Ginza
By Andrew Liyan · Last updated: October 18, 2026 · Facts verified: October 18, 2026
Ginza is worth two to three hours on a first Tokyo trip even if you buy nothing. One walk along Chuo-dori takes in the 1932 Wako clock tower, department-store food halls, Nissan's free showroom and, a short detour away, Kabukiza. Go on a weekend or public holiday afternoon, when the avenue is closed to cars, and use the 4-chome crossing above Ginza Station to get your bearings.
- Area
- Ginza / Chuo
- Best For
- Shopping, Dining, Architecture, Luxury
Visiting Ginza
Ginza fills the blocks south of Tokyo Station toward Shimbashi, and nearly everything a visitor comes for sits on or just off one straight avenue, Chuo-dori. The name means "silver mint," after the Edo-period mint that once stood here. What draws people now is the run of department stores, brand flagships and specialty shops along that avenue, and the fact that on weekend and holiday afternoons the police close it to traffic.
It feels different from Shibuya and Shinjuku mainly because of how it is laid out. There is no giant rail terminal at its center and no scramble crossing: the streets form a grid, and the crowds spread along about a kilometer of sidewalk instead of pouring out of one station. Evenings here center on dinner and lit storefronts rather than a night out.
You do not have to shop to get something out of it. The department-store basements sell ready-to-eat food you can take up to Ginza Mitsukoshi's ninth-floor terrace garden, NISSAN CROSSING and Ginza Sony Park are open to anyone who walks in, and Chuo-dori's facades are the free part of every flagship. The walking distances are short, so most of a visit is spent inside buildings rather than between them.
The district also runs east along Harumi-dori. About 300 m from the main crossing, Kabukiza, the principal theatre for kabuki, connects directly to Higashi-ginza Station, and the same street continues toward Tsukiji Outer Market, which is why Ginza and Tsukiji so often share a morning.
Is Ginza Worth Visiting?
Short answer
Yes, for most first-time visitors with a spare afternoon in central Tokyo, and you do not need to shop. Ginza rewards people who like food halls, architecture and an easy, compact walk. If you only have two or three days and want crowds, neon and youth fashion, Shibuya or Shinjuku will feel more like the Tokyo you came to see.
Ginza suits you if
- You want to see a Tokyo department-store food hall properly, and eat from it.
- You like buildings: the 1932 Wako clock tower and the newer GINZA PLACE stand on opposite corners of the same crossing.
- Someone in your group likes cars: NISSAN CROSSING is free and right on the main crossing.
- You are already going to Tsukiji Outer Market, Kabukiza or Tokyo Station and have a few hours to fill nearby.
Skip or shorten it if
- Your Tokyo time is very short and Shibuya, Shinjuku or Asakusa matter more to you.
- You want street, youth or secondhand fashion: Harajuku and Shimokitazawa fit better.
- You want late-night energy: most Ginza stores close by 8 or 8:30 pm.
- You can only come on a weekday morning: the big stores do not open until 10 or 10:30 am.
Ginza compared with Shibuya and Shinjuku
Shibuya and Shinjuku grew up around huge rail terminals, so the action concentrates at the station exits and spills into side streets of bars and arcades. Ginza has no JR station of its own: you arrive by subway, or walk in from JR Yurakucho or Tokyo Station, and the district spreads along one avenue. That makes it slower and easier to find your way around, and it is why Ginza tends to fill part of a day alongside Tsukiji or Tokyo Station rather than a whole one.
If the real question is where to stay rather than what to see, the Tokyo where-to-stay guide compares Ginza with Shinjuku, Shibuya and the Tokyo Station area as a base.
Get Your Bearings at the 4-chome Crossing
Short answer
The Ginza 4-chome crossing, where Chuo-dori meets Harumi-dori, is the middle of Ginza and the easiest place to orient yourself. Ginza Station is underneath it, the Wako clock tower stands on one corner, and Ginza Mitsukoshi and NISSAN CROSSING occupy two of the others.
