IKEA Harajuku, which opened on Monday, June 8th, is an urban store located within the WITH HARAJUKU multi-purpose shopping facility, which also includes the UNIQLO Harajuku store. The total IKEA area is about 2500 square meters spanning two floors and showcasing about 1000 pieces of furniture. You can either request delivery for your shopping, or around 900 of the items can also be taken home there and then.

The main feature of the sales floor is centered around the idea of catering to the four “Living Necessities”: “Sleep”, “Arrangement”, “Relaxation/Sense of Home” and “Cooking”. Seeing as Tokyo is well-known for its lack of space, the room layouts have been developed especially with space-saving in mind.

Another feature of this Tokyo store is that the room layouts reflect the common lifestyles of Tokyoites, with rooms for single people and the budget-conscious.

In IKEA’s new Harajuku store, they are trying out something fun – a Swedish Convenience Store! They have a variety of vegan and eco-friendly items, such as their eco bags, their ISTAD freezer bags made of plant-based materials, and even plant-based ramen. Along with that, they’re also setting up a coffee stand in the convenience store, where you can take out coffee, cinnamon rolls, plant-based soft ice cream and sundaes!

The "TUNNBROD" sold at the "Swedish Cafe" on the 2nd floor is a new dish to IKEA, with fun fillings added to the traditional Swedish flatbread. Harajuku is known for its Japanese folded crepes, so this looks like somewhat of a fusion of Harajuku and Swedish culture!

With the opening of the new IKEA Harajuku, IKEA has been preparing with anti-coronavirus measures. In order to alleviate congestion in the store, customers will be issued with a numbered admission ticket, and entry will be restricted depending on the situation and number of customers inside the store.

See-through vinyl curtains are installed at areas such as cash registers that are customer-facing. Employees wear masks and face shields as needed to serve customers.

In addition, there are spray bottles for hand sanitizers at multiple locations in the store, and there is plenty of seating in the eating and drinking area.

We encourage visitors to refrain from “lining up in front of the store before opening” and “long stays”. It is also encouraged to avoid peak hours, to wear a mask, and to maintain a distance of about 2 meters from other customers.

A clothing chain, Forever 21, withdrew its sales from Japan last year, so IKEA is due to take its place in the winter of 2020. The planned area is just a few minutes’ walk from the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing, opposite Seibu Shibuya and Shibuya Loft. IKEA Shibuya will span from the first floor to the seventh floor of the Takagi Building, with a total area of about 4,800 square meters – almost twice the size of IKEA Harajuku.

In February 2020, IKEA Japan also opened its first planning space for business owners, IKEA for Business, in Shibuya. IKEA Harajuku, which opened on June 8th, and the future IKEA Shibuya will offer solutions that meet the needs of urban living through innovative designs.

Translated by: Cassandra Lord