An urban twist on the familiar Ikea warehouse, now in the heart of Tokyo.

As much as we love spending a day at Ikea, chowing down on meatballs and browsing through their homewares and flatpack furniture, if there’s one thing we would change about the Swedish-born retail chain in Japan, it’d be their far-flung suburban locations.

Now, though, it appears the Ikea gods have listened and delivered the answer to our prayers by opening their newest store smack-bang in the middle of Tokyo, directly opposite Harajuku Station.

▼ It’s about a ten-second walk from the station.

We headed down to the store on the official opening day of 8 June, and when we arrived there was a lineup of people outside waiting to get in.

With people still taking precautions against coronavirus, the number of customers queuing was far less than it would’ve been under normal circumstances.

Staff applauded to welcome customers to the store as the doors opened, and as we made our way up through the four-floor complex, it became clear that the company’s “first-ever” urban store was filled with nifty home ideas for small spaces and urban living.

One of the biggest draw cards is the fact that this location is home to the world’s first Ikea convenience store, where customers can purchase a wide range of items, including palm-sized eco bags, plant-based cup ramen, and organic drinks.

▼ It’s been dubbed “Sweden Convenience Store“.

There’s also a coffee stand inside the convenience store, where you can purchase items like take-out coffee, cinnamon rolls, and plant-based ice cream.

▼ These cinnamon rolls are a bargain at 100 yen (US$0.93) each.

▼ The Ikea Latte (320-430 yen) and Plant-based Sundae (350 yen) are only available at Ikea Harajuku.

Another highlight is the Sweden Cafe, which boasts exclusive menu items unavailable at any other Ikea store in Japan.

Here you can try four types of low-alcohol craft beer (290-450 yen) imported from popular Swedish brewery “Omnipollo“.

The star of the menu, however, is the Tunnbröd, a Swedish flatbread, which comes with a wide variety of fillings, retailing for 200-500 yen.

▼ Harajuku is the only Ikea location in the world to sell Tunnbröd.

Every floor of the new Ikea at Harajuku is filled with great ideas to satisfy your hunger for Swedish fare and design. Now that we don’t have to travel so far to satiate our Ikea cravings, we’ve got our fingers crossed for the ever-popular fukubukuro lucky bags to appear here on New Year’s Day next year!

Images © SoraNews24, Ikea Japan Press Release  
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