Imagine it if you will, Mount Fuji arching gracefully in the distance, her snow-capped splendour a potent symbol of Japan, as you slam your plastic on the counter at Prada for a pair of shoes costing half their original retail price.
At Gotemba Premium Outlet Mall (pictured) you get to sightsee and shop at the same time, and enjoy a guilt-free retail experience that takes in a modicum of culture in a land famed for its designer consumerism.
About an hour's drive from Tokyo, midway between Mount Fuji and the Hakone resort area, is a 390,000-square-foot shopping Shangri-La, the largest outlet mall in Japan. Housing 163 shops and restaurants in a twee 'village' in Fuji's majestic shadow, Gotemba Premium Outlet Mall, which opened in July 2000, received six million visitors in its first year - an astonishing figure given that Mount Fuji and its environs, considered Japan's top tourist spot, attract an annual 6.5 million. Cars and buses full of shoppers stream into the mall daily from 10am to 7pm, knowing they will go home with a bargain. The mall specialises in discounted merchandise, be it a couple of seasons old or a second or leftover from a recent sale. Merchandise is marked down at every store.
The secret of the mall's appeal is the combination of international and domestic brands. Spree-ers who love a label will surely be impressed by the A to Z of designers' names and the accessibility of all stores. The mall, laid out in a long street style, all outdoors with only one or two turnings off, is the antithesis of regular Japanese shopping areas, which comprise a jumbled maze of back alleys and hidden second-floor stores that only those in the know can find.
Experienced shoppers familiar with that surge of adrenalin when they find a good deal will be gasping for air moments after arriving and spotting Versace, Royal Copenhagen and Kenzo almost giving their stock away: in some stores you can expect as much as 90 per cent off original prices, with a third off being the average discount.
La Perla, Bottega Veneta, Coach, Cole Haan and Escada are just a few of the other designer stores; mid-market brands such as Gap, Diesel, Nike and Timberland also make their presence felt. Gap, which features a large children's wear section, occupies one of the largest stores at the mall. Local brands, including Abahouse, Muji, L'equipe Yoshie Inaba, Natural Beauty Basic and Body Dressing please the Japanophiles, while shoe fans are thrilled by Hogan, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo and Bally.