The Isetan Shinjuku store's "Summer Clearance Sale" kicks off today, the 17th, at 10:30 AM.
Every year, before the store opens on the first day of the sale, a long line forms around the entire building. Which entrance and route should you use to maximize your chances of snagging your desired items? Here, we'll introduce the entrances available in the main building and recommended routes to each department.
■ First, check the entrances. There are five entrances on the first floor that will allow entry at opening time!
Because the first day, the 17th, is expected to be very busy, only a limited number of entrances on the first floor will be available at opening time. These are the main entrance of the main building, parking lot side entrance 1, parking lot side entrance 2, Meiji Dori side entrance 2, and Meiji Dori side entrance 3.
Line up at the entrance that will give you the smoothest access to the department you want to visit as soon as the store opens. Next, we'll introduce which entrance and route will most efficiently get you to each popular department on each floor.
■ There are three ways to get to the handbag department on the first floor: the main entrance, parking lot side entrance 2, and Meiji Dori side entrance 2. Meiji Dori side entrance 2 is the closest.
If you're looking to buy a bag, it's best to line up at one of these three entrances, which offer a nearly direct line to the handbag department. We used a stopwatch to measure how many seconds it took to walk from each entrance to the end of the central main street. The results were 50 seconds from the main entrance, 45 seconds from parking lot side entrance 2, and 40 seconds from Meiji Dori side entrance 2. Furthermore, since the handbag department itself faces Meiji Dori side entrance 2, Meiji Dori side entrance 2 is still the closest, so it's safe to say. However, entering through the main entrance may allow you to walk along the wider main street, making it easier to reach the store.
■ To get to the shoe department on the second floor, take the stairs from Entrance 2 on the parking lot side for the brand zone and Entrance 3 on the Meiji-dori side for the casual zone.
If you're looking to buy shoes, different entrances are available depending on whether you're looking for high-end or casual shoes. To get to the brand zone, enter from Entrance 2 on the parking lot side, go up the stairs behind Chanel on the first floor, then turn left twice. To get to the casual zone, enter from Entrance 3 on the Meiji-dori side and go up the stairs just inside.
■ To get to TOKYO Closet, the women's clothing store on the second floor, take the escalator from the front entrance.
If you want to go to TOKYO Closet, which carries brands like AURA ILA, KAON, and Beautiful People, the best way is from the front entrance. After entering, turn right at the intersection by the accessories department and you'll find the escalator. Take that up to the second floor. From there, TOKYO Closet is located to the rear on the left. Incidentally, the Isetan Girl sales floor is located to the rear on the right.
■ To get to Re-Style, the women's clothing store on the 3rd floor, take the escalator from the main entrance.
As with TOKYO Closet, it's best to enter through the main entrance and take the escalator. Re-Style is located immediately to the right once you reach the 3rd floor.
■ To get to International Creators, the women's clothing store on the 3rd floor, take the stairs from Entrance 1 on the parking lot side.
If you want to get to International Creators, enter through Entrance 1 on the parking lot side, turn right, then left, and you'll find the stairs. From there, go up to the 3rd floor and you'll find the sales floor immediately on your right. By the way, the first thing you'll arrive at on this route is the Comme des Garçons section.
■ To get to the popular Anna Sui and Tory Burch, take the elevator from Entrance 2 on the Meiji Dori side to the 6th floor.
Please note that Anna Sui and Tory Burch do not have sales in their permanent stores. They are available in the event space on the 6th floor. To get to the 6th floor, it's best to use the elevator located immediately to the left after entering Entrance 2 on the Meiji Dori side. There are three types of elevators that stop on the 6th floor: one that stops at every floor, one that stops at even-numbered floors (B1, 1, 2, 4, 6, and R), and an express that stops at B1, 1, 6, and 7. From the 1st to the 6th floor, it takes 1 minute 7 seconds if you go to the even-numbered floors, and 30 seconds for the express. In other experiments, it took 2 minutes 30 seconds to use the stairs from the 1st to the 6th floor, and 2 minutes 35 seconds if you use the escalator, so please use this as reference.
By the way, here are some points to keep in mind when walking around the building:
- Due to expected congestion, all escalators will only operate in the upward direction for the first 15 minutes after opening.
- It normally takes about 25 seconds to go up one floor by escalator, or about 15 seconds to walk.
- It takes about 30 seconds to go up one floor by stairs.
- Sale experts tend to use the stairs immediately after opening (it's unclear whether this is actually faster).
- The level of congestion at each entrance is the same. They also open at the same time.
In addition, there have been reported cases where people thought they were waiting in line for the main building but mistakenly ended up in the men's building line, so please double-check which line you're in before lining up. There is also a possibility that opening times will be brought forward by about 15 minutes.
- Next time, we'll be reporting on how to conquer Laforet Harajuku's bargain sales!
