Merry Christmas!
And a happy new year everyone! I've just come back from (you guessed it) a two leg journey to Tokyo and Taipei! Safe to say it was really amazing, and I had a lot of fun, and I shall be making this post a STRONG (yup you heard me) recommendation on which ward to stay in in Tokyo (Ward means Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akihabara etc.) whether you're there to shop, be an otaku, or find doujins or whatever, I have found the answer to the one location which will satisfy all the needs and more.
But first off, what did I do before I left?
Slaved my ass off at my part time job, and then spent the last weekday before the trip with an old friend of mine, my Looney Tooney Sohbo. Now we've had WAY to many ups and downs for a roller coaster, and all the same I've never met a person with a personality who has clashed and yet mashed so well with mine. It's really awesome (abeit annoying at times and brain wrecking and etc etc) being her friend. I'll never find another person that I'd get along with so well, ever. I doubt I will ever find a person with such chemistry in my life ever again. Watched rise of the guardians for a round 2 and talked about everything under the sky. Screw all the times we've fought, they're funny. It's these awesome times that mean more.
OKAY SO FROM HERE ON IT'S ABOUT TOKYO.
Which wonderous ward have I been rambling about so passionately? Believe it or not, I'm talking about often neglected (I think ) Ikebukuro , and I'll highlight 1 hotel in Particular that if you decide to stay there, you have to stay in- and it's The B Ikebukuro. Why highlight this hotel? It has amazing locality, it's recommended by expedia and I'm telling you it's priced damn well for it's awesomeness.
Now to stay in the B, if you're alone, and it's a weekday, it's SGD 144.82 A NIGHT. Which is stinking cheap for a hotel this good. The lobby has free WiFi (and free coffee and a Laptop you can use) and the rooms are neat and clean. Very cosy as well, and beds are comfortable. However, the toilet is small. Not TINY, but enough to use. Amenities like Toothbrushes and Combs are provided, as well as- wait for it- SHISEIDO BODY WASH AND FACIAL SCRUB AND ASDFGHJKL I mean really that was quite great. It has a Mini Bar and TV in the room and there are vending machines on certain levels of the hotel. You can even pay extra for breakfast in the hotel.
Okay so you don't really care what's in the room. But you will LOVE the locality if you're an Otaku. Or a Shopper. Or anything really. If you look out from the MAIN DOOR of the hotel, and look up and across, you will see the 6 Floor animate building. That's right, it's literally diagonally across from your hotel. All you have to do is walk through the Parking Lot and into the street. And it's dead ahead. This is the largest Animate store in Tokyo I think, containing Merchandise and Comics and Games and Doujins and OST's and whatever you can THINK OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE ANIME well they have it. IN 1 STORE, WITH 9 FLOORS. I hope you're drooling at the prospect because it's literally a 3-5 Minute walk.
If you're the lolita person, along that walk you'll be able to see Closet Child, and in the same shop you'll be in Dollyteria too (for those with BJD's). It's in a little Dingy Building on the 3rd Floor, take the elevator up although it looks freaking scary. If you're a caffine Junkie there's a Starbucks located near there too, so don't panic.
Okay so you're stuck with family. Down the street ( to your right ) is a huge (and I mean freaking huge) Seibu Store, as well as a Parco and a Muji. It's got stuff for the whole freaking family. And It has plenty of cute stores too. It's a maze though, so I suggest taking a floor Guide. Food is no issue, with the bottom of Seibu having this HUGE supermarket thing that really only sells food that can be eaten right out of the box, like Takopachi and Bentos and Lasagne and stuff. It has caramel pudding too, and a few bread shops. There's auntie anne's too, beside Seibu, and a whole load of Eateries surrounding the whole area.
Okay so you're STILL not interested in any of the above and you like electronics. And you think "well I'll go to Akihabara". You don't have to. There are 2 BIC Camera Stores across the road from each other. 6-7 floors, BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD. And don't be stupid, Bic Camera doesn't just sell Cameras. It sells a whole LOAD of different types of electronics, from Walkmans to Washing Machines. It's just amazing what this ward has to offer, I'm serious.
And now you're saying you wanna visit places like Harajuku and Shinjuku and Shibuya too. Relax, Ikebukuro is on the same JR line as ALL of those things, and all you have to do is walk to Seibu and you'll see the JR entrance to the Ikebukuro Station. Yup! Ikebukuro lies on the Yamanote line that runs places like Shibuya and all the lot, so you basically only have to sit on the train and wait. Warning though, it is a MAJOR transfer station, with like 5 other lines intersecting it. You may want to avoid rush hour.
