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Japan Niche Perfume Help

post #1 of 12
10/1/12 at 8:33pm
Thread Starter 
It's been a long time since I posted here, I hope all you fumeheads are doing well. I have moved from the UK to Japan but I'm struggling to find niche perfumery. I have found a few stores that stock Creed, Bond 9 and Annick Goutal but I was looking for Amouage, Tom Ford etc... somewhere I could get more choice. Are there any online shops in Japan that people use? Otherwise I live in Osaka and can go shopping here but realistically not in Tokyo so online shopping is preferred.

Thanks for your help
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post #2 of 12
10/2/12 at 12:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aerandir4 View Post

It's been a long time since I posted here, I hope all you fumeheads are doing well. I have moved from the UK to Japan but I'm struggling to find niche perfumery. I have found a few stores that stock Creed, Bond 9 and Annick Goutal but I was looking for Amouage, Tom Ford etc... somewhere I could get more choice. Are there any online shops in Japan that people use? Otherwise I live in Osaka and can go shopping here but realistically not in Tokyo so online shopping is preferred.

Thanks for your help

Hey, good to hear from you!

You can get Shiseido White Rose, you lucky guy. My wife had to bring it back for me from Japan. An excellent scent in an exquisite bottle. You should treat yourself, if you are in the market for expensive niche. Very hard to get outside of Japan.

There is a special niche perfumer in Japan - forgot what his name is - but he is a real eccentric artist. It's *very* hard to get a hold of his stuff. You should look for him, too. Not sure where he is located. I'll see if I can find that article again.

Have you looked on http://www.amazon.co.jp yet? They have good stuff and are easy to use. Kind of routine stuff, but maybe a few keepers in there.

Here's a link that leads into some fragrance....

http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_...3%89%83%93%83X

But yeah - fragrance seems kind of hard to find there, relative to Europe or America.
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post #3 of 12
10/2/12 at 2:36am
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Parfum Santori http://www.parfum-satori.com/en/ . I've yet to try but found their products very interesting. I'm particularly tempted to try Iris Homme and Koke Shimizu.
I also enjoy reading the owner's bloghttp://www.parfum-satori.com/blog/parfum-satori-blog/.
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post #4 of 12
10/2/12 at 2:40am
See if you can develop an incense habit - the quality of stuff available in Kyoto (and I'm sure Osaka) is sublime.
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post #5 of 12
10/2/12 at 3:58am
Comme des Garcons is Japanese and they have several stores in Osaka:

http://www.comme-des-garcons.com/com...ores_jpen.html

I know it's not really niche but there might be some special Kenzo frags floating around too.
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post #6 of 12
10/2/12 at 5:22am
Many of the large department stores around Umeda and Namba carry a very good selection of niche parfumes. You can find good stuff at Hankyu, Daimaru, Sogo and Takashimaya. The best Japanese dept. store for men's niche is Isetan (The one in Shinjuku, Tokyo is incredible! They have Il Profumo, Santa Maria Novella, The Different Company, Serge Lutens, Penhaligon's, Maîte Parfumeur et Gantier, L'Artisan, Le Labo, Lorenzo Villoresi, you name it!) - there is one in Osaka, too, as well as a very good one in nearby Kyoto. They've got several good brands there.
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post #7 of 12
10/2/12 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all your inputs, I'm going to have trip down to these places this week....
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post #8 of 12
10/8/12 at 1:22am
hmm, I was thinking of going to the Isetan in Umeda this week. Maybe I'll bump into you

I usually get my scents at Opaque, especially L'Artisan, but they don't carry the whole line. Isetan has a larger choice.
I think right now, the department stores with the best selection (for niche) are Isetan and Hankyu. Hanshin and Daimaru mainly carry designer fragrances. I have to admit I'm most often in Umeda, so I can't say anything about Takashimaya.
6 years ago or so, they still had Fragonard at Kyoto Isetan, but I didn't see the name Fragonard in the most recent Isetan Beauty mag, so I guess they are gone.
Other than that, I shop online.
And I have to agree with Dane77, the men's Isetan in Shinjuku has a really nice selection! I wonder if they still carry The Art of Shaving, the best Sandalwood fragrance EVER!

Oh, I forgot to add: the Dior boutique in Shinsaibashi has the exclusive Collection fragrances! That's another place that I've been wanting to visit for a while.

Happy shopping
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post #9 of 12
11/7/12 at 10:30pm
Well, my reply is kind of late, but (if you can read Japanese)
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/
is a good option.

Hankyu Mens in Yurakucho, Tokyo carries Tom Ford, so perhaps Hankyu in Kansai might carry it too...
A quick search of Rakuten for Tom Ford brings up
http://search.rakuten.co.jp/search/m...=0&st=A&nitem=

A quick google search for Amouage brought up these right near the top.
http://www.ibeautystore.com/brands/2...ategory_id=288
http://www.pariswave.com/result.php?bid=416
http://www.cosmeto.net/brand/amouage/

But I suppose a lot of this depends on your Japanese proficiency.
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post #10 of 12
11/7/12 at 11:32pm
CDG ...that stuff is weird, and great!
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post #11 of 12
1/13/13 at 3:04pm
I didn't know there were any other Basenoters in the Osaka area besides myself. What a small world.

In general I find all the niche offering outfits in Osaka to be an utter rip off and only good for smelling, as many time they'll increase the price on the full bottles 50%+ more than anywhere else in the world, as I've been told most Japanese people don't trust buying things from English websites, and don't mind getting completely ripped off to avoid the めんどくさい task of browsing English retailers.

That being said, if you just want to smell some stuff, Hankyu, Hanku Men's, and Lucua (or whatever that giant building above the Osaka JR is) have a semi decent selection of niche (though I haven't stumbled across any of Amouge's offerings yet).

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:
Originally Posted by SantalYlang View Post


Oh, I forgot to add: the Dior boutique in Shinsaibashi has the exclusive Collection fragrances!

I had no idea about that. I'll have to check that out when I get back there.
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post #12 of 12
4/23/13 at 7:23pm
I'll be moving to Japan in August & as a hardcore fragrance head, it's good to know there are a few places I can hit up for niche fragrances. I'm specifically looking forward to hitting up the Le Labo shop in Tokyo (Daikanyama) to get my nose on Gaiac 10. But it does make me quite sad and discouraged to hear that fragrances brought into Japans market are marked up significantly D:

Anyways, I'll also have to decide what 10 fragrances I'll be bringing over to Japan with me. Decisions decisions....................
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