Travelog: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi

While in Tokyo, we also went to Shinjuku. It’s definitely another district worth visiting. There’s a Barneys NY there, and they had an antique jewelry showcase of sorts. I saw beautiful rose cut diamond rings as well as Victorian pendants there. All so lovely and so very English. I only wished I could’ve picked up something there– but everything was so pricey. A small antique enamel pendant with some amethyst stone already cost something like US$2,000 (YIKES! And we’re talking SMALL pendant!).

We didn’t linger on so much because we were too hungry, so we decided to grab a quick bite in one of the smaller side restaurants. It was the point-point system for us yet again. I ended up with raw tuna (maguro) over rice with some hot miso soup and hiyayako tofu. It may not be the fresh tuna straight from the Tsukiji Market auction, but it’s just as good. 🙂 *We woke up too late for the Tsukiji Market hahaha*

Then it was off to the main street where Louis Vuitton, Isetan, Mitsukoshi, Tiffany, Gucci (among others) are. DH and I promised ourselves to go into at least one Japanese department store and Isetan was to be our choice. But before Isetan, I was kinda hoping to look for this store called Komehyo. It was a place that an old friend of mine had told me about, but when I had earlier asked our hotel concierge about it, she was VERY hesitant to pinpoint the exact location of the place, saying that she wouldn’t want to recommend a store which had designer brands wherein authenticity is something she isn’t 100% sure of. Instead, she pointed out designer stores in that same area where the chances of me getting gyped are nil. Well, I was a friggin’ tourist, a baghag in a foreign land. And hello, this was Japan. and I’ve been told that many bag resellers get their goods here in Japan! There was absolutely no way I was going to miss out on the good bargains! (Methinks cheap Hermes birkins! Hahaha) I’m going to check these places out for selfish reasons (I’m tired of paying full retail price for everything!!!! Hahahaha).

We finally found Komehyo. I thought originally that the bag store was just like a small hole in the wall kindofa boutique. I was dead wrong. It was a whole building of luxury– a second hand luxury emporium if you will. First floor housed branded watches like Hermes, Gucci… Second floor housed Rolex, Vacheron, Patek, third and fourth floors catered to jewelry- yep, bling!, and the fifth floor housed the designer bags. Almost all second hand designer bags! It was heaven– one whole floor of it! (Sorry no photos were allowed. 🙁 I was told off! *Sniff*)

Shopping at Komehyo is a particularly distinctive experience. It’s not like a Milan Station where bags are lined like books and lumped altogether. Each bag at Komehyo is treated with respect, just as it should be– even if it is second hand. You actually are handed a pair of white gloves to wear should you ask to inspect a bag of your choice. It was quite an experience I must say. They attempt to preserve the original condition of the bag as it came in.

Confession number one: I was actually hoping to score a nice pre-owned (like new) birkin for myself, but most of the “newer” looking bags available there were browns and blacks– colors which I just have no interest in. Not only that, the prices were really quite unreasonable too. We’re talking Y1.1M up (about US$10k up) for the bags that are brand new. The brand new bags come with this “Hermes Paris” tag which indicates the type of leather, make of bag, and color of bag. This is something new to me, as I’ve never seen this kind of tag on Hermes bags in the US or Europe before (if straight from the store). The older stamped models (regular leather) that show some kind of use (i.e. some scuff on corners) are cheaper, at about US$6,800 up (Peso conversion about Php 300k up. Not bad eh?). The thing is, most of these bags won’t come with the box or raincoats etc. So it’s actually quite a discount already for a true luxury bag (that is, if you are willing to forego the box and other trimmings– but the box and the trimmings are really part of the “luxury” of an Hermes bag– after all, 300k is no chump change).