Think of Ginza as a long line with a crossbar. Chuo-dori is the line, running about a kilometer from 1-chome at the Kyobashi end to 8-chome near Shimbashi. Harumi-dori is the crossbar: one way leads past Ginza Sony Park toward Yurakucho and Hibiya, the other toward Kabukiza and Tsukiji. The corners that matter to a visitor:
- Wako (SEIKO HOUSE GINZA)
- The building with the clock tower. Seiko's founder opened a watch shop on this corner in 1894 and put a clock tower on its roof; the present building replaced it in 1932, during the rebuilding after the Great Kanto Earthquake. It now carries the name SEIKO HOUSE GINZA, with the Wako store on the lower floors. Open 11 am to 7 pm; Ginza Station Exit B1 leads straight in.
- Ginza Mitsukoshi
- Across Chuo-dori from Wako. Its basement food floors are the lunch stop on the walking route below.
- GINZA PLACE (NISSAN CROSSING)
- Diagonally across from Wako and across Harumi-dori from Mitsukoshi, with Nissan's showroom on the first two floors, just outside Ginza Station Exits A3, A4 and A5.
NISSAN CROSSING: Nissan's Free Showroom on the Crossing
Short answer
NISSAN CROSSING is Nissan's showroom on the first two floors of GINZA PLACE, at the Ginza 4-chome crossing. It is free to enter and open daily from 10 am to 8 pm, with occasional irregular closures. The cars on display change without notice, so treat it as a stop on a Ginza walk rather than a reason to come to Ginza on its own.
The ground floor is what you see from the street: a center stage with current Nissan models, a cylinder-shaped display Nissan uses for rare and unusual cars, and a theater showing videos about its technology. Upstairs, a stage lit by the building's spiral design shows more cars, next to a cafe and an official Nissan shop. GO TOKYO notes that visitors can get into some of the display vehicles; whether a particular car is open depends on what is being shown when you visit.
- Where
- 1F and 2F of GINZA PLACE, 5-8-1 Ginza: the corner diagonally across from the Wako clock tower, just outside Ginza Station Exits A3, A4 and A5.
- Hours
- Daily 10:00 to 20:00. Closing days are irregular, so check the official site if your visit depends on it.
- Admission
- Free. The cafe and the shop are the only things you pay for.
- What is on display
- Rotates through the year. Nissan's site lists each car with the date its display began and warns that exhibits can change without notice, so check its "Exhibition Car Information" list if you want to see a particular model.
- CROSSING CAFE (2F)
- Known for MACCHI-ART, a latte topped with a printed image of a Nissan car you choose, from the Datsun 12 Phaeton and Skyline 2000GT-R to the ARIYA. Drinks on the menu are under ¥1,000 each, tax included, and the cafe also makes its own CROSSING SODA.
- NISSAN BOUTIQUE (2F)
- Official merchandise, from small die-cast models (a 1/64 Skyline GT-R is about ¥3,000) up to handmade engine models at collector prices.
- Getting around inside
- Both floors have an elevator and an escalator, plus free Wi-Fi; the second floor also has free device charging.
It is most worth the stop if you are traveling with a car fan, with children who like cars, or on a hot, cold or wet day when a free indoor stop helps. If none of that applies, the building's lit facade, which Nissan designed to fill the street with color, may be all you need to see from the crossing.
The Best Things to Do in Ginza, in Walking Order
Short answer
Walk Chuo-dori in one direction, from Itoya in 2-chome to GINZA SIX in 6-chome, with the 4-chome crossing halfway. That stretch is only about half a kilometer, under 10 minutes on foot without stopping, so the time goes on the stops: allow two to three hours with a food-hall lunch, or about an hour for the shortest version.
