Best Japanese Online Shopping Sites – Our Top List

Japan has a thriving e-commerce market. Here’s all you need to know about Online Shopping in Japan.

Top Online Shopping Websites in Japan:

• Rakuten, Inc
• Amazon Japan
• Yahoo! Shopping Japan
• DMM.com
• Zozotown
• Wowma
• Qoo10
• Felissimo Shopping
• Oh My Glasses
• Monoco
• Locondo
• Belluna
• Muse & Co.
• Voi.0101
• Yahoo! Auctions Japan
• Rakuma
• Mercari
• Minnie
• Creema

This article will tell you everything about the B2C (Business To Consumer) and C2C (Consumer To Consumer) online shopping scene in Japan. Read on to know about online shopping websites in Japan.

Top Online Shopping Websites in Japan (B2C)

Given below are the top online shopping sites in Japan. The source of monthly traffic data is Disfold and SimilarWeb

Rakuten, Inc

Rakuten has a large and loyal customer base. They have over 100 million members. Rakuten rewards loyalty by giving loyalty points with every purchase. These points can be used to make further purchases. Rakuten has also expanded into digital services such as online payments, marketing, communication services, and online content.

Founded: 7th February, 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani
Sells:  cosmetics, clothing and accessories, electronics, and home equipment
Payment options: Foreign credit cards accepted
Shipping: Within Japan and also some countries and regions outside Japan
Monthly traffic: 489.5 million

Amazon Japan

A global market leader in e-commerce, Amazon enjoys a good share of the online market in Japan. It has an option to shop in English, too.

Founded: Amazon was founded in 1994. But it started in Japan only in 2000.
Sells: Media, apparel, electronics, foods, toys, jewelry, furniture, and home furnishings
Payment options: Foereign credit cards accepted
Shipping: Shipping is available within Japan as well as internationally
Monthly traffic: 523 million

Yahoo! Shopping Japan

The Yahoo! Portal has diversified into e-commerce in Japan under the Yahoo! Shopping website. Yahoo! Shopping in Japan is owned by Alibaba.

Sells: Electronics, clothing, home equipment, and accessories, personal care services and restaurant bookings
Monthly traffic: 85.1 million

DMM.com Ltd.

DMM.com Ltd. provides a variety of digital content through the online entertainment site dmm.com. It is known for adult content including adult manga and anime. It has other products, too.

Founded: 17th November, 1999 by Keishi Kameyama
Sells: Video games, 3D printing, videos on demand, e-books, and DVD releases, and other digital content. It also has video rental services.
Shipping: Free shipping within Japan. Other countries need to check shipping charges. 
Payment options: Foreign credit cards are not accepted, only bank transfers are accepted.
Monthly traffic: 73.4 million

Zozotown

Zozotown has a wide range of clothing and accessories from over 7,000 brands. Sellers have to pay high royalty fees to use this platform. Yahoo! Japan has acquired a major stake in Zozotown as of 2019.

Founded: 21st May, 1998 by Yusaku Maezawa. The online fashion retail platform started in 2004.
Sells: all fashion-related productsShips: Within Japan as well as internationally
Payment Options: Foreign credit cards not accepted. Amazon Pay accepted.
Shipping: Most sellers do not ship outside Japan. A proxy purchase service can be used if you want to get products delivered outside Japan.
Monthly traffic: 47 million

Wowma

Wowma is a very popular online store in Japan. The site regularly updates their inventory with the newest fashion trends.

Founded: December 2012
Sells: A wide range of shopping options from electronics and home equipment to cosmetics and clothing. It also has digital services such as restaurants and personal care.
Payment options: Supports auPay card
Shipping: Ships within Japan. Some merchants on Wowma are eligible to use Rakuten's logistics to ship outside Japan. 
Monthly traffic: 20.4 million

Qoo10

Qoo10 is a joint venture from eBay. And just like eBay, it has a wide range of products.

Founded: 2010 by Ku Young Bae
Sells: Clothing and accessories, baby products, sports products, electronics, books, entertainment, and also e-tickets.
Payment options: Paypal is accepted
Shipping: Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, Indonesia, Malaysia
Monthly traffic: 11.3 million 

Felissimo Shopping

Felissimo Shopping is a popular website for lifestyle products.

Founded: 8th May, 1965. They started the online shopping website much later.
Sells: Food, clothing, lifestyle products
Shipping: Ships both within and outside Japan
Monthly traffic: 8.98 million

Oh My Glasses

This website provides lifestyle eyeglasses made in Japan at affordable prices. It also has a ‘try and buy’ option where buyers can order five pairs of glasses and select one at the time of delivery.

