Daimaru, Tokyo

What to buy here: Noren Curtains.

The vast variety of vibrantly colored Noren curtains, a Japan cloth room divider, can be found throughout the city and countryside of Japan. In fact, the origin of the Japanese noren goes back a long way to the Jomon Era, around 12,000 to 300 B.C. At the time, the sole purpose of the norens was to cover the houses with it in an effort to protect them from the negative forces of nature and the environment (i.e weather damage, sun exposure, etc). However, today, the Japanese use noren for decorative and creative natures. The most popular designs include the famous Mt. Fuji Wave painting and calligraphy designs. For tourists, this product becomes easy to travel with as its versatile designs allows for easy folding. Department stores such as Daimaru, Matsuzakaya, Tobu, and Tokyu department stores sell Norens ranging from $50 to $200 U.S. dollars. Japanese department stores are scattered about the city of Tokyo and can be found on Ginza Dori outside of the Ginza train station.