Gotemba Premium Outlet
So what do you in Tokyo? Shopping, what else! Well, last month (June 2008), we shopped at Gotemba Premium Outlets. To get there, we took the Odakyu Highway bus (1.5 hours) from Tokyo (Shinkuju station) to the town of Gotenba, then took on 10 minute shuttle bus from the bus terminal to the mall.
This outdoor mall is very similar to other Premium Outlets in the US and Canada, all US stores and many designer stores like Gucci, Prada, Versace, Hugo Boss, etc. For a moment, it felt like we were back in North America, and not in Japan.
One difference is the food court. Gotemba offers Japanese fast food instead of Western fast food, though they were serving American beer like Budweiser as you can see by the sign of the picture below taken inside the food court. We had Udon noodles for lunch.
As a bonus, Gotemba offered a great view of Mount Fuji (unfortunately, it got cloudy in the afternoon). It was a great way to spend a day. We have to go back once we finish paying all the credit card bills :-).
Konnichiwa 
Looks like a nice mall. And a beautiful location.
Do you go anywhere else while you were in 静岡県 (Shizuoka prefecture), not far from 富士山 (Mt. Fuji)?
Do you like outlet malls? Do you know that there are some in the Tokyo area?
Creepy. Looks just like the outlet malls here in the NE US. Considering the stereotype of Japanese tourists loving outlet malls (there’s even a BookOff in one of the outlets somewhere just north of NYC, the outlet being such a popular destination for Japanese tour groups), I figured it should be only a matter of time before they build one near Tokyo..
Thanks for commenting.
>> Do you go anywhere else while you were in 静岡県 (Shizuoka prefecture), not far from 富士山 (Mt. Fuji)?
Actually, no, it was just a day of shopping 🙂
>> Do you like outlet malls? Do you know that there are some in the Tokyo area?
Well, my wife is the shopper of the family, and she especially likes the Premium Outlet malls. In Canada (of the US), malls are commonplace as you know. Yes, we know there are several in the Tokyo area.
>> Creepy. Looks just like the outlet malls here in the NE US
Yup, almost like a replica of Woodbury Common Premium Outlet in NY – actually, our favorite!
I added alot more festivals to the “Festivals In Tokyo” page on my site.
I’ve just about finished Jan – August.
I’ll complete Sept – Dec ASAP.
The page is here:
http://tokyo5.wordpress.com/festivals-in-tokyo/
(My website:
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tokyo5/index.html )
Check it out….
hi there, are the selections comparable to woodbury? do they carry big sizes or only petite for the japanese?
thks
Suzy, the selections are comparable to Woodbury, but we found that the sizes are still geared for the Japanese (smaller or petite sizes mainly).
In Tokyo, The Gap, Uniqlo, Benetton and Zara seem to carry bigger sizes.
hmm.. love GAP and ZARA, will go have a look when i visit in October 🙂
thks for the tips!
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hi there
i stumble upon your blog while browsing about tokyo. im going to tokyo in 2 weeks time.
I love shopping especially designers item. So, is it advisable to shop there? is it expensive ?
Thanx pls help.
Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.
There are a lot of designer shops in Tokyo, especially in the Ginza and Roppongi areas (also in other large shopping districts like Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc.). Shopping in Japan is generally more expensive compared to other countries in Asia.
Gotemba is a typical outlet mall so it will be cheaper than the regular designer stores, but selection will be limited.
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