IKEA Japan announced on August 29 that it will close the Harajuku and Shinjuku city stores in early 2026. The company says this is part of a “business optimisation” for the greater Tokyo area, with IKEA Shibuya designated as the core downtown hub.

The Harajuku and Shinjuku locations opened between 2020–2021 as compact, city-centre formats aimed at serving urban shoppers. IKEA describes the three downtown stores as experiments that helped them refine city-store ideas — lessons that fed into the 2024 renewal of the Shibuya site.

If you use these stores now, expect changes over the next months: closure timing is slated for early 2026, and the company’s newsroom advises customers to check store pages for details on final opening hours, services, and any transfer or returns policy.

Local reaction mixes practicality and nostalgia. City stores became popular not just for shopping but also as air-conditioned refuges and casual meeting spots — a small part of Tokyo life that some visitors and residents will miss.