Our Haul

Shopping in Tokyo was not cheap, but the quality of what was on sale was undeniably superior to that sold at home. We certainly felt we got what we paid for. N.B. The photos are here are but a selection of what we bought. Sadly, there are no photos of some of our best buys, from places like Uniqlo.

Clothes

from the Graniph - - my favourite t-shirt brand - stores in Harajuku and Ueno (4200Y/S$63 for two)

from Tokyo National Museum

Bags,Shoes and Stockings

Unisa, from Isetan Shinjuku

from a boutique in Laforet Shopping Centre

traditional Japanese-style bags, from Nakamise Dori in Asakusa (2100Y/S$32.25 each)

my Porter bag, from the Porter outlet at Takashimaya Times Square

fashionable tights, from some department store in Ueno (1785Y/S$26.80)

Indulgences

From Burberry Blue (background) and Miu Miu (foreground), from the Harajuku/Aoyama stores

from the Apple Store in Ginza

Yes, yes, how weird to go to Tokyo to buy an iPod, but it was there...


Japanese Ceramics

All these were from Kappadoshi Dori in Asakusa.

one goma aka sesame seed grinder (top left) and three beautiful bowls

cups depicting various types of sushi - cheesy! (250Y/S$3.75 each)

Things Ghibli and More

All these were from the Ghibli Museum and Kiddyland in Omotesando. It may all look a little excessive, but some of these were for friends, I swear.

(front row, from left) Gigi the cat, extra small Totoro, Kittenbus (back row, from right) Totoro - small, medium and large

(anti-clockwise from left) soft Totoro magnet, Totoro windup toy, Gigi magnet, Totoro magnet, Totoro mugs, "Spirited Away" soundtrack and Totoro phone thingum

Totoro face towels

(anti-clockwise from bottom left) Gigi phone thingum, Totoro magnets 1, Totoro magnets 2, Catbus pencil case, Totoro ceramic

(anti-clockwise from bottom left) Little Twin Star mirror, lego memory cardcase, cute elephant bib, Baby Pooh

Blythe file

Food!

Tokyo bananas!

For the uninitiated, these are soft sponge cakes shaped like bananas and filled with banana-flavoured cream. How is this Japanese? It is. Trust me.

more Japanese confectionary, shaped as Doraemon to add cute factor if need be

dried scallops, from Tsukiji Fish Market (1500Y/S$22.50 for a tub of standard ones and 4000Y/S$60 for better quality ones)

pocky pocky pocky

things we shouldn't have been eating or drinking

instant noodles - score!

Japanese tea (1470Y/S$21.75 for 250g each, plus a small packet of tea free)

Japanese Publications and Stationery

books on life in Japan

ukiyo-e postcards, from Asasuka's Nakamise Dori

ukiyo-e files, from Ueno's Tokyo National Museum souvenir shop

Japanese fashion magazine

Miscellaneous

From Tokyu Hands, the home of ultimate weirdness and strangely compelling must-buy items:

stuff we didn't know we needed till we set eyes on them...

that's right - more rubbish

stuff we really don't need but could not resist buying, for novelty value

to go with the above, hehe

Muji was no slouch either in this department:

spectacles frame (6300Y/S$94.50), and a terry towel & retractable make-up brush (3045Y/S$45.80)

slippers and shopping bag