Wow! A busy first day that had me trying not to overestimate my energy. I miraculously slept through the night and awoke bright and early. After a bit of deliberation I searched for a cafe open early enough to accommodate me. I settled on cafe Excelsior Caffee in Akasaka
I ordered the caramel latte and sandwich and with that sandwich attempted to gaslight myself that I like mayo. Somehow, that did not work and I still did not enjoy the sandwich. Bummer! After that I gathered my handy dandy Passmo card I got yesterday and hopped onto the train in rush hour to Shibuya Station. On arrival the station was an absolute maze, but I was in no rush. I took my time to head to my first destination for a quick breather, Miyashita park. I climbed up the stairs to the top and appreciated the view and took a breather on some cool shaped chairs
It was cool seeing the greenery in the city. I went down a floor and realized the shops were, naturally, still closed since it was too early. So I sat and journaled for a bit before realizing this was actually the best time to check out a normally very busy store! So onto MEGA Don Quijote I went. This store was overwhelming in the best of ways. Tons of fun goods and a very enjoyable experience. Got some good gifts from here! I did, however, fail my Japanese here. It was hard to explain to the kind cashier that I did not want tax free as many of the goods I was buying I intended to use here… ended up going around to a different one! I may know more Japanese than the average person visiting, but that did not mean I was more equipped for talking with cashiers and checking out! I try still, though many do speak English to you if they know it.
To kill some more time here I decided to grab lunch. I made somewhat up for my poor Japanese by asking the lady working there where the toilet was in Japanese. Although, she did answer my questions in English so I probably could have just used it 😄. At least I tried!
After that lovely experience it was almost time for the real thing I came to Shibuya for… Jins. Prescription glasses and sunglasses were my target. I was the second person into the store and was immediately ushered for an eye test. The reason for this location in particular was for English speaking staff and I certainly got that. After a speedy eye test, I was picking out frames. Now, I have nothing to show as of yet, but $200 later I ordered prescription sunglasses and glasses with progressive lenses and walked out with a super cute lens cloth they gifted me. What a bargain! Right outside of Jin’s was Mandarake. So down a long staircase I went and was greeted with so much manga and some anime merch. There was a Cloud Strife figure I was so tempted to buy… I resisted, however as COOL as that was. When I left that store, a few new books in hand, I then wondered where to next? And realized I had not gone to Shibuya Loft!! I rushed over and was greeted with my favorite thing ever… stationary products. I loved it. I got to see hobonichi and travelers notebooks as well as so much cute stickers, books, and pens. I did not spend long here knowing Ginza has the best shops to come, but did enjoy it. Picked up a few gifts here and some items for my friends.
After that I was like, Pokémon Center time! So there I went, except I got distracted searching for the bathroom. Bathroom I went and then the Shonen Jump store pulled me in to my utter delight
Shonen Jump serialized some of my favorite Manga. Was amazing seeing Gintoki on that wall and then I got to meet Monkey D. Luffy himself!
I wandered the store and got a special coin before continuing on. After stopping by the Godzilla store, the Sega store, and the Nintendo store I finally entered the Pokémon center only to decide the line was too insane so I wouldn't buy anything. Mewtwo was SO cool though
After that I was getting tired but decided to walk Cat Street. Then I just kept walking and walking and finally took the train home from the Omote-Sando line
I grabbed some Konbini dinner since, at this point, I was too tired to want to eat out.
Dinner in hand I wandered home but saw some cool stuff I want to check out later... I then proceeded to watch random Japanese channels and rest for the rest of the day. Eager, but not eager enough to head out and overdo it day one
Overall a fun day and here was my personal shopping goods (including my traveler notebook insert in my journal from Narita airport yesterday)
And the Sabo coin I got from Shonen Jump. He's one of my favorites!
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