Global apparel retailer UNIQLO announces the opening of the UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba Store in the Akihabara area of Tokyo, Japan’s famous electronics district. The store, opening on Friday April 14 in the iconic Yodobashi Akiba Building, will be the largest UNIQLO ever in this celebrated neighborhood. To commemorate this highly-anticipated opening, customers can enjoy a special instore range of novelty and collaborative items with a uniquely Akihabara (“Akiba”) flavor.
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Clothing items and household goods essential for daily life in one convenient location
UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba will occupy the 7th floor of the Yodobashi Akiba Building, with electronics retailer Yodobashi Camera on floors 1-6. The electronics and appliances sold by Yodobashi Camera are essential for everyday life – much like LifeWear from UNIQLO, clothing designed to make everyone’s life better. Items will be presented with coordinated displays in combination with household appliances and electronics to represent typical scenes from daily life.
About Akihabara
Lined with stores selling household appliances, IT equipment, and other consumer electronics, Akihabara – also known to locals as “Akiba” – is a global center for games, anime, idols, and other subcultures, attracting a wide range of people from around the world. In recent years, Akihabara has also become known as a center for business and gourmet dining.
Giveaway of BIG TIROL in an original box design
During the three-day opening period from Friday, April 14th through Sunday, April 16th, customers visiting the store will receive as a gift a box of TIROL chocolate with an original design. Headquartered in Akihabara, TIROL CHOCO Co., Ltd. created and sells TIROL chocolates, a fun snack that continues to put smiles on faces. The company is collaborating with UNIQLO to commemorate the opening of the UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba Store, with the first 3,000 customers each day eligible to receive a special “BIG TIROL” box, featuring an original UNIQLO design and containing 12 pieces of TIROL chocolate.
Giant capsule machine prize lottery
During the three-day opening period from Friday, April 14th through Sunday, April 16th, a giant capsule prize machine will be placed in the open square in front of the Yodobashi Akiba Building entrance. Customers who spend 5,000 yen or more at UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba will be able to spin the machine to participate in a prize draw, with prizes including household appliances from Yodobashi Camera, and items from popular nearby stores.
Exclusive in-store announcements by voice actress Megumi Ogata
From the opening day of UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba, voice announcements for the store will be provided by popular voice actress (and Akihabara native) Megumi Ogata. The famous actress has voiced characters in many legendary anime series, including Neon Genesis Evangelion, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sailor Moon. Additionally, in the week prior to the opening (from Friday, April 7), Ms. Ogata will feature in advertisements for UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba shown on the outdoor screen of the Yodobashi Akiba Building.
Meet Detective Conan!
To commemorate the launch of the UT T-shirt collection featuring the popular manga series Case Closed (also known as Detective Conan), the title character Detective Conan himself will be at UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba to meet fans during the three-day opening period from Friday, April 14th through Sunday, April 16th. The Case Closed UT collection features T-shirts with original designs incorporating scenes and art from the animated TV series, and will be available exclusively from UNIQLO.
Akihabara limited-edition UTme! stamps
UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba will also offer the popular UTme! Service, through which customers can customize T-shirts and tote bags using stamps that feature Akihabara icons. These icons include TAMASHII NATIONS, the umbrella brand for figurines from model maker BANDAI SPIRITS; YKK, known for its zippers, snaps, and other types of fasteners; TIROL CHOCO, the snack company that continues to put smiles on faces; YA-MAN, a leading manufacturer of innovative beauty equipment; the National Museum of Nature and Science, one of Japan’s most foremost museums; and beloved Yodobashi Camera mascot Yodobashi-kun.
* The National Museum of Nature and Science UTme! stamp will also be available at the UNIQLO Asakusa and UNIQLO Okachimachi stores.
Original UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba shopping bag
During the three-day opening period from Friday, April 14th through Sunday, April 16th, customers who purchase items will receive as a gift an original UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba paper shopping bag, which is printed with an encouraging message for a dynamic Akihabara, the concept for the new store.
Overview of UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba
– Name: UNIQLO Yodobashi Akiba
– Opening Date: Friday, April 14, 2023, 9:30 a.m. (scheduled)
– Location: Yodobashi Akiba Building, 7F, 1-1 Kanda-Hanaoka-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
– Sales Floor Area: Approx. 1,422 m2
– Product Lines: MENS, WOMENS, KIDS, BABIES
– Special Website: https://www.uniqlo.com/jp/ja/special-feature/store/akihabara (Japanese language only)
Profile of Megumi Ogata – Voice actress / Singer
Megumi Ogata debuted in 1992 as Kurama in the anime YuYu Hakusho, and has voiced numerous other notable roles, including Shinji Ikari in the Neon Genesis Evangelion series that became a social phenomenon, Hanako in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, and Yuta Okkotsu in Jujutsu Kaisen. In 2022, she won the Best Lead Actress Award at the 16th Seiyu Awards. Megumi Ogata is also active as a singer, and in February 2019 established the voice actor management firm BreatheArts, Inc., where she serves as president. She also opened the industry’s first voice acting institute, Team BareboAt, as a free private school, focusing on the development of new voice acting talent.
About UNIQLO LifeWear
Apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individual’s style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people’s lives.
About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, PLST (Plus T), Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam, J Brand and Helmut Lang. With global sales of approximately 2.3 trillion yen for the 2022 fiscal year ending August 31, 2022 (US $16.6 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2022 rate of $1 = 138.7 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.
UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world’s most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a global brand. Today the company has a total of more than 2,400 stores across the world, including Japan, Asia, Europe and North America. In 2010 UNIQLO established a social business in Bangladesh together with the Grameen Bank and currently there are around 20 Grameen-UNIQLO stores, mostly located in Dhaka.
With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.
For media queries, please contact Fast Retailing Global Corporate PR Hoyu SHA or Owen LINDSAY on Tel. +81 3 6776 7449.
