In Japan, there is a wide variety of children's clothing brands, ranging from luxury brands to more affordable options. Many of these brands have storefronts in large shopping malls and department stores, and they also sell through e-commerce sites, often holding sales, making their products easy to purchase. Some brands are committed to child-friendly design, such as placing tags on the outside so they don’t irritate the skin, or attaching labels that clearly indicate the front and back of pants to make dressing easier for children. In this article, we’ve carefully selected 15 of the most popular children's clothing brands in Japan to introduce to you.
Characteristics of Japanese Children's Clothing Brands
High Quality: Japanese Fabric and Excellent Craftsmanship
Among children's clothing brands, there are some that are committed to quality excellence, such as using Japanese-made fabrics or adhering to a motto of domestic production for sewing and inspection processes. Furthermore, Japanese sewing factories are known for having highly skilled craftspeople, and the dexterity and diligence of Japanese workers are highly regarded both domestically and internationally.
Design Variety: From Simple and Natural to Pop and Casual Styles
When it comes to design, Japanese children’s clothing brands offer a wide range of options. Some brands focus on a simple and natural aesthetic, avoiding character prints and instead using plain fabrics as their base. Others take a more colorful, playful approach, incorporating bright colors and illustrated patterns to create pop and casual styles. This broad range of design choices is one of the key features of Japanese kids’ fashion.
Safety: Many Brands Use Organic Cotton and Additive-Free Materials
Some brands are particular about using organic cotton, which is grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or herbicides, to avoid irritating children’s sensitive skin. Others use additive-free natural materials such as hemp and silk. Additionally, since children tend to sweat easily, many brands emphasize functionality by offering items with excellent moisture absorption and breathability.
Price Range: From Affordable to Luxury Brands
There is a wide price range of children’s clothing brands in Japan, from affordable brands where you can buy an item for under 1,000 yen to luxury brands known for their premium quality and higher prices.
Below, we’ll introduce selected kids’ clothing brands categorized by genre.
Popular Japanese Children's Clothing Brands: Categorized by Purpose and Price
High-Quality & Luxury Children's Clothing Brands (Suitable for Gifts and Formal Occasions)
Familiar (ファミリア) - Established Luxury Brand, Purveyor to the Imperial Household
This is a Kobe-originated brand known for its theme "Better products for children," selling items with elegant designs using high-quality materials, and is also recognized as a purveyor to the Imperial Household. The eye-catcher is a white bear. The range of items is wide, from newborn to children's clothing, and baby accessories are also plentiful.
Every year, they develop new collections based on seasonal themes, and for the Spring/Summer 2025 collection, the theme is "What's Next?". New styles and accessory items that make you wonder "What's coming next?" with excitement are being introduced.
- Familiar Official Website: https://familiar.co.jp/
- Familiar Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/familiar_official/
Get "Familiar" products as a thank-you gift by making a hometown tax donation to Kobe City 👉 Click here
For other hometown tax donation options that offer "Familiar" products as thank-you gifts👉Click here
Miki House (ミキハウス) – High Quality and Durability, with a Formal Line Available
Miki House is a brand founded on the principle of “putting children first in everything we make.” It primarily targets newborns to around age six, with a strong focus on “Made in Japan” quality, especially in its babywear, which uses high-grade natural cotton. The company also offers several original sub-brands, such as Miki House Double B, a casual line known for its denim-centered items and signature black bear designs, and Hot Biscuits, which features pop-style, colorful clothing.
A new store is set to open on Friday, December 20, 2024, on the 3rd floor of the Marketplace in Haneda Airport Terminal 1. Be sure to check out exclusive airport items, such as travel-ready hats, clothing, and even samue (traditional Japanese loungewear).
- Miki House Official Website: https://www.mikihouse.co.jp/
- Miki House Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikihouse.official/
Purchase "Miki House" products on Yahoo! Shopping👉 Click here
Stylish & Trendy Children's Clothing Brands
après les cours (アプレレクール) – Natural and Scandinavian-Inspired Style
Based on the concept of “a favorite piece that colors precious memories,” après les cours offers a wide range of natural-style clothing featuring pastel colors, floral patterns, and other gentle motifs. Their lineup includes not only everyday wear but also rain gear such as umbrellas, raincoats, and boots, as well as swimwear, formal shirts, and trousers. The brand is widely available as a tenant in large shopping centers and department stores across Japan. They also frequently collaborate with toy and confectionery manufacturers to create unique, limited-edition items.
