Japan 2026: Retail is Still King

It’s only been two years since our last Japan visit, but this time we had ample free hours to take in our surroundings at a more laid back pace. Wandering the Home Audio floor at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara, I was stunned to find a section with literally hundreds (I’d estimate 250 to 300) of wireless earbuds on display. I’m not exaggerating. And that was just the earbuds; many other product categories were equally rich with variety, from everyday goods to niche electronics.

There’s really no brick-and-mortar comparison here in the States, not today for sure, and perhaps never. Sure you can scroll through lots of options on Amazon, but seeing that much variety in person is just different. It got me wondering how traditional retail in Japan has managed to not just survive, but thrive. Japanese consumers shop online like everyyone else, but despite the rise of e-commerce and global competition, physical retail in Japan remains vibrant, and well, fun.

So. Many. Choices. Everywhere.

Here in Seattle by contrast, the proliferation of online shopping has undeniably taken a toll on physical retail. Mom-and-pop and specialty shops continue to dwindle while big-box stores and strip mall chains survive, inevitably reducing every town to the same generic retail landscape. To be completely fair though, comparing Seattle to Tokyo is probably stacking the deck; a more direct parallel to Tokyo might be New York City. But the contrast in daily life is still striking, and my uneducated theory is that a lot of it comes down to how we humans (and by that I mean consumers) interact with our surroundings:

In Greater Tokyo, roughly 60% of commuters rely on mass transit. In the Seattle metro area, around 70% drive private cars and only 10% to 15% use public transit regularly. When millions of people walk to and from trains every day, small shops, restaurants, and department stores exist directly along the path of daily life.
Japanese retail favors depth over breadth. Unlike American big-box stores like Target or Walmart that try to sell a bit of everything under one roof, even major Japanese chains like ItoYokado, Seiyu or Aeon feel more like a collection of distinct specialty shops.
A booming tourism market, bolstered by a historically weak yen, has turned Tokyo (and the rest of Japan) into a shopper’s paradise. High tourist volume is pouring fresh cash directly into physical stores at an unprecedented level.

The growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down, either. Major hubs like Shinjuku and Shibuya are currently undergoing massive construction and transit upgrades, and I already can’t wait to see what they look like the next time we visit.