Wako Department Store

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The Wako department store occupies a busy corner in Ginza

Wako (和光) is considered by some to be the most exclusive department store in Japan, located at the heart of the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. This store is famous for its watches, jewelery, porcelain, dishware, and handbags, as well as foreign luxury goods. There is also an art gallery, called Wako Hall, on the sixth floor. Wako was founded in 1881 by Kintarou Hattori as the Hattori Watch and Jeweler (now Seiko Corporation) in Ginza. In 1947, the retail division split off as Wako Co., Ltd.

From 1894 to 1923, the Hattori Clock Tower stood on the site where the Wako Department Store occupies today. The Hattori Clock Tower was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1, 1923 and was rebuilt as the Wako Department Store nine years later. In homage to its predecessor, the Wako Department Store was also fitted with a clock.

Its 1932 neo-Rennaisance-style building, designed by Jin Watanabe, with its curved granite façade, is the central landmark for the district and one of the few buildings in the area left standing after World War II. The building functioned as the Tokyo PX store during the American Occupation of Japan, from 1945 to 1952. The clock tower plays the famous Westminster Chimes.