Start
G.Itoya, Ginza 2-chome
Itoya's main store is a tall stack of stationery floors: paper, pens, notebooks and cards that make light, easy gifts. It opens at 10 am and closes at 8 pm (7 pm on Sundays and holidays), and CAFE Stylo is on the 12th floor. Walking in from Tokyo Station, this is the first major stop you reach, and Matsuya Ginza is on the way in 3-chome.
About 300 m on
The 4-chome crossing and Wako clock tower
The middle of Ginza. The clock tower is easiest to take in from the opposite corners. If you arrived at Ginza Station instead of walking from Itoya, start here and do Itoya last, or skip it.
Same crossing
Ginza Mitsukoshi food floors
Across Chuo-dori from Wako. The basement floors sell sweets, baked goods and boxed lunches, and GO TOKYO suggests taking a bento up to the ninth-floor terrace garden to eat. Hours vary by floor, roughly 10 am to 8 pm.
Same crossing
NISSAN CROSSING
Cross Harumi-dori from Mitsukoshi to GINZA PLACE, diagonally across from Wako. Free, two floors, open until 8 pm; the section above covers what is inside.
Turn back here if you only have an hour. Itoya, the crossing, NISSAN CROSSING and a food-hall snack fit, and Ginza Station is right underneath.
About 200 m on
GINZA SIX, Ginza 6-chome
A large complex with Ginza Tsutaya Books on the sixth floor, a rooftop garden overlooking Ginza and restaurants on the 13th floor. Shops open 10:30 am to 8:30 pm and restaurants 11 am to 11 pm, which makes it a natural place to end with dinner. The Kanze Noh Theater, a 480-seat noh stage, is in the basement.
Detour
Optional: Kabukiza Theatre
GINZA SIX's own directions put Higashi-ginza Station about 3 minutes away, and Kabukiza connects directly to that station. Its fifth-floor gallery and rooftop garden are open without a performance ticket; the Kabukiza guide covers single-act tickets.
Shorter, longer or on a different day
- One hour. Ginza Station up to the 4-chome crossing, NISSAN CROSSING and a Mitsukoshi food-hall stop, then straight back down to the station.
- Half a day. Start early at Tsukiji Outer Market, walk west past Kabukiza and do the route in reverse, ending at Itoya and walking on to Tokyo Station.
- If the street is not car-free. Nothing on this route depends on it. The car-free hours only give you more room; on weekdays, use the sidewalks and cross at the main intersections.
- G.Itoya
- Hours: 10:00-20:00 (Sun and holidays to 19:00)
- Note: Free to browse
- SEIKO HOUSE GINZA (Wako)
- Hours: 11:00-19:00
- Note: Closed over New Year
- NISSAN CROSSING
- Hours: 10:00-20:00 daily
- Note: Free; irregular closing days
- Ginza Mitsukoshi
- Hours: About 10:00-20:00
- Note: Varies by floor; irregular closing days
- GINZA SIX
- Hours: Shops 10:30-20:30; restaurants 11:00-23:00
- Note: Rooftop garden hours are set separately
| Place | Hours | Note |
|---|---|---|
| G.Itoya | 10:00-20:00 (Sun and holidays to 19:00) | Free to browse |
| SEIKO HOUSE GINZA (Wako) | 11:00-19:00 | Closed over New Year |
| NISSAN CROSSING | 10:00-20:00 daily | Free; irregular closing days |
| Ginza Mitsukoshi | About 10:00-20:00 | Varies by floor; irregular closing days |
| GINZA SIX | Shops 10:30-20:30; restaurants 11:00-23:00 | Rooftop garden hours are set separately |
Shopping in Ginza: What Each Kind of Store Is For
Short answer
Ginza's shopping splits into four kinds of place: department stores for food and gifts, brand flagships on Chuo-dori for window shopping, newer complexes such as GINZA SIX that mix brands with things to see, and specialty shops such as Itoya. Large stores handle tax-free sales for visitors, but Japan is changing how tax-free shopping works, so check the current rules before a big purchase.
