Japan Trip - Day 2

It’s Day 2 of my Japan trip!!

I slept from 12:40am to about 5am. I had such a peaceful slumber. Nice and air-conditioned. :) After 9am I went to the hotel desk lobby and asked where to find the closest visitor’s centre which is only right outside of the hotel in the subway station by the escalator. I got great maps of the area and the lady at the counter explained to me a discount ticket for the aquarium and she told me which subway lines to take and which transfers and how to buy them. I asked about other areas such as Den-Den Town and Muji (department store). She told me how to get there but since it’s Wednesday, many stores in Den-Den Town (Electricity Town for electronic gadgets) are closed.

Afterwards, I went to Starbucks and decided to explore the Namba Centre where we were last night. The daytime was so different than the nighttime environment. It was still hot and humid but the area was so much more bustling with people, bikes, small cargo trucks, et cetera.

I met up with my travel mates at around close to noon in the hotel lobby. At around noon we ate ramen at a close by shop (it was located exactly across the street). It was really good. The egg and noodles were delicious. I didn’t touch the meat because it was fatty and it won’t agree with my stomach. Otherwise, good place to eat and with English menu. After eating lunch, I took them to Starbucks where my sister had a frappucino with black jelly.

Then we went to Muji and Tokyo Tower Records. Muji is located across floors B2-B1-1-2-3 (lowest to the highest level). The stationary were located on Floor 2 with household items such as kitchenware. I didn’t go to Floor 3 so I had no idea what it had. I bought some 105 yen pens and bamboo pen. Floor 1 had women clothing which I bought two undershirts. Floor B1 had baby and maternity clothing as well as men clothing. Floor B2 was the area for eating and buying small food & snack items as well as drinks. My sister and her husband bought a lot of things (candy, tea, & drinks) but some were gifts for co-workers back home. I got some specialty teas and a brown sugar & coconut milk candy made in Hokkaido. I’ll have to try it soon (sounded yummy).

We went to Tokyo Towers located across floors 4-7. J-Pop is on Floor 4 so we went there, or more specifically I went there and they were kind of dragged along. :) I asked the information desk for Tokuyama Hideanori and Remioromen but the cd of Tokuyama was sold out. He showed me the areas where Remioromen cd and dvd were. I bought a Tokyo Tower Record pen and Remioromen DVD “Wonderful & Beautiful” Concert and some of their cds. We went up to Floor 5 where my brother-in-law bought a Michael Jackson cd (Floor 5 had English music).

Afterwards we went to the Takashimaya Department Store which is located in same building complex as our hotel. It is huge and massive, spread across basement levels to Floor 7. The shopping there was intense. To list briefly what I bought: two sandals, pens and bamboo bookmarks, Japanese traditional shoes, Remioromen and Gackt cds (Gackt cd is for my sister back home), two bath towels (one is for my mother), a rabbit decorated handkerchief, and bamboo knitting needles for my mother. I've noticed there are no paper towels in all restrooms. People use handkerchiefs in place of paper towels. I'm sure I would put to good use of my new purchase. :)

I happened to pass by a couple making Japanese traditional shoes on Floor 5. I was watching them make the shoes and was curious about it. I tried on a pair and it was so comfortable. I watched the man make a new pair of shoes for me (threading and tying the fabric, hammering the sole, et cetera). It was so cool how he threaded the fabric into the wooden shoe and neatly tied it underneath the sole. It cost me about 5200 yen. What a great deal for this handmade shoe and it’s a remarkable memory of this trip. :)

I have to say, I absolutely love the department store’s way of doing business. The staff has everything scrutinized to the tiniest detail - from greeting customers, to answering and helping customers, to wrapping up your purchases with ribbons even when they’re not gifts, making sure my shopping bags weren’t cluttered (they actually rearranged all my bags to make them easier for me to carry), and going out of their way to making my shopping experience enjoyable. Even when I purchased a 150 yen pen, they still saw to it that it was wrapped up nicely in a gift bag with a ribbon and made sure that I placed my receipt and change back into my wallet before they handed me my purchase.

My sister told me about the tax rebate on the 7th floor of Takashimaya Department Store. You can only get your taxes (5%) back on same-day purchases and you must provide your passport. The receipt of my rebate was stapled to my passport for customs.

We ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant (551 Horei) a few blocks from the hotel. It was pricey but the food was good. I ordered mabo tofu and it came with egg drop soup. My sister and brother-in-law ordered chicken with cashew, pineapple with beef, and hot & sour soup.

It is now 11:20pm and I am so tired. Tomorrow, we are planning to go to Osaka Castle and surroundings. Hopefully the weather doesn’t rain on us.