Paris-based author and mad-blog.com contributor Mark Tungate falls for the perfect shopping mall on a trip to Tokyo.

It’s not every day that you fall in love with a shopping mall. They are functional places at best – full of distractions, but often soulless. That’s why your correspondent was surprised to discover that he’d spent the best part of a day at the Tokyo Midtown shopping complex.

Opened a couple of years ago, the mall has evolved into a combination of meeting place, lifestyle hub and, of course, upmarket shopping emporium. Built in soft and alluring wood tones, with screens and bamboo plants that refer to traditional Japanese architecture, Midtown is anything but traditional. The selection of stores is discreetly luxurious, from Chloé to the Puma Black store (dig those Alexander McQueen sneakers). I also loved the scrumptious stationery of Itoya Topdrawer. In the food hall there is something for every pocket, from takeaway noodles to the fusion cooking at Hal Yamashita’s suave lunch spot.

But none of these are what makes Midtown so special. It bills itself as a “lifestyle museum”, because alongside shopping it embraces art, culture and savoir faire. In the food section, you can take a cooking class. On the interior design floor, you can visit the Suntory Art Gallery or the Design Hub. Artworks by Ken Yasuda dot the environment. And you can also drop in to the 21:21 Design Sight, founded by the fashion designer Issey Miyake and created by architect Tadao Ando. The current exhibition, Bones, reveals the “skeletons” of everyday objects, as if archaeologists had unearthed, for example, the frame of a car.

In Paris, where this reporter is based, we think we know a thing or two about luxury. But the Japanese have discovered the educational, inspiring, guilt-free luxury of the future.

Tokyo Midtown is located near Roppongi Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. Click for more information: Tokyo Midtown.

TBWA\EUROPE has put together a worldwide overview on Disruptions in retail, to learn more about the recent publication please email Caroline McGinn.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please email Mark Tungate.