Mitsukoshi celebrated its 100th anniversary last year with the renovation of the New Wing of its flagship store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi. A century is as old as it gets for a department store in Japan -- this illustrious edifice has the distinction of being the nation's first. (It is also the only retailer in the land to lend its name to a subway station, Mitsukoshimae.) But, until the recent refurbishment, "New Wing" definitely seemed something of a misnomer. Now, with a fresh set of trendier tenants, a few tweaks to the layout and an immaculate interior refit, the name rings a lot truer.

Besides being the firm's spiritual headquarters, the Nihonbashi store accounts for over 30 percent of Mitsukoshi's total annual revenue. The building's famous facade has been crucial to its enduring success -- this is one of the grandest-looking areas in Japan, and Mitsukoshi makes the most of its status as a Tokyo institution.

The austere architecture well befits the spot commonly referred to as "The Center of Japan" (Nihonbashi Bridge has been the zero-mile marker for Japan's highway network since early in the Edo Period). The store's prestige is still a big draw for tourists, and it makes it the spree destination of choice for the upper echelons of Japan's gerontocracy.