Some of the memorable Hermes bags I saw at Komehyo: this silk paneled birkin, 30cm. It was a very unique birkin, one that I can say I’ve never ever seen before. Not even in photos! This baby costs Y3,129,000 (approx US$31,000 or Php 1.34M). DH doesn’t seem to recall ever seeing a non- exotic bag that costs this much. So he was also in awe (and he scratched his head in wonder at why a silk-paneled birkin would cost more than say, a small crocodile birkin). *Hehe DH is becoming quite the bag connoisseur hehehe*

There was also the elusive 45cm birkin longue, something that not many have seen, thus making many question its very existence. There is such a birkin, peeps. And it’s actually pretty in gris tourterelle (dove gray) too. Priced at Y733k (US$7,200 or Php 310k) which was actually not a bad price at all. But again, this size is not too popular so not many would pay the price for it. Heck I would’ve but then it’s a size 45cm and was a tad too large. I’d honestly rather get a JPG birkin over this one.

And then there was an Hermes ostrich 32cm kelly in yellow *ugh, the color in person was to die for!!! Drooooool!!* It was a vintage piece (notice the lack of that extra “loop ring” on the sides of the handle area where the hardware meets the actual ostrich handle), so the price was actually really, really reasonable! Priced at Y628,400 (US$6,100 or about Php 265k!), you actually save a large amount of money! (Hehe, this is such a perfect excuse to get this bag– because you actually “save” money by getting this over a new bag hahahaha… tsk tsk the excuses we baghags come up with!)

There was a pretty pathetic inventory of Chanel bags though, so no 2.55 or anything of that sort. What remained were mostly the Biarritz canvas totes. Hehe obviously not too popular among the Japanese ladies. Louis Vuitton bags still reigned supreme, occupying more than five glass showcases. And the bags were not all that reigned, it was the accessories! The LV wallets, keychains, and all those small leather goods all dominated the glass cases. And thank Gawd I’m not a big fan of small accessories or I would’ve hoarded again. I was a really good girl, and DH noted that as we walked away from the accessories area empty handed.

I went straight back to the Hermes section (I was being pulled into it by some unseen force, I swear! *innocent look*). Again, there was the temptation of buying an Hermes birkin just for the heck of it– there was a pre-owned black birkin 35cm (year ’98) with very very minor scuff on the bottom (but hardware was kinda scratched) which cost about Php 300k converted *vs. a new one from the boutique which would cost about 400k+* but pfffft, who said I had the dough to buy a “for the heck of it” birkin?! Nuh- uh! Each bag purchase this baghag makes has to be calculated and well- thought out. There is no more room for those impulsive “for the heck of it” purchases. Those kinds of purchases are reserved for the true tai-tais, and we all know I am not one *I’m a total wannabe haha*. Sooo, thebaghag left the area empty- handed yet again! *Tsk tsk, is this becoming a habit or what, walking away empty handed hahaha* Ok so I was saving for my piece de resistance… I have EQ and was willing to wait (and little did I know would I get the shock of my life as a baghag a bit later haha)

Before we walked away, I lamented to DH that my shoulder was aching from my Goyard fidji. Trust me, I love the fidji for travel, but this time, I couldn’t sling it across my body because I was wearing a real heavy coat and it was just too thick. Then of course I espied an Hermes Evelyne GM. Now this was a bag that I had hesitated recommending to other friends in the past because well, it was just so… blah- plain (aka boring haha). But right at that moment of my shoulder ache complaint, an Evelyne looked more promising in my eyes because it was a “body” bag. And when I asked to see one (and I had to use the token white gloves for it of course), I tried it on and it felt so “right”! A pre-owned Evelyne GM (dependent on color too) costs in the upward range of US$1,750… Not a bad price actually considering it would seriously make a good travel bag. So I had to recant my past *negative* comments about the Evelyne. It’s a good bag to own and use especially for travel. Muwahaha… I’m gearing up to own one, aren’t I? *I’m soooo partial!! I’d say something nice about a bag that I’m hoping to own hahahaha… pathetic* DH— this would be a good time to get me a Christmas pressie (since I actually hadn’t asked for anything yet… I think a pre-owned Evelyne would be useful 😀 hehehe *hint hint hint* and oye, I’m not asking for a birkin or a kelly :D)

Note to everyone else: Sigh. So it’s true what they say. Once you go Hermes, you never look back. Tsk. This is really a sickness. Someone find a cure for this addiction!!!!

