Tokyo 2008: Jackie Shinjuku Harajuku (it rhymes!)

I only learned to really enjoy Japanese curry on Tonkatsu in Tokyo. I’ve honestly never even bothered to order tonkatsu in Japanese restaurants because, why bother if you get full with sushi and sashimi 😉

But I am grateful for having discovered CoCo Curry at Shibuya during our last trip. Because of that place, I now love Japanese curry tonkatsu. We went to Shinjuku and were so hungry that we settled for the first place we encountered. It was one of those restaurants with that slot machine that’ll take your order again. No problemo, Mrs.T said to DH, having somewhat mastered this ordering system (hehehe… I think I’ll add this to my resume under the “skills” category…. slot machine food ordering system… hehe)

A little cholesterol overload on a vacation wouldn’t really hurt the overall health grade, would it? 🙂Had some miso soup to go with my meal. Boy I walked out of that restaurant with an obvious bulge in my stomach. I felt like I was fed so much because I was to be butchered and sold in the market the next day. *muwahahaha*

We walked around a bit (in and out of small streets– yes, we were bold and fearless… we didn’t bring a map with us hahaha) before seeing another bag resale shop called Daikoku.Woohoo more bags!!! Ok, this was the place that had the “cheap” birkin (I used the word “cheap” because to Hermes lovers and bag collectors, this would be considered cheap… although this is about 1.5 year’s worth of paid work for me *sob*). The top right 35cm birkin is a light blue color (not a blue jean) in courchevel leather. It was selling for Y515,000 (or about US$5,000). This would’ve been the price of a 35cm birkin some 8- 10 years ago. I actually did contemplate on buying this bag (may the credit card gods forgive this swipe, I thought to myself), but then upon closer inspection, I saw that the bottom corners are all heavily scuffed. So it was a no- go for me. *Muwahahaha, yes I admit to being one of those people who would expect to pay very low (ok, real low) price for a bag that looks almost new… Isn’t that just annoying? hehehe.. Imagine I’d say, “What? so expensive and the bag looks so old and abused!”… Boy, am I the ultimate shopper from hell or what? Tsk*

Another huge mecca of a second hand “luxury” store is Komehyo. There are some 5 or 6 floors of luxurious “stuff” like designer jewelry, watches, bags, shoes, and clothes. This was almost heaven for me. I spent a good hour on the jewelry floor alone. I was however, a bit disappointed with the bag inventory. They hardly had any Chanel bags there. They had however, a few black crocodile birkins in stock as well as tons of second hand Louis Vuitton bags. *Sigh* I don’t need a new bag. (Mantra: I don’t need a new bag….)

After we’ve exhausted Shinjuku (actually, we were exhausted with Shinjuku… there were so many more things to see there, but we were pressed for time and had to move on), we went to Harajuku/ Omotesando.

Harajuku is so “westernized” in my opinion– I mean, hello, McDonalds, Wolfgang Puck…

I wanted something Japanese… like Snowcones *hehehe… they’re not really Japanese*
But hey, that far right snow cone with ice cream is Japanese– it’s green tea topped with red bean! So that was what I had. Too bad though. I’m not a fan of red bean and this ice cooler certainly didn’t do much to improve my “taste” of red bean. I did however, enjoy the green tea flavor 😉

If we had ukay- ukays in the Philippines where the idea of buying second hand clothing is a novelty, in Harajuku, buying and selling second hand clothing is almost the norm. The only ukay ukay I’ve been to is in Baguio, and the clothes there aren’t exactly “neatly” displayed. In Harajuku, the clothes are likewise in racks, but they’re very “clean” and well-ironed.
I love these stores. So many things to see, but I’m already considered a blimp in Tokyo… obviously nothing fit me 🙁 *sob*

The more famous “thrift” store called Chicago. Big place too!

Now here are some neat little boutiques with names that would put the “quirkier” ones in Hong Kong to shame 🙂This is my top pick of a name 🙂 Bruce Lee (rest his soul) has nothing on this name 😀

You know you’re one when you shop here… But hey, Le Freak, C’est Chic 😀 *discoooo*

Hmmm… Candy Stripper Sale… so wait, this is a store that sells costumes for Candy Stripers who moonlight as Strippers?? 😀 Hehehe… Or *evil grin* do they sell Strippers? *Muwahahaha wouldn’t all the men want to know!! I mean, d-uh, ALL 30-80% discount!!! Strippers on sale!!!* I was under the impression that they call female hospital volunteers “Candy Stripers” and not “Strippers” 😀 *DH was grinning when we passed this store… betcha he was hoping to get a glimpse of strippers. Me being the killjoy? I refused to enter hahaha tsk 😀 (faking holiness)*

If My dear Daddy were alive to see this store, he’d laugh. He always called my room the “junk yard”. So you know what my room is like 😉 *Info overshare!!*

Anyway, enough of a post for now. More to come soon! I have to start writing for work again… tsk, just that my noggin’s been so dry lately… need inspiration!!

Need food 😉 More stories again soon!!

Public service announcement (or whatever this is called :D): JenCT wanted me to post this succeeding info for those interested: Latch, Med City, Baby Magazine, and Mom.exchange.ph are celebrating World Breastfeeding Week with an essay writing contest. All entries will be published on Momex, and winning entry will be published in Baby Magazine. Share your breastfeeding story and inspire others. Please visit Mom.exchange.ph for more details.