From Japan's center of trade in Yokohama, to Japan's guest house, the Imperial Hotel

ASAHI JEWELRY began selling silks and decorative objects in Yokohama about 130 years ago. Yokohama was then Japan's leading trade hub, lined with shops selling Japanese specialty products to foreigners and the latest world fashions to Japanese customers. A massive earthquake on September 1, 1923, devastated the city and neighboring Tokyo, where it happened that the original Imperial Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, had opened that very morning. Although its immediate environs in Ginza burned to the ground, the Wright Building stayed intact and was lauded worldwide as "the hotel that survived the Great Kanto Earthquake." ASAHI JEWELRY soon moved into its Arcade, Japan's first shopping arcade.

The post-WWII Allied Occupation requisitioned the Imperial Hotel for officers and high-ranking officials, who sought out ASAHI JEWELRY for silver utensils, semi-precious stones, ivory, and decorative objects. Later, as tourists began visiting Japan, ivory and coral objects were popular; and still later, visitors came to ASAHI JEWELRY for the highest-quality Akoya pearls. Sadly, the Wright Building was demolished in 1967 when the Imperial Hotel was rebuilt and expanded. But ASAHI JEWELRY moved into the largest space in the Main Building's B1 Arcade, and was filled with customers speaking the world's languages.

ASAHI JEWELRY thus became beloved by people from around the globe. Thanks to its proximity to Tokyo's leading tourist destinations, Ginza and the Imperial Palace, it continues to attract many visitors from both Japan and abroad.

ASAHI JEWELRY has long been trusted by overseas visitors, including executives, ambassadors, and celebrities. A foreign monarch reportedly once purchased 80 of its necklaces while in Japan! The store is proud to receive customers who span the generations, like the American woman who brought with her a purchase her mother had made 30 years earlier, and a woman from France who still kept her pearl necklace in its original box. Such moments are possible because the store has been in the same location for over 100 years.

The deep customer trust is built on ASAHI JEWELRY's unique designs, advanced craftsmanship, high-quality pearls and gemstones, and affordable prices. "When we design new products, we focus solely on how we can delight our customers," says the president with a smile.

The store's central location means that you can have your necklace lengths adjusted or strings replaced on the spot. "It is thanks to the support of our many overseas customers that we have grown for over 100 years. When customers from decades ago come back to visit us, we are delighted that our pearls have traveled widely and been treasured across the seas," says an ASAHI JEWELRY representative.

In recent years, members of Japan's imperial family and royal families abroad have been wearing pearls. ASAHI JEWELRY invites you, too, to enjoy the natural miracle that is a pearl, as a memento of your stay in Japan.

Natural stone ornaments and pearls, popular in the 1940s

The store in the 1950s. At the time, it was barely big enough for five or six people.