What to buy in Japan — and, more usefully, what to skip

Worth the luggage space

Kitchen knives

The clearest case in the entire list. A Japanese knife at £60–£150 outperforms Western knives at twice the price, because the steel is harder and the edge geometry is finer. Buy from a specialist rather than a department store, ask for a stainless-clad blade unless you are prepared to maintain carbon steel, and have it wrapped properly for hold luggage. Never in hand luggage.

Stationery

Pens, notebooks, mechanical pencils, correction tape. Japan treats writing instruments as precision engineering, and the price difference against Western retail is substantial — often half. Uni, Pilot, Zebra, Kokuyo, Midori. This is the highest value-per-gram category on the list, and the easiest to over-buy.

Skincare and sunscreen

Japanese sunscreen in particular. Formulations that cost £30 in Europe cost £8–£12 in a Japanese drugstore, and the textures are lighter than most Western equivalents because the regulatory framework permits filters that are approved differently elsewhere. Cleansing oils, sheet masks and hydrating lotions are similarly good value.

Tea

Sencha, gyokuro and matcha bought in Japan cost a fraction of what an equivalent grade costs abroad, and the quality ceiling is far higher. Buy from a tea shop rather than a souvenir counter, and buy less than you think — Japanese green tea oxidises quickly and is best within a few months of opening.

Whisky, if you find it at retail price

Japanese whisky is excellent and no longer cheap. Airport and tourist-area pricing has largely caught up with international pricing. It is still worth buying if you find a bottle at a normal Japanese retail price, but this is no longer the bargain it was a decade ago.

Cheaper than most visitors expect

• Convenience-store food. The quality-to-price ratio has no Western equivalent. Also the best place to sample a category before committing to a shop-bought version.
• Second-hand clothing and cameras. Japan's used market is unusually well graded and unusually honest about condition. Tokyo and Osaka both have entire districts of it.
• Ceramics outside the tourist areas. Everyday tableware in a residential neighbourhood shop is a fraction of gallery pricing for very similar work.
• Uniqlo and Muji basics. Sometimes noticeably cheaper than abroad, and the Japanese ranges are broader.

What to skip

• Electronics. Global pricing, and voltage and warranty complications. Buy at home.
• Novelty flavour items. Fun to photograph, rarely finished. If you want food to bring back, buy the things Japanese people actually buy as gifts.
• Anything from an airport souvenir aisle. Same items, wider margin.
• Fresh wagashi to take home. Made to be eaten within days. The export versions are a different product entirely.
• Bulk cosmetics without checking your skin first. Buy one, use it for a week, then buy more if you are staying long enough.

Two practical notes

Tax-free shopping is available to short-term visitors above a spending threshold, with your passport, at participating shops. Consumable goods are sealed and are not supposed to be opened before you leave. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm the current position with the retailer at the time.

Weight, not volume, is the real constraint. Ceramics and liquids will hit your baggage allowance long before you run out of space. Stationery and tea are the categories that reward you most per kilogram.