Anyway, DH has had it with Komehyo. We also spent a long time looking at watches as well (DH loves watches, so I guess there’s something for everyone in that luxe emporium hahaha), but we walked away without buying anything again. DH said it was still cheaper to get watches in Hong Kong. We walked out of Komehyo EMPTY HANDED! I was disappointed. I was honestly looking forward to finding real “cheap” birkins (as in, low price but in excellent like new condition) *Ok for the penny pinching baghags who’ve always told me to think a million times before handing over my credit card, you gotta commend me for this! Me! Empty-handed! Hahahaha*

Across Komehyo, was Isetan. And right on Isetan’s door, was Hermes Shinjuku! Ahhh perfection. Going to Shinjuku was already like killing three birds with one stone. So, I get to go to Hermes, shop inside a Japanese department store, and also get the chance to see a preowned luxury brand emporium. This was an afternoon trip well worth taking.

We crossed the street and went into Hermes. The boutique was FULL of people. I couldn’t even get my camera out of my bag– it was THAT tight! Practically sardine-packed with people! And we’re not talking “browsers”. We are talking BUYERS– an Hermes boutique full of BUYERS! Cha-ching cha ching of the cash register, nonstop! It was actually so hard to flag sales associates down. They were all busy attending to buying clients! I espied almost all colors of the Hermes Victoria!! Etoupe, Gris Tourterelle, Brighton Blue, Rouge Garrance, Chartreuse, Black, and even Blue Jean! Holy smokes, this is a HAPPENING Hermes boutique!! All the good stuff’s here! This was actually the first time I saw a well- stocked Hermes boutique. What an exhilarating experience to be in the boutique!

We looked over the Kelly/ Birkin cabinet and we saw a few rigide Kellys as well. No birkins though, except for a larger travel-sized 40cm in brown. We managed to flag down a nice sales associate who spoke English (everyone else barely understood me when I spoke English!). He entertained my requests to see this and that bag, and note, no need to wear gloves hahaha.

Confession number two: So I am going to say it out here. I was no good girl at this boutique this time because thebaghag walked away with SOMETHING 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 (Here I am, buying me a warm drink at yet another vending machine hehehe– we’re too poor to go into a cafe for drinks, so a Y100 drink at a vending machine will do just fine, thank you!)

*Woooohooooo and a Merry Christmas to me, me, me! Selfish and self- centered little me!!* Ok ok, I’m going to unload some of my bags soon to pay for this one, promise! *Tsk tsk muy mal, muy mal*. So that commendation on my “walking away empty-handed” was short- lived haha. Sorry for the disappointment muwahaha. (Darnit, do I really make “being in debt” sound alright? Sorry if I give out that impression, but it’s totally no joke to have these credit card guys calling you on odd hours, asking you… no, nagging you for a date as to when you will settle your bill in full… And then they ask you to come up with a payment plan that is comfortable to you…. ok I won’t elaborate anymore. Muwahaha… I’m revealing a little too much of my fiscal year performance already hahaha shame shame shame!!*)

Sooooo, it’s not the right time to reveal the big purchase yet– after all, this baghag has yet to pay for her mounting debts, so when I finish paying for my other financial obligations (and then some), then I’ll *probably* reveal the loot (or maybe not. Perhaps I’ll be so stricken with guilt that I won’t even keep this baby *bawl.. ok, MAJOR bawl*). But bah, whatever, I’ll throw a little caution to the wind and keep this baby… for now anyway *tsk tsk conscience eating me up already! Sigh!!*. This much I can tell you– Hermes Shinjuku made me one happy (and dreadfully poor, poor, poor to the point of starvation) baghag! In retrospect though, there’s nothing left in my wallet except credit card receipts– mountainfuls of them. So if you wanna take my wallet, go ahead. But please take care of those credit card debt obligations too *Muwahaha… the wallet’s officially cursed and doomed to whomever else gets to own it hahahahaha!!!*