- après les cours Official Website: https://www.fo-kids.co.jp/shop/apres/
- après les cours Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apres__official/
Purchase "après les cours" products on Yahoo! Shopping👉 Click here
petit main (プティマイン) – Cute designs with girly & natural style
A girls & boys brand that adds childlike charm to trend fashion, enjoyable at daily prices. They have many stores in large shopping centers and department stores. Their popularity is evident from winning the "Mothers Selection Grand Prize" organized by the Japan Mothers Association three times in 2021, 2023, and 2024, as determined by votes from mothers across Japan.
Series popular for kindergarten and school wear such as sweatshirts for 990 yen (tax excluded), long-sleeved T-shirts and leggings for 899 yen (tax excluded) are well-received. New initiatives are also attracting attention, such as selling sleeping bags supervised by sleep consultants and developing the "petit main and D" series that allows for coordinated outfits with dads.
- Petit Main Official Website: https://petitmain.jp/
- Petit Main Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petitmain_official/
Purchase "petit main" products on Yahoo! Shopping 👉 Click Here
branshes(ブランシェス) – A kids’ fashion brand focused on original fabrics and trend-conscious design, texture, and materials
With the concept "Hug Little Senses - Clothes that walk with memories," they offer a wide range of items from everyday wear to outing clothes, including matching items and unisex lines that can be enjoyed in a gender-neutral way. It's also a pleasant point that there are many items that prioritize practicality, such as easy-to-move skirt pants and work pants, and outerwear that focuses on lightness.
In the "2025 Spring/Summer Collection" that started selling from Monday, January 13, 2025, popular stylist Aya Kaneko produces "b.+A branshes by AYA KANEKO". They are developing items that are easy to coordinate and look stylish in monotone, and gender-neutral items that can be worn by both boys and girls.
- branshes Official website: https://www.branshes.jp/
- branshes Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/branshes/
Purchase "branshes" products on Yahoo! Shopping 👉 Click here
Affordable and Easy-to-Buy Budget Brands
UNIQLO Kids (ユニクロ) - Best cost performance, also excellent functionality such as HEATTECH◎
The globally known high-quality, low-price casual brand "UNIQLO" also offers a wide range of baby & kids items. They offer highly functional items such as the high-performance winter inner "HEATTECH" and "AIRism" which is as light as air and makes you forget you're wearing it.
In December 2024, as part of UNIQLO's graphic T-shirt brand "UT", they sold a collaboration collection with the anime series "SpongeBob SquarePants". Collaboration items with popular anime characters and companies are also topics of conversation.
- UNIQLO Official Website: https://www.uniqlo.com/jp/ja/
- UNIQLO Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniqlo_jp/
GU - UNIQLO's sister brand. More trendy designs than UNIQLO
A fast fashion brand with the brand message "YOUR FREEDOM Freedom to make yourself new." They sell a wide range of products from trendy items to simple basic items at affordable prices, handling from baby to kids to teens, and also offer a rich selection of loungewear and underwear.
In April 2025, they will sell items with designs featuring pixel art Pokémon based on the themes of "Encounter with Pokémon" and "Adventure". It's also attractive that items are available for both men and kids, allowing for coordinated outfits with family and friends.
- GU Official Website: https://www.gu-global.com/jp/ja/
- GU Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gu_global/
Nishimatsuya（西松屋） – Ultra-low prices, perfect for daycare clothes. Also offers items for older elementary schoolers
They handle a wide range of items necessary for child-rearing, from maternity, newborn, baby to elementary school size clothing, childcare products, and toys. They are working on creating stores that are easily accessible from both urban and suburban areas, where satisfactory quality products can be obtained cheaply and conveniently, boasting the No.1 number of domestic stores (1,145 stores as of February 2025).
Baby short-sleeve T-shirts from 394 yen (tax excluded) are popular among Japanese moms and dads at affordable prices. Size range is from 50 cm to 160 cm. It's also attractive that there are seasonal changes, with new products arriving each time you visit.
- Nishimatsuya Official Website: https://www.24028.jp/
- Nishimatsuya Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/24028.jp/
- Nishimatsuya Official Online Shop URL: https://www.24028-net.jp/ *Overseas shipping not available
Street Style and Sporty Children's Clothing Brands
BREEZ (ブリーズ) - Focused on functionality and stylish American casual
A children's clothing brand with about 140 stores nationwide under the theme of "Providing fashion that gives surprise and excitement to children around the world and makes families smile". Based on the concept of "Stylish children's clothes filled with care and playfulness", they offer many products that value aligning with mothers' perspectives and feelings.
They have a rich selection of colorful hues and unisex designs.
