Along with Osaka, Tokyo received one of Louis Vuitton’s first stores in Japan.
Louis Vuitton entered the Japanese market in 1978 by opening stores in Tokyo and Osaka. The two-city launch established a presence in Japan’s major commercial centers and marked a new stage in the company’s international expansion.
Tokyo later became especially important to the brand. In 1981, Louis Vuitton opened a direct-operated store on Namiki-dori in Ginza, one of the capital’s best-known luxury-shopping districts. That location is distinct from the initial 1978 market entry, so references to the “first stores” and the “first directly operated store” describe different milestones.
Kyoto, Nagoya, and Fukuoka are all major Japanese cities with Louis Vuitton retail today, which can make them plausible distractors. They were not the pair identified in the historical account of the company’s first Japanese stores. Osaka also became a prominent Vuitton location, including the later Maison Osaka Midosuji flagship.