*Sigh* I can’t and won’t bother explaining why women would rather starve than not be able to buy the bag they want. Don’t ask me– ask the luxury brands who are making millions as we speak. And check the social demographics of their buyers. It’s an aspirational thing– buy an expensive bag and walk the walk of the true rich. (I’m the poster girl for that, remember– look rich even if your pockets say otherwise hahaha.. Hellooooo ostentation!!!) Somehow, buying something expensive can make you feel good (even for just a second or two) because you get to indulge in something that the real rich can. You get to own something that the real rich also own. You bought a dream even for just a brief period of time. I guess that in itself becomes priceless (until it dawns on you that the rest of the world starves, right?) Sigh… it’s really so hard to enjoy what you buy too when you have the rest of the world to think about. But I guess people are willing to take happiness wherever they can find it. It may not be lasting or true, but it did give them that “high”. So to the other peeps out there who feel guilty about their expensive purchases this Christmas, here’s also something to think about– if you worked your ass off, earned your money the hard and honest way, then you deserve to spend it however you choose. Sure, be socially conscientious (in fact, we all should be socially conscientious), and don’t neglect to help the less fortunate. But also don’t forget to enjoy the fruits of your labor 🙂 *Ok saying that out loud took a big load off my chest somehow… and no, I’m not really trying to make myself feel better… ok wait, I am trying to make myself feel better too hehe* Anyway, I am still not revealing what I got haha. That topic will be chucked into my imaginary heated- seat toilet bowl right now…. *Flush*.

Ok wait, I strayed again! There was more to see at Isetan. The bag section was indeed flooded with a sea of people, waiting to spend their yen on something. It was quite a sight to see. We went up to the succeeding floor, one which had Bottega Veneta *woohoo I’m sooo liking that cabas! It looks like a market weave bag otherwise known as “bayong” but I like it still!*

And then I paid homage to Goyard 🙂 Here’s the silver Beluga. I finally got to see the silver croisiere up close and I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on mine! *Oh dear another bag! Yikes… ok that’s going to be a 2008 problem… ohhh boyyy*

We headed back to the hotel to drop off the “loot” before heading out again toward Roppongi for dinner with friends. Here’s the Hachiko crossing around 7pm. It was FULL of people. When the pedestrian traffic lights turn green, it’s literally a few seconds of “organized” chaos in Shibuya! It was amazing.

We passed by a Pachinko parlor on the way back to the hotel. It’s this game with all these metal ball bearings. Basically the goal is to “earn” as much balls as you can, which gets weighed in the end (those red trays get weighed), and you get your earnings. Don’t ask me the detailed logistics of the game, I don’t know haha. I have an addictive personality, so I was not about to dive right in and try the game. If I did, we could all forget about dinner hahaha.

Speaking of dinner, our late night eats was to be held at Gonpachi, otherwise known as the “Kill Bill” restaurant. Otherwise also known as the restaurant where US president George W. Bush dined. Ok so this was a tourist trap haha.

We met up with my friends for late dinner. The restaurant was apparently the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s movie, Kill Bill– it wasn’t the actual restaurant where Kill Bill was filmed (the scene with Lucy Liu and Uma Thurman). We ordered a lot of Japanese “tapas” (at least that’s what I ended up calling it hahaha because they’re not really “full” dishes). *Sorry I didn’t wanna take photos– I didn’t want my friends to think I’m a total freak for taking food photos hahaha… (I’m already a freak, what was I thinking? hahaha) besides, we were too busy chatting already!* I have to say the food was quite unique. It may be a tourist trap of a restaurant (hardly any locals eating here!), but the food was definitely not boring. It was good. We didn’t order sake because WP was flying off to Cairo the next morning. Holy crap, our dinner bill was Y30,000 (US$280)! *Wolfwhistle* Ok it’s official: food and lodging as well as brand new luxury goods are NOT cheap in Japan *wolfwhistle again*.