- Department stores
- Ginza Mitsukoshi and Matsuya Ginza are the most useful stops for visitors who are not buying luxury goods. The basement food floors sell gift-boxed sweets and ready-to-eat food; the upper floors cover cosmetics, clothing and homewares. GO TOKYO describes Ginza Mitsukoshi as set up for international customers, with its own tourist information center.
- Brand flagships on Chuo-dori
- The reason Ginza looks the way it does. The buildings are designed as showpieces, and looking costs nothing. Some double as exhibition spaces: GO TOKYO points to the galleries run by Maison Hermès and Shiseido.
- GINZA SIX and GINZA PLACE
- Newer complexes that mix brands and restaurants with something to see without buying: Ginza Tsutaya Books' art-book floor at GINZA SIX and the Nissan showroom at GINZA PLACE.
- Specialty stores
- Itoya for stationery is the best known, and the easiest place on this walk to find small, light gifts.
- Tax-free shopping
- Bring your passport. Japan is moving tax-free shopping for visitors from an in-store deduction to a refund when you leave the country, and the tax-free section of our money guide explains which rules apply to your travel dates.
Where to Eat in Ginza
Short answer
For a quick meal, buy from a department-store food hall and eat at Ginza Mitsukoshi's ninth-floor terrace garden. For a sit-down meal without a booking, the restaurant floors of the large buildings, such as GINZA SIX's 13th floor, give you the most choice in one place. Many of Ginza's small, counter-only sushi restaurants take reservations only.
- Food halls
- Ginza Mitsukoshi's basement floors: wagashi, pastries, baked goods and bento.
- Restaurant floors
- GINZA SIX's 13th floor (11 am to 11 pm) and the department stores' restaurant floors put many restaurants under one roof, which helps when you have not booked anywhere.
- Cafes with a reason to visit
- CROSSING CAFE at NISSAN CROSSING for the car-print latte, and CAFE Stylo on the 12th floor of G.Itoya (11:30 am to 9 pm, last order 8 pm).
- Sushi and fine dining
- Ginza is known for Edomae sushi counters and Michelin-starred restaurants. Many are small and reservation-only, so book before you travel if one is the point of your visit.
- A cheaper seafood breakfast
- Tsukiji Outer Market is a short walk east past Kabukiza and works best early in the day.
More Things to Do in Ginza
Walk Chuo-dori when it is closed to cars
On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, Chuo-dori becomes a pedestrian street for about 1.1 km, from the Ginza-dori-guchi intersection in 1-chome to 8-chome. It is the one time you can stand in the middle of the avenue and look down its length. The hours are under Best Time to Visit.
It is a quiet affair by Tokyo standards: Ginza's official rules ban performances, selling and group processions in costume, so expect strollers rather than street entertainment. The police can call it off for bad weather, and do over New Year.
See Kabukiza without buying a ticket
Kabukiza is about 300 m from the 4-chome crossing along Harumi-dori. You can go up to the fifth floor of Kabukiza Tower without a performance ticket: Shochiku lists the Kabukiza Gallery there as free (10:30 am to 6 pm), and the rooftop garden beside it sits on the theatre's roof. Same-day single-act tickets are the low-commitment way to watch kabuki. The Kabukiza guide has prices, the English captioning service and the monthly schedule.
Look in at Ginza Sony Park
On the site of the old Sony Building at the Sukiyabashi intersection, between the 4-chome crossing and Yurakucho, Ginza Sony Park has no permanent shops. Its floors host temporary exhibitions, events and pop-ups, mostly around music and art, and its fifth-floor rooftop sits at about 20 m, low enough to feel open among taller neighbors. What is on changes regularly, so check its website first.
Visit a gallery inside a Ginza building
GO TOKYO points to the Shiseido Gallery and Maison Hermès for art exhibitions, and to Creation Gallery G8 and the Ginza Graphic Gallery for graphic design. Each runs changing shows, so check what is on and how entry works before you go.
