TOKYO

We spent most of the third day shopping in Shinjuku’s Takashimaya Mall. My mom was really looking forward to revisiting this place after several years, and it’s still as great a spot to shop in. You can find several popular stores in Japan here, such as Uniqlo, Tokyu Hands, and much more. Generally, it felt like we went duty free shopping–most probably because of the choice of brands, and the layout of the entire mall.

Walking along the overpass, you could also easily spot the famous Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower at a distance.

Upon entering from the overpass entrance, you will easily spot Tokyu Hands. It’s a store known to house a wide array of arts, crafts, and other hobbyist materials. Usually, their stores consist of several floors with each floor serving a specific category of materials, such as cooking wares, crafting materials, hair and beauty products, and much more. There are other branches of this within Tokyo as well.

We knew that shopping in Tokyu Hands would be a bit overwhelming, and would require for us to be emotionally and mentally prepared to browse through all floors (lol!). So, before actually throwing in our time to shop (and hoard) at Tokyu Hands, we decided to go clothes shopping first. And, the first store that comes to mind when you’re in a mall in Japan is ..Uniqlo!

We spent about two hours shopping and hoarding in Uniqlo, since prices are cheaper in Japan, as compared to the prices in Manila. Apart from that, they also sell several clothing designs (that are very much Japanese in style) that you cannot find in the Philippines at all. That goes without saying, that is because Uniqlo is a brand that was “born” in Japan.

We spent a good amount of time there, since we not only wanted to shop for ourselves, but we also wanted to buy tons of clothing under a good deal for our other family members, friends, etc. back in Manila as well. Why waste the opportunity when you’re already there, right? 😀

After having our fill with Uniqlo, it was finally time to immerse ourselves in Tokyu Hands! I was probably the most excited about this, since I would probably consider myself the most “artsy and craftsy” in my family! haha!

I sifted through a few floors of Tokyu Hands, but eventually found myself speeding towards and searching for the art materials floor. When I finally found it and landed on the floor (it was on the 7th floor, if I recall correctly?), my jaw literally dropped! If you could see me at that time, my eyes were probably sparkling in awe!

As if it wasn’t obvious enough, with my love for the arts, I just sped through and went straight for the art materials! It’s as if my body already knew where it had to go! (lol) Since several brands and products in Japan cannot be found in Manila’s art stores, it was the perfect time to stock up on them. So, I really took this opportunity to just splurge and buy all the materials I knew I just needed to get, i.e. watercolor, ink, paper, and whatnot. I probably spent nearly half of my shopping budget here! I don’t regret it, though, since art materials were one of the main things I really planned to spend  my money on once I arrived in Japan!

For lunch, we had a “picnic” kind of feel by eating our bentos at the outdoor garden of Takashimaya Mall. We bought our take-out bentos at the department store at the basement level, and for travelers who are more keen on budget expenses, I suggest for you to buy your meals in department store basement level instead. The deals are cheaper, and the quality of the food is worth the price, as compared to spending more by eating in restaurants all the time. (Well, you could always treat yourself to eating in a restaurant or two every now and then, but generally, I’d suggest this method instead.) There aren’t usually places for people to dine in outdoors (this is also probably one of the reasons why Japan is so clean–a good design strategy to minimizing litter) so we settled onto benches along the outdoor garden.

Purikura with the family in Harajuku! <3 We went back to the same booth Kaila and I used the other day. lol

And at last, we arrived at Blue Bottle Coffee, home to one of the most notable specialty coffee blends in the world!

Lovely raw interior motif!