Here’s a souvenir shot of Mrs.T with her bigtime friends AP and WP of Fox Entertainment 😀 *muwahaha name dropping and power tripping again! Hahaha so what else can thebaghag brag about anyway right? Haha sad! Ok I know, I know I’m truly pathetic, but I can’t help it anymore– I’m even revolted with myself hahaha yuck*

Oh, so prior to that wonderful dinner we had, we were also able to take a quick walk around Roppongi and Roppongi Hills. AP, who lives in this area, told me that there were some bag shops around, so it was good that we went a bit early to check them out. Not like I have any more budget for anything (having squandered my future bag fund, kids’ educational fund, house fund, furniture fund… oh geez does this mean we’ll be living on the streets by next year??? Choke choke haha). But again, it was nice to go check out these places since Japan has been so famous for “drinking up” all things luxurious!

There were 2 more bag shops we saw, both located in Roppongi dori just off Roponggi Hills. We went into this 1st one since it was still open. There were 37 Hermes birkins (!!!! INSANE!!! Kelly bags not even counted!) on the store shelves. There was a rose dragee colored one, some oranges, blue jean, black, navy, gold, camel, white, bordeaux, and even yellow! I was overwhelmed and nearly choked on what I had to “ingest” with my eyes. Too much eye candy!! Hellooo bag orgasm can be easily reached in this tiny place hahaha. But know what? It was also very uncomfortable to be in that shop because again, the shopping experience is quite like dinner at a fine- dining only restaurant (and then you realize you only had 20 bucks in your wallet hahaha). This boutique was no luxury Mc Donald’s. And again, prices here are definitely NOT for the faint hearted. Brand new and even like- new Hermes birkins ranged from US$9,800 to the upward amount of US$55,000 for a croc birkin. There were no other brands except Hermes. This is the very definition of luxury. You get to sit in a nice leather chair while they brought the bags for you to inspect and touch (yes, you are required to wear gloves). Of course I felt every inch a pauper for every second that I was there. There was absolutely nothing in this store for me. And to think they had a turquoise blue ostrich birkin… It was gorgeous by the way *sigh*. I had to stop myself from drooling!!! But the price was, well… something I didn’t even want to ask (If you can’t afford it, why ask, right? hahaha I had to refrain from asking too many questions– the lady who assisted us knew very little English too).

The second store had a different set-up, but again all the same, it was a boutique that sold Hermes leather goods only. This place also sold garden party totes. The garden party tote is also very popular among the Japanese. I’ve seen so many women carrying this style that even DH took notice! He said that the bag has a way of “growing on you”. For someone who doesn’t normally give two cents about women’s handbags, that’s quite an observation. DH is finally taking notice hahaha (waaah thebaghag trained him well apparently haha). Prices in this place were also not far off from the other boutique. But then Roppongi is a pretty upmarket neighborhood, so I guess the peeps who live in this area would without question be able to drop cash just like that for a birkin instead of choosing to wait years for one from the H store itself.

DH and I weren’t too keen on coming back to Roppongi simply because apart from Tokyo Midtown and Roppongi Hills, the rest of the place is pretty much a residential area. So it was a pretty quiet area (not too tourist friendly in my opinon). But I think we’d definitely come back to Gonpachi again, and to that yummy green tea place where we stopped by to get some nice warm greentea with whipped cream drink! Oh and to that famous meeting place, Almond 🙂
P.S. Hehehe… if the 80s and 90s were alive in Tokyo, so is Hard Rock Cafe! Hard Rock Cafe is still loving all and serving all in Roppongi 😀

xx
Mrs.T