Stay for Ginza after dark
Most stores close by 8 or 8:30 pm, so plan the shopping first and the evening around a meal. GINZA SIX's restaurants stay open until 11 pm, and the flagships and NISSAN CROSSING keep their facades lit. In the colder months the car-free hours end at 5 pm, so the pedestrian street and the evening rarely overlap.
How to Get to Ginza
Ginza has four stations within walking distance, and the right one depends on which part of the district you want first. All are subway stations except Yurakucho, the nearest JR stop.
Ginza Station: for the 4-chome crossing
Tokyo Metro Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya lines. This is the station under the crossing: NISSAN CROSSING is just outside Exits A3, A4 and A5, and Exit B1 leads into SEIKO HOUSE GINZA (Wako). GINZA SIX is about 2 minutes from Exit A3.
Higashi-ginza Station: for Kabukiza and the Tsukiji side
Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line and Toei Asakusa Line. Exit 3 connects directly to Kabukiza, and GINZA SIX is about 3 minutes from Exit A1. Trains from Haneda Airport reach Higashi-ginza in about 30 minutes on the Keikyu and Asakusa lines, some running straight through.
Ginza-itchome Station: for the 1-chome end
Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line, toward the 1-chome end of the district; GINZA SIX puts itself about 8 minutes away on foot. Use it if you are already on that line and want to start near Itoya.
Yurakucho Station: for Japan Rail Pass holders
JR Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines, plus the Yurakucho Line. GO TOKYO puts the Ginza area about 5 minutes away on foot: follow Harumi-dori past Sukiyabashi and Ginza Sony Park to the 4-chome crossing.
From Tokyo Station
One stop on the Marunouchi Line to Ginza Station, or about 15 minutes on foot. Walking makes sense if you want to start the route at Itoya.
From Shinjuku, Shibuya or Asakusa
From Shinjuku, the Marunouchi Line runs direct to Ginza Station in about 16 minutes. Shibuya and Asakusa are both on the Ginza Line, which runs through Ginza Station with no transfer.
- •GINZA SIX's B2 floor connects underground to both Ginza and Higashi-ginza stations, a useful dry route in rain.
- •Ginza, Higashi-ginza and Ginza-itchome are subway stations, so the Japan Rail Pass does not cover them; JR Yurakucho is the nearest station it does cover.
For IC cards, tickets, and full transit basics for Tokyo, see the complete transportation guide.
See the Getting Around Tokyo guide →Best Time to Visit Ginza
A weekend or public holiday afternoon, when Chuo-dori is closed to cars; a weekday if you want calmer stores.
- •Chuo-dori is closed to cars on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, from noon to 6 pm between April and September and from noon to 5 pm between October and March. It can be called off for bad weather or at short notice, and over New Year.
- •Weekend afternoons are the busiest time on the avenue; for calmer food halls and showrooms, come on a weekday.
- •The big stores open at 10 or 10:30 am and SEIKO HOUSE at 11 am, so an early start gains little unless you begin at Tsukiji Outer Market.
Entry Fee for Ginza
- •Free without buying anything: the streets, NISSAN CROSSING, Ginza Sony Park, the Kabukiza Gallery on the fifth floor of Kabukiza Tower and window shopping on Chuo-dori.
- •Paid: Kabukiza performances, plus anything you eat or buy.
- •NISSAN CROSSING lists an elevator and escalator on both of its floors; for other buildings, check each one's floor guide.
Nearby Attractions
Ginza sits between Tokyo Station and Tsukiji, so most pairings are a walk rather than a train ride.
Tsukiji Outer Market
Imperial Palace East Gardens
Hamarikyu Gardens
Tokyo Tower
Kabukiza Theatre
Frequently Asked Questions
References
View references
Nissan
GO TOKYO
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
GINZA OFFICIAL
Seiko Group
GINZA SIX
Shochiku (KABUKI WEB)
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