I've only been here a week and it's barely sunk in and still kind of feels like I'm on vacation, but so far it's been amazing, mostly for the people I've met more than anything. Throwing a bunch of people headfirst into the same situation is great way to form friendships! I've had a bit of time to myself so decided to head into Tokyo yesterday for a bit of a look round. I mostly visited Shinjuku and Shibuya, and it's weird how much my memory kicked in from when I last in Tokyo. I spent a lot of time in Shinjuku and Shibuya back then because I was super into J-fashion and as soon as I was back I was remembering things that I had no idea I even remembered! I kinda knew which way to go and where certain things were, and it was also cool getting thrown off by things that have changed in the time since.
The Disney Store in Shibuya was one of the main places I wanted to go, and I can't begin to tell you how incredible this place is. What I love most about Disney in Japan is that they recognize that single childless adults are the ones with the most disposable income so 90% of the shop is stuff for adults and there's just a tiny corner of the store selling toys for kids. This is one of the main stores and it's across three floors, and even the inside is designed like a castle and you have to climb a spiral staircase to get to each floor. I think I did really well buying so little honestly! Especially as all of my favorite Disney characters are super popular in Japan.
I only shopped at the Disney Store and a store called Tokyu Hands which has an incredible selection of stationary which I'm always weak for! I'm trying to be really mindful of what I buy as I had to clear out so much before moving and it really puts into perspective how easy it is to be wasteful, but I'm so happy with the things I picked and some of them I actually set out for. I couldn't resist the Wizard of Oz Moleskine as it's a book that's so important to me (I just hope I'm not too scared to write in it!), and I loved the New York file as it reminds me that I will go back! It's funny, I think I had the worst bout of illness I've ever had in my whole life when I was in New York and it really restricted me in what I was able to do and see, but I still came away absolutely in love with the city. And other than Broadway I hadn't even been fussed about going before I got there, I was only going for the theater. I keep a picture I took of New York in my wallet so that when I open it I see it and think to myself "Do I want this thing I'm about to spend money on, or can I save it for a future trip?", and I thought having my stuff in this folder would work in a similar way.
After the Disney store I wandered around Shibuya 109 which is a mall over 8 floors (although each shop isn't very big!) exclusively catering to young women and full of the latest J-fashion. I'm sure you can imagine the price tags on most of it, so I was content to just look but I love seeing it all as it's so distinctive and so much prettier than what people wear back home.
I also went to Tower Records as I've never actually been in one and I wanted to see the Japanese variations of my favorite records. Although I have Mika's CDs in English I'm tempted to collect these versions anyway, or at least one or two. And they had a whole Joker display. It was interesting to me that the movie is just subtitled because when I saw Joker at the movie theater in Paris it was fully dubbed into French. They had a DC Comics pop up shop in Shibuya 109 and I was disappointed that they didn't have any hint of Joker there, I find it weird how they're still not merchandising the movie despite how many awards its won. Let me give you my money!!
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