The 9 Best Stores From Hokkaido to Okinawa
This article originally appeared in the February 2024 issue of CONNECT.
Tori Bender (Hyogo)
It’s no surprise that the country which gave the world Hokusai, Yayoi Kusama, and Studio Ghibli is a treasure trove for anyone interested in art. Whether you like ceramics, traditional painting, calligraphy, manga, or doodling on a notepad, you can certainly find a store that will have what you need to pursue your next artistic venture in Japan. This article will introduce some art supply stores around Japan, where they are located, and what kinds of materials you can find in them.
Tokyo alone has an endless supply of materials available. But fear not, those outside of Tokyo—there’s no need to travel across the country for high quality materials! It goes without saying that supplies used for more niche or traditional arts—kintsugi or figurines, for example—may be harder to find in your typical art store and may only be available in a specialty shop. For the sake of brevity, I have limited the list mostly to stores that carry a wide variety of products. After visiting several locations and doing some research, I’d like to introduce nine fantastic art supply stores across Japan.
1. Sekaido (世界堂)
Locations: Tokyo, Saitama, Nagoya
Specialty: Everything
Online Shop: Yes
Founded in Tokyo in 1945, Sekaido is perhaps one of the biggest and most well-known art supply stores in Japan. With various stores across the Kanto and Tokai regions, their largest and most famous store is a five-story shop located right in Shinjuku. With five floors, Sekaido is a playground for any artist. You can find a huge variety of stationary, office supplies, comic-making supplies, design supplies, modeling materials, drawing supplies, and painting supplies of Japanese and Western varieties. It’s easy to spend hours amongst the rows and rows of pens, markers, paints, and other fine arts materials here. One unique product you can find here is Poster Color paints, the water-based paint often used by animation studios like Studio Ghibli. As the store originally sold painting frames and paintings, they also have a section of frames for sale. Even if you’re not located in Tokyo, Sekaido is definitely worth a visit on your next trip.
2. Hands
Locations: All Prefectures
Specialty: Stationary
Online Shop: Yes
Hands (formerly known as Tokyu Hands) is a store with locations all over the country. As it’s a department store, it has a less extensive selection of fine art supplies than other stores on this list. However, it still has a great amount of more common-use materials such as pens, markers, paper, and other stationary. Some locations do carry Copic alcohol marker sets and sketchbooks as well. Whether you’re into journaling, writing letters, or simply looking for a nice pen to use at work, Hands has something for everyone.
3. Arc Oasis
Locations: Hokkaido, Miyagi, Saitama, Ishikawa, Kanagawa, Gunma, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo Specialty: Everything
Online Shop: Yes
Arc Oasis—one of my personal favorites—is a hobby store with multiple locations across Japan. A branch of a large art company named Bunpodo, this particular store can be compared to Michaels or Hobby Lobby in the U.S. The store houses a multitude of fine arts—supplies similar to Sekaido’s selection, but on a smaller scale. They have several brands of paints from Japan and overseas, as well as calligraphy and comic-drawing supplies. What stands out to me is their large selections of frames, canvases, and brushes, so I personally stock up on these when I go. They also have other crafting supplies such as beads, wooden models, fabrics, and a variety of DIY materials. If you’re looking for anything crafty, Arc Oasis surely has it.
4. Tools (トゥールズ)
Locations: Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka
Specialty: Copic markers, everything
Online Shop: Yes
Tools is a shop located in Tokyo and Osaka. Interestingly, the shops are managed by the same company that created Copic markers, the alcohol-based markers which have taken off in recent years. While not a huge store, Tools still sells a good variety of high-quality fine art supplies such as paints, ink, sketchbooks, clay, and of course Copic markers. The Osaka location has a huge selection of the markers—practically an entire wall of colors you never knew existed. The Tokyo location, on the other hand, has a “Copic clinic,” where they can clean your markers or replace the ink and nib for a small fee. How convenient!
5. Yamamoto Bumpodo (山本文房堂)
Locations: Fukuoka
Specialty: Painting supplies, frames
Online Shop: No
If you’re in Kyushu, Yamamoto Bumpodo is a great place to go for fine arts supplies. Open since 1932, this store is owned by the Bumpodo art company, which manages several art stores across Japan. It specializes in paints and framing, but also has an extensive selection of other fine arts supplies. There is a full list of everything available on their website, and they have a fantastic selection of both Japanese and overseas fine arts products, from calligraphy to sculpting materials. Additionally, the store has a gallery with rotating exhibitions from a variety of genres, so you can browse some local art after you shop.
6. Kawachi (カワチ)
Locations: Osaka
Specialty: Everything
Online Shop: Yes (limited supplies)
Kawachi is an iconic art store founded in Osaka in 1920, with it’s main location in Shinsaibashi. This is another store with nearly no limit on the types of fine arts products it sells, and plenty of painting, drawing, and modeling materials. They have custom framing services available as well. This store is definitely a favorite amongst locals for buying traditional fine arts supplies, and I recommend going here for its sizable selection if you’re in the area.
7. Yuzawaya (ユザワヤ)
Locations: Hokkaido, Miyagi, Tochigi, Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kumamoto
Specialty: Crafting
Online Shop: Yes
Yuzawaya is a haven for crafters, knitters, and sewers. Here you can find things like fabrics, knitting materials, embroidery, sewing machines, and more. They also have a variety of clays available. Their website isn’t too difficult to navigate, and they have a seemingly endless supply of materials available to purchase online.
8. Pigment Tokyo
Locations: Tokyo
Specialty: Pigments
Online Shop: Yes
While this one is exclusively located in Tokyo, the quality and aesthetic alone make it worth mentioning. Pigment Tokyo is a store specializing in high-quality pigments in Higashi-Shinagawa, Tokyo. Rather than coming pre-mixed with oil, glue, or another binder as a paint, pigments are sold as advertised—a pigment. With around 4,500 pigments to choose from, the store also sells high-quality paper, ink stones, and over 600 brush types. The store’s interior alone is a work of art, so definitely I recommend stopping by if you’re in the area, especially if you’re interested in sourcing your paints in a traditional, down-to-earth way.
9. Daiso
Locations: Everywhere
Specialty: Basic art supplies, stationary
Online Shop: No
No art store list is complete without the obligatory Daiso mention. Heaven for stationery lovers, Daiso has occasionally surprised me with its occasional good stock of fine arts supplies. It varies from location to location, but you can often find basic sketchbooks, calligraphy materials, paints, and clays at this 100 yen shop. Keep in mind that some locations will have just the bare minimum as far as fine arts supplies go, but the things they do have usually get the job done.
If you haven’t been in Japan for long, finding arts and crafts supplies that you like can be one of the many challenges of settling in. It took me quite a while to figure out where to get certain things as I was more used to the super-sized crafting stores back in America. Of course, there are other options besides these, such as online retailers and local businesses (and it’s also worth mentioning that you can usually find manga supplies at manga or book stores, like Animate). Regardless, I hope this list can be a resource and help guide you in your future artistic pursuits!
Tori Bender is an ALT, artist, and copy editor for CONNECT based in Central Hyogo. She loves the countryside and anything cozy or nostalgic. You can find her on Instagram.