Japan’s prime retail districts posted record rents in the first quarter as fashion brands and luxury retailers competed aggressively for scarce storefront space, underscoring the resilience of the country’s high-street shopping market despite global economic uncertainty.
Average rents reached all-time highs in five of the 10 major retail areas tracked by CBRE — Ginza, Omotesando/Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinsaibashi and Kyoto — while vacancy rates in several top districts hovered near zero, according to CBRE’s Q1 2026 Japan Retail MarketView report led by Chinatsu Hani, Senior Director and Head of Research at CBRE Japan, and Asuka Honda, Director and Retail Team Leader.
Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district remained the country’s most expensive retail corridor, with average rents climbing 1.4% from the previous quarter to a record ¥296,000 ($2,050) per tsubo, or roughly 3.3 square meters. Vacancy in Ginza’s prime area held at 0.0% for a fifth consecutive quarter as apparel, luxury, footwear and resale retailers competed for limited available space.
“Situations where multiple retailers compete for a single available unit are becoming increasingly common,” CBRE said in the report, adding that retailers with strong existing store sales were driving relocations and new openings.
Fashion brands were the dominant force in the quarter, accounting for 45% of all newly leased retail floor space in prime shopping streets nationwide. Several large-scale lease deals were signed in Ginza, Omotesando/Harajuku, Shinsaibashi and Sakae.
The surge comes even as Japan’s retail sector faces headwinds from weaker tourism demand tied to geopolitical tensions and a Chinese government advisory issued late last year discouraging travel to Japan. Still, Hani noted in the report that retailer appetite remained strong and few companies had altered expansion strategies despite broader uncertainty.
In Omotesando and Harajuku, average rents rose to a record ¥252,000 per tsubo, marking a fifth straight quarterly high, while vacancy dropped to just 0.2%. Apparel retailers demonstrated growing willingness to pay premium rents for prime locations near Jingumae Crossing, according to Honda.
Shibuya also saw record pricing, with rents increasing 1.1% to ¥182,000 per tsubo and vacancy remaining at zero. Rising rents along Shibuya Center-gai reflected stronger retailer demand and higher acceptable rent thresholds, CBRE said.
Outside Tokyo, Osaka’s Shinsaibashi district recorded a new peak rent of ¥275,000 per tsubo as luxury, sporting goods and apparel retailers sought space ahead of the opening of the QUARTZ SHINSAIBASHI retail complex later this year. Kyoto rents jumped 3.1% to a record ¥134,500 per tsubo, fueled by demand near the Fujii Daimaru shopping area.
Not every market strengthened. Nagoya’s Sakae district saw vacancy rise sharply to 3.5% after a large space became available on Minami Otsu-dori, pushing rents down 1.4% quarter-on-quarter.
Still, Honda said Japan’s overall retail leasing market remains undersupplied, with landlords increasingly able to command higher rents not only in premier shopping streets but also in secondary districts offering smaller, lower-cost spaces.
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