It's an opening that many Canberrans have felt like years in the making.
But after years of rumours (and months of actual waiting), UNIQLO opened its doors at the Canberra Centre on Thursday morning.
For some, this meant lining up from 7.30am to get the first look at what the store had to offer.
ANU students Wilson Yuen, Anael Lukean and Ishita Sherna were first in line, arriving before the line barriers had been set up. But they came prepared, after getting a coffee, the three students set up their laptops and sat on the floor to wait out the two-and-half hours in line.
"I'm pretty much here for their collabs," Ms Lukean said.
"And they have minimalistic everything, which I like. And the gift bags on offer are pretty good. We're broke uni students so we like a freebie.
"But I already looked at the website last night so I know what I want when I get in there."
About 30 people were lining up outside of the store when The Canberra Times arrived about 8.30am. By the time the doors opened at 10am, the line was out the door of the Canberra Centre's Ainslie Mall and along Bunda Street.
To kick off the celebrations, Canberra had a little bit of Tokyo pop up in the middle of the CBD, with a traditional taiko drumming performance welcoming customers walking through the doors.
There were also free gift bags to the first 1000 customers who spent $100 or more in-store, as well as other in-store exclusive offers.
The new store, which spans more than 1210sqm and offers the full range of apparel for men, women, kids and babies, features the latest spring/summer range, including the UT graphic t-shirt range, as well as 12 fitting rooms and six self-service check-outs.
One of the drawcards of the in-person UNIQLO shopping experience is the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology at the self-service checkouts.
Unlike barcodes which have to be manually scanned individually, the RFID chips fitted in the UNIQLO tags mean customers can place all of their items in the bagging area at once, and the machines automatically register what is being purchased.
"It's definitely more convenient and a lot faster," Mr Yuen said.
"I don't know how it works but it's pretty sick.
"I'm usually shopping online but having the store will probably mean I will shop here more. I always like the collabs that they do and end up buying them anyway. Now it will be much easier."
The first rumours of the store rippled through the capital in 2015, when the Canberra Centre closed a large portion of the centre for refurbishment.
But that's all it was - rumours. Until earlier this year when it was confirmed UNIQLO would take over space once held by Target, Cotton On and Supre - one of the largest stores the brand has in Australia.
The warm Canberra welcome has not been lost on store manager Christopher Gist, who moved to the capital to take up the role.
"It's so special being part of Canberra, and now that I've had a chance to settle in, I can see that UNIQLO's values do truly align with the Canberra area," he said.
"The team and I can't wait to meet our customers to show them our lifewear range and to become part of the community."
Mr Gist may be new to the capital, but not to the brand - or the hype around it.
In fact, it was his love of the brand that attracted him to apply for the brand's manager program.
"I actually grew up overseas, so I was a true UNIQLO fan before it arrived in Australia in 2014," he said.
"I love the UNIQLO product - it's simple, high-quality, at a great price point and has such attention to detail to make you feel great and comfortable throughout the day.
"But aside from the product, what I really love is UNIQLO's focus on providing great customer service, and its overall mission of turning the power of clothing into a force for good to make the world a better place."
