As I begin typing this post, I am letting my mind wander with all the things I would like to talk about. It’s been about 2 months since my trip to Tokyo, Japan and I cannot understand why I have not written an entry about it yet. Perhaps it’s the fact that nobody can tell you anything new anymore about where to get the products and roughly how much you’re looking at forking out for the various things.

What I can share of course is perhaps a picture of the haul (not including food and other items) as well as related photos taken by me. Boom…feast your eyes.

I forgot to include these two within the main picture.

Please see here for a full list of the items bought.

It may appear like a lot of items but Japan will test your restraint. I liked the simplicity of the Japanese ingredients and packaging when I was doing my research. What I did miss was of course the little bit of English that is most often than not displayed on Korean items.

I will be briefly mentioning some ideas of where to go and these will be accompanied with Google Street view links, I don’t know about you but I for one am still amazed that we can click one link to transfer us to another street on the other side of the world.

How I tackled the issue of actually buying the items that I wanted was to have a list of the names and the image of the package itself to hand. Yes, I may have looked really silly shopping with a few sheets of papers and checking if the characters on the product matched with the image I had of it but it saved me a lot of hassle. Besides I had 3 weeks so I was in no rush at all :).

In terms of selecting items, there was only one website that I religiously consulted: Ratzillacosme. I’m sure most of you are familiar with it but it is worth checking if you haven’t yet and have an interest in Japanese products.

In terms of the general shopping experience, I can only describe it as very loud, chirpy, colourful and friendly. Every shop that you step in has incredibly friendly staff members which take time to welcome you and leave you to it. Complete contrast with other countries, you do not feel pressured to buy or the need to tell and overeager sales assistant to do one. The only exception to this were the shops in Koreatown (Shinjuku) and although I bought some items from smaller shops were I was left alone to do my thang, I didn’t end up buying anything from Skingarden for example because I was getting stuff smeared on my hand and then washed away to demonstrate how awesome the products were and on top of that, the sales assistants were amongst the pushiest I have ever encountered. Maybe it is the Brit in me but I didn’t buy anything because of it. In any event, on par with obtaining pics of North Korea and smuggling these out of the country…I did manage to take some pictures.

So where did I buy most of my products I hear you ask. Well, Don Quijote and Matsamuto of course. These shops are littered all over town and there are never a short walk away from wherever you are. I loved Don Quijote in particular because of the fact they also sold household items and food. The pictures below are from a Don Quijote next to Tokyo Domo and the one in Asakusa.

Matsumuto is a general drug store and although they tend to be on every corner, they are very compact and convenient to pop in and out of if you’re seeking a particularly elusive product. The photos below are from the storefront of a few branches in Akihabara, Shibuya and Takeshita Street.

A few pictures of what it looks like inside:-

Takeshita Street was particularly a lot of fun to go through. Because I went during Christmas and New Years they had a lot of lucky bags for sale at cute shops selling some jewellery and hair accessories. Here are some more pictures I took of Takeshita street:-

You can present your passport and the items will be sealed for you if you wish to shop tax free. Please be mindful that sometimes you will have to go to a separate queue for tax free items.

Picked up a few masks from Skinfood as well in the Tokyo Domo shopping centre.

Overall, this trip was amazeballs and I truly enjoyed every second of it. Hope you enjoyed reading this and next up will be a review of the Kikumasamune Lotion.

Xx