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Seattle's primarily Asian neighborhood is meant for delicious exploring. Sample tea at Seattle Best Tea, leaf through books at Kinokuniya, check out Asian antiques, and stop for dim sum along the way. Megamarket Uwajimaya is the major shopping attraction of the International District, but the rest of the neighborhood is packed with shops worth visiting, too. Wander the neighborhood for bubble tea (milky tea with tapioca pearls), Chinese pastries, jade and gold jewelry, Asian produce, and Eastern herbs and tinctures. Little souvenir shops, dusty and deep, sell plants, Japanese kites, Vietnamese bowls, Chinese slippers, Korean art, and tea or dish sets. The International District is a very short walk from Pioneer Square. Walk east on Jackson Street from Pioneer Square (passing Amtrak's King Street Station), and you're well on your way.
Best shopping: South Jackson Street to South Lane Street, between 5th and 8th Avenues South.
Housed in what used to be a 75-year-old five-and-dime store, this distinctive gallery has fine ceramics, textiles, and exquisite crafts by Japanese and Northwest artists; you can also see artifacts from the old store, a part of the original Nihonmachi (Japantown). Items range from something as simple as incense from Kyoto to an enormous painted antique chest. Clothes, books, and gift options abound, all with ties to Japan or the local Japanese community.
Locally designed dresses, hand-made ceramics featuring East Asian ingredients, and cute children's toys from Hawaii somehow all make sense in this small boutique. The owners, both named Kaitlin and from Hawaii, curate an amazing selection of clothes, crafts, jewelry, and home goods, mostly produced in Seattle or by Asian American makers. Their eye for everything classy and cute, from boba tea-shaped cat toys to elegant Czech glass earrings makes shopping fun, and they stock European raincoats and cozy hoodies for all genders, in case you forgot to bring the right outfit for the weather.
Japanophiles, get thee to this Tokyo-based chain for a huge collection of books, magazines, office supplies, collectibles, clothes, and gifts. Their manga selection is particularly impressive—nearly every title you could want is represented, and they'll happily order anything you don't find in the store.
The experience here is as enriching as the tea itself. Helpful staff will walk you through the selection of oolong, pouchong, jasmine, and green teas. All the teas are available to try, and you can pick up a cute teapot while you're at it. They also offer bubble tea and ice cream (in tea flavors, of course).
