THE HYUNDAI Opens at Omokado: Why Omotesando Is Now Tokyo's Korean-Culture Hub
On 10 July 2026, THE HYUNDAI (ザ・ヒョンデ) opened its first major Japanese flagship on the 3rd floor of Tokyu Plaza Omotesando "Omokado", making the Omotesando-Harajuku corridor the new centre of Korean retail culture in Tokyo. The store had a soft pre-open on 8 July, a media day on 9 July, and the full grand open on 10 July. It is now running daily 11:00-20:00, and the opening-week TWS photocard campaign runs through 26 July. For Harajuku visitors who have watched Korean fashion and cafés trickle into Cat Street and Omokado for the past two years, this is the moment the trickle became a flagship.
THE HYUNDAI is the department-store and lifestyle-platform brand of South Korea's Hyundai, not the carmaker. The flagship store at Omokado is structured as a platform that helps Korean brands enter Japan, so the line-up rotates Korean names that previously had little or no Tokyo physical presence. The concept space borrows the curation logic of THE HYUNDAI SEOUL's B2 floor, the most-photographed level of the Seoul mothership, and ports it to a single Omokado floor.
Nine Zones: Fashion, IP Goods, and a Korean Coffee Bar
The store is laid out across nine zones spanning fashion, accessories, IP-content goods, and a café. The fashion and accessories line-up on opening is anchored by four Korean brands: COYSEIO038, Stand Oil, ROLAROLA, and Hieta. These are not the ultra-mass K-fashion names most foreign shoppers know; they are the mid-tier high-sensitivity brands that sell well in Seoul's Hongdae and Seongsu-dong and have built followings through Korean pop-culture styling. Japanese brands and select-shop curation sit alongside them to give the floor local context.
The IP-content zone is run by WITHMUU, the Korean K-pop and character goods platform that handles official merch and photocards for a long list of Korean idol groups. This is the zone that draws the longest opening-week queues, because WITHMUU's Japan online shop is popular but the physical stock is harder to reach. The F&B anchor is Camel Coffee, a Korean specialty-coffee brand, which gives the floor the café-with-goods social flow that THE HYUNDAI SEOUL also runs.
The TWS Photocard Campaign and Why Opening Week Matters
The opening-week draw is the TWS photocard campaign. Buy a target product on 8 July or during 10-26 July and receive a limited TWS photocard printed with unreleased visuals of the K-pop group. TWS is the newer-generation K-pop act whose Japanese fandom has grown fastest in 2025-2026, so the cards move quickly and the stock is limited. Details drop on the official THE HYUNDAI Instagram (@the_hyundai) and the Japan-specific account (@the_hyundai_jp).
Photocard campaigns are how Korean department stores open new markets, and they are effective because they convert K-pop fandom into foot traffic that the rest of the store then captures. Expect the TWS line to thin by mid-August; the broader store line-up will keep running. Tax-free shopping is available at Omokado for overseas visitors, and the Tokyu Plaza point system applies.
Why Omokado, and Why This Cements Omotesando's K-Shift
Omokado sits on the Cat Street and Jingumae corner of Omotesando, the same building that already houses Kiddy Land, LOCUL, and The SHEL'TTER TOKYO. The building's positioning has shifted noticeably Korean-ward over 2024-2026, with K-fashion pop-ups and K-café appearances becoming regular. THE HYUNDAI is the first anchor-grade tenant to commit to that direction. It changes Omokado from a building that hosts Korean pop-ups to a building with a Korean flagship.
For Harajuku visitors planning a route, the practical implication is that a Korean-fashion and K-goods stop is now a short walk from Takeshita Street and Meiji-jingumae Station. Pair it with a morning Cat Street vintage walk and an afternoon Omotesando Hills visit; the three sit within a 10-minute walking triangle. The store's 11:00-20:00 hours match the rest of Omokado, so it opens later than the Omotesando Hills pop-ups but stays open through the evening dining window.
Practical Details
- Open date: 10 July 2026 (grand open; pre-open 8 July, media day 9 July)
- Time: 11:00-20:00 daily
- Venue: THE HYUNDAI Omotesando, 3F, Tokyu Plaza Omotesando "Omokado", 4-30-3 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
- Nearest stations: Meiji-jingumae Station (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda/Fukutoshin) Exit 5, 1 min walk; JR Harajuku Station, 4 min walk; Omotesando Station (Ginza/Chiyoda/Hanzomon) Exit A2, 7 min walk
- Admission: Free entry; goods priced per item. Tax-free available for overseas visitors
- Brands on opening: COYSEIO038, Stand Oil, ROLAROLA, Hieta (fashion/goods); WITHMUU (IP/K-pop content); Camel Coffee (F&B)
- Opening campaign: TWS limited photocard with purchase of target products, 8 July and 10-26 July 2026, while stock lasts
- Contact: 03-6822-4304
- Official Instagram (global): @the_hyundai
- Official Instagram (Japan): @the_hyundai_jp
- Venue page: Tokyu Plaza Omokado THE HYUNDAI
- Grand open notice: Omokado information page
