If you're in Tokyo over New Year's and want to catch the first sales, the date matters: 2027's hatsuuri (初売り, first sales of the year) start on January 2 at some stores and January 3 at others.
Of the 12 Tokyo department stores covered here, three had announced their first-sale times as of November 9, 2026.
Isetan Shinjuku (伊勢丹新宿店) kicks off its first sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 2. Shinjuku Takashimaya (新宿髙島屋) and Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro (東武百貨店 池袋本店) start theirs at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 3.
All three are closed on New Year's Day, and Shinjuku Takashimaya and Tobu stay closed on January 2 as well.
Of the stores that have announced, Isetan is the only one open in Shinjuku on January 2, and it closes at 6 p.m. that day.
For the stores that haven't announced yet, we list what they did for New Year 2026, and we'll update this page as new announcements come in.
For fukubukuro (福袋, lucky bag) lotteries and online pre-orders, see our fukubukuro guide. For convenience stores, banks and shrines over the holidays, see what's open in Japan at New Year.
2027 New Year hours: official notices so far
Store | Dec 31 (Thu) | Jan 1 (Fri, holiday) | Jan 2 (Sat) | Jan 3 (Sun) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Isetan Shinjuku | 10:00–17:00 | Closed | 10:00–18:00 (first sale) | Not listed |
Shinjuku Takashimaya | 10:00–18:00 | Closed | Closed | 9:30–18:30 (first sale) |
Tobu Ikebukuro | Not listed | Closed | Closed | From 9:30 (first sale) |
Nihombashi Takashimaya | Not listed | Closed | Closed | Opening time TBA |
Isetan Shinjuku normally stays open until 8 p.m., but on January 2 it closes at 6 p.m. On December 31, only the basement food floor and the 6th-floor event space open early, at 9 a.m.
On January 3, Shinjuku Takashimaya is open 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., opening and closing an hour earlier than it does from Monday, January 4 (10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.).
On December 31, Shinjuku Takashimaya opens only its basement floor early, at 9:30 a.m.
Takashimaya announced in August that its Nihombashi store (日本橋髙島屋) will be closed on January 1 and 2. It hasn't given a January 3 opening time yet.
Not yet announced for 2027: January 2026 first-sale dates
These stores hadn't announced their 2027 first-sale dates as of November 9. The table shows what they did in January 2026, and 2027 may well be different.
Store | First sale, January 2026 |
|---|---|
Nihombashi Mitsukoshi (日本橋三越本店) | Jan 2 (Fri), 10:00–18:00 |
Keio Department Store Shinjuku (京王百貨店 新宿店) | Jan 2 (Fri) |
Seibu Ikebukuro (西武池袋本店) | Jan 2 (Fri) |
Daimaru Tokyo (大丸東京店), at Tokyo Station | Jan 3 (Sat), from 9:30 (listed as tentative) |
Matsuya Ginza (松屋銀座) | Jan 3 (Sat), from 10:00 |
Ginza Mitsukoshi (銀座三越), Matsuzakaya Ueno (松坂屋上野店) and Odakyu Shinjuku (小田急百貨店 新宿店) aren't listed because we couldn't confirm their January 2026 first-sale dates from official notices.
Timing varies. Isetan Shinjuku and Tobu both announced their 2027 first-sale times on November 4.
For New Year 2026, though, Keio's notice on in-store lucky bags and numbered tickets came out on December 19, 2025, so some stores may not share their lucky-bag plans until close to the end of the year.
Lucky bags on the first-sale day: in store, pre-order, lottery
If you're visiting, the lucky bags you can realistically get are mostly the ones sold on the shop floor on the first-sale day.
So far, Tobu is the only store that has said it will sell lucky bags on the floor in 2027. Its hatsuuri fukubukuro (初売福袋) go on sale across the store from the start of its first sale at 9:30 a.m. on January 3.
Isetan Shinjuku and Shinjuku Takashimaya haven't announced yet whether they'll sell lucky bags on the floor that day.
Tobu also takes pre-orders for bags you pick up in the new year.
In-store and online orders open Thursday, November 12 (online from 10 a.m. Japan time). The deadline is Thursday, December 24, in store, or 8 a.m. Japan time on Friday, December 25, on Tobu's online shop.
Pickup is in store from 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 3, through Wednesday, January 6, though order deadlines and pickup dates vary by item.
If you're ordering from abroad, check that the online shop takes overseas cards and non-Japanese phone numbers and addresses before you plan around it.
In January 2026, Keio Shinjuku sold lucky bags in store from January 2. Its assorted food lucky bag and the food-brand bags in the 7th-floor event hall were sold on January 2 only, and event-hall bag sales ended at 1 p.m.
Keio also said it might hand out numbered tickets (整理券, seiriken) for some lucky bags if the floor got crowded during its January 2026 sale. Keio hasn't announced its 2027 plans.
Lottery bags are a poor fit for a short trip. Takashimaya takes entries in store on January 3 and 4, and for three of its four bags it contacts winners by late January. Tobu calls its lottery winners from January 4 onward.
Of Takashimaya's four in-store lottery bags, two contain goods shipped to the winner.
The other two are for a dumpling-making class in March and a temple-lodging trip, scheduled with the winner for sometime between May and July (all subject to change). Entering on January 3 or 4 won't get you anything to carry home.
Tax-free shopping for visitors (new system from November 2026)
Japan changed its tax-free system on November 1, 2026. You now pay full price, consumption tax included, at the register. The tax is refunded after customs confirms at the airport that you're taking the goods out of Japan.
Mitsukoshi Isetan (三越伊勢丹, which runs Isetan Shinjuku, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi and Ginza Mitsukoshi) and Sogo & Seibu (そごう・西武, Seibu Ikebukuro) refund the tax, minus a fee, to a credit card or mobile payment app in your own name. At Sogo & Seibu, the app can be Alipay or WeChat Pay.
To qualify, your purchases at the same store on the same day must total at least ¥5,000 before tax. Ask on the sales floor whether a lucky bag qualifies before you buy.
Both groups want you at the in-store tax-free counter on the day you buy.
Mitsukoshi Isetan's counters handle this only during store hours, so at Isetan Shinjuku on January 2, get to the counter before the 6 p.m. closing at the latest, and check the counter's last entry time on the day.
Sogo & Seibu requires the original passport with an entry stamp, even if you came in through an automated or facial-recognition gate. Mitsukoshi Isetan asks for the entry stamp or another document showing your date of entry.
At Shinjuku Takashimaya and Tobu, ask at the register where and when to do the paperwork.
To get the refund, you need to leave Japan within 90 days of purchase. At the airport, scan your passport at a tax-free kiosk before you check in your bags.
If even one item on a receipt has been eaten, used up or given away by the time you leave Japan, nothing on that receipt gets refunded. Bought a food lucky bag tax-free? Keep everything from that receipt intact until you've cleared the tax-free check at the airport.
Our guide to Japan's new tax-free refund system walks through the full process.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
