Bargain Shopper and Proud!
Say what you want but I am a Dollar store junkie. Some of must best finds have been at Big Lots in America, the Pound Store in London, and the 100-Yen Shop in Japan. You can find these 100 Yen shops all over but the biggest one that I visited was the Harajuku Daiso with four floors full of things you just have to have. I bought 4 lovely little yellow ramikans that I use ALL THE TIME.
A Style and a State of Mind
Harajuku refers to the area around Tokyo’s Harajuku Station, one station north of Shibuya on the Yamanote Line. It is the center of Japan’s most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles, The focal point of Harajuku’s teenage culture is Takeshita Dori and its side streets, which are lined by many trendy shops, fashion boutiques, used clothes stores, crepe stands and fast food outlets geared towards the fashion and trend conscious teens.
Takeshita Dori Street is opposite the Takeshita Dori Exit of Harajuku Station. Turn right at the bottom of Takeshita Dori Street, walk along Meiji Dori Avenue as far the crossroads, then turn left into Omotesando Dori Avenue.
On Sundays, visit Yoyogi Park, which is located near Harajuku station. This is a place for musicians, artists, and people engage din cosplay (“costume play”), dressed up in crazy costumes.
Close by is Omotesando Dori, often referred to as the Champs Elysee of Tokyo. OnSundays, it is littered with street performers. At the end of Omotesando Dori, you’ll find Aoyama, a stylish area full of expensive shops and boutiques. Omotesando, accessible from the south exit of JR Harajuku station (Yamanote line), the subway Meiji-jingu-mae station (Chiyoda line), or subway Omotesando station (Chiyoda and Ginza lines), has all the big name fashion houses. Walk all the way along Omotesando to Aoyama-dori (or take the subway from Jingu-mae to Omotesando station – Chiyoda line), cross the intersection and keep walking two blocks to take in Prada’s Tokyo flagship store on your right. The Prada store, six stories of “insect-eye” glass, was built in 2003 at a cost of $80 million. It is, as a New Yorker magazine article noted, “one of Japan’s most provocative public spaces”. Leave it to Prada!
Here is a great map of Harjuku
Life is Nothing but a $100 Piece of Chocolate at Bulgari
Where else can you sit and eat chocolates in the Bulgari Café while gazing at the Chanel building across the street? Ginza is associated with luxury and the cost that goes along with that characteristic. In addition to the best of the best, Prada, Gucci, Vuitton, et al, there are the great department stores with their depachikas. On Sundays, the main Ginza shopping street is closed to all cars so you can stroll freely up and down the avenue sans soucis. In addition to great shopping (window shopping for me), Ginza is a great place to people watch.
Chuo-Kanko.com has a great map and information about the Ginza neighborhood.
Plastic Food, anyone? Don’t miss Kappabashi-dori
Want to bring home some lovely little Japanese plates or find the perfect knife for making sushi when you return? Then you must visit Kappabashi-dori, a street supplying professional kitchens with everything from lacquer soup bowls to plastic food models that you see displayed enticingly in restaurant windows across the city.
Popularity: 20% [?]
