 4 offers up the excellent ‘hands be’, which sells a jaw-dropping array of lifestyle, fashion goods and souvenirs. It’s a mini shop of the larger Tokyu Hands department store chain.
The entire Level 5 houses an expansive GU store, which is great for reasonably priced trend fashion and basics. GU is the cheaper cousin of UNIQLO. It’s a great place if you need to buy some extra underwear or socks or some extra layers at a good price. It tends to be a lot quieter than the manic GU floor in Biqclo or the flagship GU store in Ginza.
Level 7 is a whole-floor branch of MUJI, the Japanese ‘no brand’ lifestyle, homewares and fashion chain. It’s an excellent option for souvenirs. There are numerous MUJI stores around Shinjuku, but this one is less busy which makes for more enjoyable browsing.
Then Level 8, the top floor, provides the crowning glory of PePe Mall-a huge 100 Yen store called Can Do. Pretty much everything in Can Do sells for 100 Yen, so it’s an excellent place to pick up food and drink supplies for your travels, souvenirs to take home, small travel goods, underwear, cosmetics, stationary and pretty much anything else you could imagine. Take some time browsing the large store to wonder at the sheer variety of what is for sale and how on earth it can be sold at such a low price.
PePe is great for a couple of hours of snacking and browsing and a great option in wet weather. Several of the stores offer tax-free shopping too-so check the signs. With so many good stores stacked in one place, you can save your feet from the walking you’ll be doing everywhere else in the city.
Address: 1 Chome-30-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo
Getting there: Direct connection to Seibu Shinjuku Station ( Seibu Shinjuku Line), 2-minute walk from Shinjuku Nishiguchi Station (Toei Oedo Line) or 5-minute walk from JR Shinjuku Station East Exit
Nearby: Bicqlo, Don Quijote, Mister Donut, Omoide Yokocho, Ootoya, 2D Cafe
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