Shop, shop, shoppy
Ok, so yesterday I jumped up and decided that I needed to finally get off my ass and explore Ikebukuro. As another (another!) shopping district in Tokyo, I wasn't expecting much more than Shibuya or Shinjuku. But, it's not the same. No. There's more pachinko parlours for one thing. There's also a lot more fun little back streets that I didn't get a chance to check out. Sunday shopping in Tokyo is quite an experience, too.
On my way there, I decided, "hey, I need some t-shirts, I'll check out the Uniqlo here." Uniqlo being roughly the Japanese equivalent of The Gap. Inexpensive clothes that don't look bad. Well, at least that's what I was told. Since there are Gap locations all over the place, I'll let it be itself, and Uniqlo be something better. Because, well, it is. The clothes are nicer, for one thing. Cheaper, too. But the one in Ikebukuro was insanely busy, so I decided I'd wait on it and head to the one in closer-by Shibuya today, when fewer people would be shopping.
I figured I'd take a look at the Seibu department store, which I've concluded, is the biggest department store I've been in. 3 buildings, for one thing. one of them 12 stories, one of them 8 stories and the other 5. Mind you, that's divided amongst 4 different "brands" of Seibu store, including Seibu itself and a fancy urbaneer place called Loft (pronounced "lo-fu-to"). Here's the roof-top on 9th-floor.
I took a quick peak around Loft, thought about buying a new watch, and then scoffed when I saw the price of the ones I liked. Ya, no thanks. Not this time.
Fed up with crowds, I went home.
Today, back out to do the actual shopping. Shibuya is closer, more convenient for me, and, on a Monday, not too crowded. Uniqlo, once more, for some t-shirts. Without further ado ...
After my small splurge (I mean, the shirts were less than $15 each), I thought it'd be nice to wander around Shibuya some more, take in some more of the fashion. Also, I wanted to look at shoes.
As I was dumping these pictures off my camera and phone, I realized I hadn't uploaded a bunch that had been sitting for several weeks, now. So, as a bonus, here's a glorious sample of Engrish.
The first time I saw it, it didn't even strike me. It took a moment to "un-fix" the mistake. And then much laughing was had. This is actually quite close to my work, and has apparently been there for many years. Either no one has the heart to tell them, or, well, maybe they just don't give a shit.
