lurkyloo
The Attic was just perfect!
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
After that I wandered down the main drag in Ginza, which is Tokyos answer to Beverly Hills, stopping in big shiny department stores to look at makeup and accessories. I stumbled across this amazing Chanel pop-up store designed to promote some new lipgloss or lipstick. It had a row of makeup mirrors, and professional makeup artists were giving makeovers! I tried to sign up, but they were booked for the rest of the promotion weeks and weeks.
Finally I got to Ito-ya, the biggest stationery shop in Tokyo. The guidebook said it was 3 floors, but it was really 8 floors, one devoted to office supplies, one just pens, one all datebooks and journals, etc. I was on a mission to find cute Japanese stationery for my pal Jensey, whod given me a generous budget and free reign to pick whatever I thought was the best.
After exploring 7 floors, I was kinda disappointed Id only found one cute set of stationery for Jensey. And then I went down to the basement and hit the jackpot holy crap, it was wall-to-wall adorable stationery sets exactly like she wanted! And there was a whole corner of just Disney stuff that was gorgeoussuper-classy, some of it die-cut, all of it sweet enough to give you a toothache. So I got her a few too many things (like these dumb 3D postcards the 3D is amazing, but the images are mostly silly. And I thought they were ¥80, but it turns out thats how much postage they needthey were actually ¥525!)
My Ito-ya haul
Afterward, I poked my head in Hotel Gracery Ginza, the place we were going to stay before I started worrying about having to make subway connections with luggage on the way back from Disney. Id still consider it for a future trip I was able to book an amazing rate of $100/night directly through their website before I changed my mind. The location cant be beat right around the corner from Chuo-Dori, the main drag, and fairly close to the Ginza subway station. The rooms are stylish and look no smaller than those of most budget Tokyo hotels.
From there it was more wandering into department stores and stuff. I found a giant poster of Michael Buble, which I was compelled to shoot for Jensey.
Amazingly, hes not selling anything except himself!
At the end of the main drag I found Hakuhinkan Toy Park, a ginormous 4-level toy store full of more Westerners than Id seen anywhere since we left San Francisco. One whole floor was plush, and there was a huge display of Totoro merch.
Knowing that we were going to the Ghibli museum in a few weeks, I resisted the urge to buy anything. But now I wish I hadnt, cuz the shop there had hardly any plush or toysvery disappointing.
I knew I had to bring Patrick back to this place, if only to shoot a pic of him with this guy:
Until then, I got us some cute blind-box toys from a series of animals in cups (we got a parakeet in a teacup and a squirrel in a soup bowl). Then I wandered a few blocks away to the Sony demonstration store and watched 3D TV. Cant wait til I can afford that!
My last excursion was a search for the Hermes store. Id noticed a lot of designers made inexpensive toaruthe little hand towels that many Japanese carry with them because so few public restrooms have paper towels. My pal Anita collects Hermes scarves, and while theres no way I could afford to bring her back one of those, I thought maybe theyd also sell toaru. Trying to find Hermes turned out to be a big adventure and the first test of my Japanese. It started when I spotted a woman in a kimono toting an Hermes shopping bag and asked her Hermes, doko deska?
(Actual woman not pictured)
Asking the question turned out to be the easy part its understanding the answer that I had trouble with! I only got so far before I needed to find someone else to ask, so I popped into a mens' store, and later Dolce & Gabbana. Following this sort of breadcrumb trail of information from person to person, I finally spotted Hermes. When the two men smoking out front saw me stop, gasp, and whip out my camera, they scooted sideways until they were out of the shot...
I guess this other guy wanted to be in the shot!
It was an amazingly designed store, and the toaru were amazingly priced at ¥10,900 yen. Sorry, Anita! Hope ya like hotel headbands!
It was getting to be dinnertime, so I wandered around Ginza looking for a restaurant that wasnt in a basement or a windowless department store. I found a moderately priced place on Chuo-dori and had a sort of Coquilles St. Jaques for under ¥2000. (No pix! Argh!)
When I got back to the hotel, wed been moved to the bigger room theyd promised us and I HATED it! It may have been slightly bigger, but it was dark, sat half a floor below ground level, faced a dirt patch in front of a concrete wall, and had windows you couldnt open.
The last part was the deal breaker for me because Akasaka Excel Tokyu Hotel is one of those hotels where the thermostat in your room doesn't work unless they've turned on AC for the whole building... which they hadn't... and it was so stuffy in there I could barely breathe.
I kinda freaked out and practically started hyperventilating when I called the front desk and the guy said there were no other rooms available til Sunday. Then I pulled it together and decided to try asking someone else, so I went down to the front desk. This time I got a guy who set to work immediately, dashing between two computers and typing furiously until he turned up a room just like our old one, but on the 10th floor hooray!!!
The rest of the night was spent unpacking in our new room and getting us all settled in for the next 5 days.
Up Next: A visit to a real Mitsukoshi department store, and its not anything like the one in Epcot!