- BREEZ Official Website: https://www.fo-kids.co.jp/brand/breeze/
- BREEZ Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breeze__official/
Purchase "BREEZ" products on Yahoo! Shopping 👉 Click here
BAPE KIDS® HARAJUKU - For parents who like street fashion
As a brand originating from the street, it proposes street style for children. They offer items based on illustrations that blend pop color schemes and street taste. Centered on the brand's representative mascot character "BABY MILO®", 26 animal characters starting with initials from A to Z adorn the brand. A popular item is "MILO ALL SAFARI". It's recommended for the educational period when children start learning animal names, with pop animals like elephants and koalas densely designed. T-shirts from 9,000 yen (tax excluded), pants from 15,000 yen (tax excluded). The official website only ships within Japan.
- BAPE KIDS® HARAJUKU Official Website:https://jp.bape.com/collections/all?type=product&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&filter.v.availability=1&filter.p.m.bape_data.type=%E3%82%AD%E3%83%83%E3%82%BA * Overseas shipping is not possible
- BAPE KIDS® HARAJUKU Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bapekids_japan/
Simple Style Children's Clothing Brands Perfect for Everyday Wear
MUJI – Gentle organic cotton, with options for family matching and embroidery customization
"MUJI" means "good products without a mark". Known for simple designs and good quality, for children's clothing, they handle baby/newborn, kids, innerwear/underwear/pajamas, socks/tights, etc. They have made considerations from a child's perspective, such as printing washing instructions instead of using tags, and designing armholes without seams.
From Monday, February 10, 2025, they will release the "Sarato Cotton" series of functional innerwear for spring and summer. "Sarato Cotton" innerwear is a functional innerwear series that uses cotton with enhanced moisture absorption and release function, realizing good breathability and less stuffiness.
- MUJI Official Website: https://www.muji.com/jp/ja/store?srsltid=AfmBOoq_WrC--ipk051RIuMwk8WI852mCZsgNdcvqyeVOF4zTisdRYHJ
- MUJI Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muji_global/
pairmanon (ペアマノン) – Online-only unisex brand, perfect for matching outfits with mom
With the concept of “Fashion kids that even adults want to wear,” pairmanon offers affordable items for everyday style. The brand features tops, bottoms, outerwear, dresses, and seasonal items like yukata, as well as matching sets and family-coordinated outfits.
Centered on items priced at 1,000 yen or less per piece, they combine design and affordability. Despite being sold only through online shopping, their popularity has exploded through word-of-mouth on social media.
- pairmanon Official Website: https://www.dot-st.com/pairmanon/
- pairmanon Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pairmanon/
Purchase "pairmanon" products on Yahoo! Shopping 👉 Click here
Where to Buy Japanese Children’s Clothing
Online Shopping
For online shopping, there's Yahoo! Shopping, Rakuten Market, ZOZOTOWN, etc. Their characteristics are as follows. Or you can purchase from each brand's official online shopping site. None of them have multilingual sites.
Yahoo! Shopping
In the fashion category of one of Japan’s major comprehensive shopping mall, there is a section for Baby, Kids & Maternity, covering almost all of the major children's clothing brands. You can get amazing deals during large-scale sales such as the “Super PayPay Festival.”
Rakuten Market
Japan's largest internet shopping site. In the fashion category "Rakuten Fashion", there are genres for WOMEN, MEN, KIDS, with excellent usability due to detailed categories for "searching" such as searching by sale, by brand, by ranking, by category... Like Yahoo! Shopping, it covers almost all major children's clothing brands. During the "Rakuten Super SALE", there are plenty of bargain campaigns such as time sales and discount coupons.
ZOZOTOWN
A major fashion-specific online mall. Offers detailed sizing based on their own measurement method. Flat-rate shipping is ¥330, with optional same-day delivery for ¥350. Deferred payment up to ¥100,000 is available (with fees and screening).
In-Store Shopping
Most of the brands introduced above are available in department stores or large shopping malls as tenants, not just in standalone stores. Shopping in person allows you to try on items and get assistance from staff, though few stores offer multilingual support.
Overseas Shopping Options
Services like “Tenso.com” act as forwarding agents to ship purchases from Japanese websites abroad. They offer package consolidation and a choice of shipping methods like EMS, SAL, and sea freight.
There's also "Mercari Cross-border Sales (Official Cross-border Sales Service)", a service where cross-border EC operators officially partnered with Mercari receive requests from overseas residents, purchase products from Mercari sellers, and sell and ship them overseas.
Choose Japanese Children’s Clothing According to Purpose
Choose brands according to purpose and use, such as "Familiar" for gifts and formal occasions, "UNIQLO", "GU", "Nishimatsuya" for everyday wear, "BAPE KIDS® HARAJUKU" when you want to choose unique and eye-catching items. This will expand your fashion range!
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