Founded: 2011 by Ikuma Mutobe and Tadayasu Kiyokawa
Sells: High-quality eyeglasses
Shipping: Both within Japan and outside Japan
Monthly traffic: 489.81K

Monoco

This website curates its products as well as designers from over 40countries. They also claim that most of their products cannot be found in brick and mortar stores in Japan.

Founded: May 2010 by Ari Awan
Sells: Clothing and everyday products
Shipping: Both within and outside Japan
Monthly traffic: 109.84K

Locondo

Locondo was initially backed by Rocket Internet. It now also has backings from VC firms. Most of Locondo’s revenue comes from the sale of footwear.

Founded: 2010
Sells: Shoes, bags, and clothing
Shipping: Both within Japan and outside Japan
Monthly traffic: 4.7 million

Belluna

Belluna is a retail store in Japan that ventured into online shopping.

Founded: The retail operations were started in 1968. 
Sells: Food items, clothing, and other lifestyle goods
Shipping: Ships both within Japan and internationally
Monthly traffic: 13.17 million

Muse & Co.

Muse & Co. boasts of over a thousand brands including Marc Jacobs, Jill Stuart, Michael Kors, and Coach. It also has flash sales with discounts running up to 90%! The target audience for Muse & Co. are young, female professionals

Founded: February 2012 by Hirotake Kubo.
Sells: Bags, footwear, accessories, bath furnishings

Voi.0101

This is an online fashion retail website.

Sells: Clothing, footwear, bags
Shipping: Within Japan and internationally
Monthly traffic: 4.51 million

Top Online Shopping Websites in Japan (C2C)

Yahoo! Auctions Japan

This is an auction site. Interested people can bid on the products and the highest bidder in the given time frame gets the product.

Sells: It allows people to sell their own items such as clothing, electronics, and furniture.
Shipping: Ships only in Japan. But you can avail of a proxy buying service to bid and buy products. The service ships the goods internationally.
Monthly traffic: 135 million

Rakuma

Rakuma was merged with a similar platform called Fril in 2018. Farmers can also sell the farm produce through Rakuma.

Founded: Launched in 2014 under the Rakuten umbrella
Sells: Used items such as clothing, toys, electronics, and home equipment.
Payment options: Foreign credit cards are accepted
Shipping: Within Japan and also some countries and regions outside Japan
Monthly traffic: 14.7 million

Mercari

It is one of the leading platforms for online free markets in Japan. It is also one of the platforms that are majorly used as an app from mobile phones.

Founded: Launched in February, 2013
Sells: Used items. It is a free market platform
Shipping: Ships within Japan. Ships internationally, too, with delivery partners in other countries.
Monthly traffic: 70.3 million

Minnie

Minnie brings together buyers and sellers on one platform. It is a C2C website dealing mostly in handmade products.

Sells: Clothing, bags, handmade notebooks, artwork
Shipping: Ships in Japan. Ships internationally to 125 countries through an independant shipping partner.
Total app downloads: 10.27 million

Creema

Creema is the leading website in selling handmade products from individuals directly to the consumers. It has over 60,000 registered sellers and boasts an inventory of more than 2.4 million items in its catalog.

Founded: 2010 by Kotaro Marubayashi
Sells: Bags, jewelry, accessories, artwork
Ships: In Japan
Monthly traffic: 10.07 million

How to Pay for Online Shopping in Japan?

The most common payment options for online shopping in Japan are:

• Credit Cards
• Bank Transfer (furikomi)

Credit Cards are a better option since fees are lesser and chances of a successful payment are higher. However, if you don’t have a Japanese credit card, you can use the one issued in your country which is accepted in Japan. But the problem with this is that you might be charged conversion fees and fees for overseas transactions. A prepaid Japanese card that is available at Konbini stores is your next best option.

Bank transfer is not recommended because the process can be a little complex. Also, you will be charged transaction fees. Bank transfer can be done at an ATM. However, since the instructions are not in English, the process can be difficult. You can go to a bank with your ATM card and get a teller at the bank to do the transfer for you. If you have an online banking option, a bank transfer can be done through the website.

Conclusion

Online Shopping is quite convenient in Japan due to a robust delivery system. This makes Japan’s e-commerce stronger and holds the potential for further growth. However, you need to remember that a signature is required for almost all doorstep deliveries.

It took a while for international online shopping giants such as Amazon and Yahoo to become popular in Japan compared to western countries. However, now the Japanese have become quite used to the concept. Newer additions to the online shopping platforms are testimony to this. Shopping in Japan was never so easy, and convenient!

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