Finally I got to Ito-ya, the biggest stationery shop in Tokyo. The guidebook said it was 3 floors, but it was really 8 floors, one devoted to office supplies, one just pens, one all datebooks and journals, etc. I was on a mission to find cute Japanese stationery for my pal Jensey, whod given me a generous budget and free reign to pick whatever I thought was the best.
After exploring 7 floors, I was kinda disappointed Id only found one cute set of stationery for Jensey. And then I went down to the basement and hit the jackpot holy crap, it was wall-to-wall adorable stationery sets exactly like she wanted! And there was a whole corner of just Disney stuff that was gorgeoussuper-classy, some of it die-cut, all of it sweet enough to give you a toothache. So I got her a few too many things (like these dumb 3D postcards the 3D is amazing, but the images are mostly silly. And I thought they were ¥80, but it turns out thats how much postage they needthey were actually ¥525!)
My Ito-ya haul
Afterward, I poked my head in Hotel Gracery Ginza, the place we were going to stay before I started worrying about having to make subway connections with luggage on the way back from Disney. Id still consider it for a future trip I was able to book an amazing rate of $100/night directly through their website before I changed my mind. The location cant be beat right around the corner from Chuo-Dori, the main drag, and fairly close to the Ginza subway station. The rooms are stylish and look no smaller than those of most budget Tokyo hotels.
From there it was more wandering into department stores and stuff. I found a giant poster of Michael Buble, which I was compelled to shoot for Jensey.
Amazingly, hes not selling anything except himself!
At the end of the main drag I found Hakuhinkan Toy Park, a ginormous 4-level toy store full of more Westerners than Id seen anywhere since we left San Francisco. One whole floor was plush, and there was a huge display of Totoro merch.
Knowing that we were going to the Ghibli museum in a few weeks, I resisted the urge to buy anything. But now I wish I hadnt, cuz the shop there had hardly any plush or toysvery disappointing.
I knew I had to bring Patrick back to this place, if only to shoot a pic of him with this guy:
Until then, I got us some cute blind-box toys from a series of animals in cups (we got a parakeet in a teacup and a squirrel in a soup bowl). Then I wandered a few blocks away to the Sony demonstration store and watched 3D TV. Cant wait til I can afford that!
My last excursion was a search for the Hermes store. Id noticed a lot of designers made inexpensive toaruthe little hand towels that many Japanese carry with them because so few public restrooms have paper towels. My pal Anita collects Hermes scarves, and while theres no way I could afford to bring her back one of those, I thought maybe theyd also sell toaru. Trying to find Hermes turned out to be a big adventure and the first test of my Japanese. It started when I spotted a woman in a kimono toting an Hermes shopping bag and asked her Hermes, doko deska?
(Actual woman not pictured)
Asking the question turned out to be the easy part its understanding the answer that I had trouble with! I only got so far before I needed to find someone else to ask, so I popped into a mens' store, and later Dolce & Gabbana. Following this sort of breadcrumb trail of information from person to person, I finally spotted Hermes. When the two men smoking out front saw me stop, gasp, and whip out my camera, they scooted sideways until they were out of the shot...
I guess this other guy wanted to be in the shot!
It was an amazingly designed store, and the toaru were amazingly priced at ¥10,900 yen. Sorry, Anita! Hope ya like hotel headbands!
It was getting to be dinnertime, so I wandered around Ginza looking for a restaurant that wasnt in a basement or a windowless department store. I found a moderately priced place on Chuo-dori and had a sort of Coquilles St. Jaques for under ¥2000. (No pix! Argh!)
When I got back to the hotel, wed been moved to the bigger room theyd promised us and I HATED it! It may have been slightly bigger, but it was dark, sat half a floor below ground level, faced a dirt patch in front of a concrete wall, and had windows you couldnt open.
The last part was the deal breaker for me because Akasaka Excel Tokyu Hotel is one of those hotels where the thermostat in your room doesn't work unless they've turned on AC for the whole building... which they hadn't... and it was so stuffy in there I could barely breathe.
I kinda freaked out and practically started hyperventilating when I called the front desk and the guy said there were no other rooms available til Sunday. Then I pulled it together and decided to try asking someone else, so I went down to the front desk. This time I got a guy who set to work immediately, dashing between two computers and typing furiously until he turned up a room just like our old one, but on the 10th floor hooray!!!
The rest of the night was spent unpacking in our new room and getting us all settled in for the next 5 days.
Up Next: A visit to a real Mitsukoshi department store, and its not anything like the one in Epcot!
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Gawrsh, thanks! 
Glad you're enjoying it, despite the distinct lack of Disney so far...
I cant get over the Japanese love of desserts and elaborate sweets! Neat pics of all the shopping places, etc. I am cracking up that you are hitting all the American staples -- 7 Eleven, Mickey D's, etc.. 
Love the strawberry cake art! Little did they know how CAKE is your second hobby!