Now, you're thinking, well I wanna see K-books, and Mandrake (a cosplay store there, which does sell other items too). THEY'RE ALSO IN IKEBUKURO. Just a little further away :P Now if you're willing to walk, it's great, but it's kind of sort of far out a little. Or you could take a cab, and pay the base fare of 710 Yen. Whether you take a cab or walk, go to Sunshine Prince Hotel and Alight. What you'll see is (on the way) a K-books and a Mandrake store. Cool right? Walk out of the front lobby and turn left, and look around. You'll see it instantly. It's home to a few cosplay stores, so look around for them, and K-books, within that area alone, has 6 stores, all with different items. So Don't forget to check what you're looking for before going on a wild goose chase.
So you're (again) stuck with family. How do you get rid of them? Easy. Sunshine Prince Hotel is connected to a shopping mall with plenty to look at, just go to reception and they'll point you in the right direction.*POINT* Most / all Japanese stores typically open at 11am, so don't bother getting out any earlier.
Places to Visit in the different wards?
Harajuku: For the Lolita/Punk Enthusiast, Innocent World and Bodyline. Bodyline is on the second floor of a building, so look UP. There's plenty of good crepes here too, so stop for one.
Shibuya: A Sushi Restaurant called Midori. 4th Floor, Mark's Building, come out of the station turn left. Queue Early, it's a little pricey but it's 1000000% worth it.
Akihabara: Yodabushi Camera. It doesn't (again) just sell electronics, but it also has major amounts of Make Up there. It's really Awesome.
Ueno: Walk the whole street. Try not to get lost. The end.
Also, I suggest (In Ikebukuro) walking to the right (of the B Ikebukuro), crossing the road, the crossing again (to the right side) to find a Pharmacy thing called Esscence. It has Lenses, Eyelashes- it's like a cosplay/gyaru dream store. For those who wanna know, aim to Buy Jumily and Dollywink eyelashes there. I realize that Dollywink/ Candydoll do not have the best foundations or whatnot in their market, there are plenty of better ones, aim for those. The lashes are 1260 Yen (dollywink) and 1050 Yen (Jumily, I suggest the type 2 (?) ones because they come with 2 different styles of lashes)
So this is all I can vomit and spazz out about Ikebukuro and it's awesomeness, and if you guys have like other things you want to know before planning your next trip, ASK! There's a lot more I didn't include XD hope you guys didn't find this too long! Till next time for taiwan, then?
xoxo
But first off, what did I do before I left?
Slaved my ass off at my part time job, and then spent the last weekday before the trip with an old friend of mine, my Looney Tooney Sohbo. Now we've had WAY to many ups and downs for a roller coaster, and all the same I've never met a person with a personality who has clashed and yet mashed so well with mine. It's really awesome (abeit annoying at times and brain wrecking and etc etc) being her friend. I'll never find another person that I'd get along with so well, ever. I doubt I will ever find a person with such chemistry in my life ever again. Watched rise of the guardians for a round 2 and talked about everything under the sky. Screw all the times we've fought, they're funny. It's these awesome times that mean more.
OKAY SO FROM HERE ON IT'S ABOUT TOKYO.
Which wonderous ward have I been rambling about so passionately? Believe it or not, I'm talking about often neglected (I think ) Ikebukuro , and I'll highlight 1 hotel in Particular that if you decide to stay there, you have to stay in- and it's The B Ikebukuro. Why highlight this hotel? It has amazing locality, it's recommended by expedia and I'm telling you it's priced damn well for it's awesomeness.
Now to stay in the B, if you're alone, and it's a weekday, it's SGD 144.82 A NIGHT. Which is stinking cheap for a hotel this good. The lobby has free WiFi (and free coffee and a Laptop you can use) and the rooms are neat and clean. Very cosy as well, and beds are comfortable. However, the toilet is small. Not TINY, but enough to use. Amenities like Toothbrushes and Combs are provided, as well as- wait for it- SHISEIDO BODY WASH AND FACIAL SCRUB AND ASDFGHJKL I mean really that was quite great. It has a Mini Bar and TV in the room and there are vending machines on certain levels of the hotel. You can even pay extra for breakfast in the hotel.
Okay so you don't really care what's in the room. But you will LOVE the locality if you're an Otaku. Or a Shopper. Or anything really. If you look out from the MAIN DOOR of the hotel, and look up and across, you will see the 6 Floor animate building. That's right, it's literally diagonally across from your hotel. All you have to do is walk through the Parking Lot and into the street. And it's dead ahead. This is the largest Animate store in Tokyo I think, containing Merchandise and Comics and Games and Doujins and OST's and whatever you can THINK OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE ANIME well they have it. IN 1 STORE, WITH 9 FLOORS. I hope you're drooling at the prospect because it's literally a 3-5 Minute walk.
If you're the lolita person, along that walk you'll be able to see Closet Child, and in the same shop you'll be in Dollyteria too (for those with BJD's). It's in a little Dingy Building on the 3rd Floor, take the elevator up although it looks freaking scary. If you're a caffine Junkie there's a Starbucks located near there too, so don't panic.
Okay so you're stuck with family. Down the street ( to your right ) is a huge (and I mean freaking huge) Seibu Store, as well as a Parco and a Muji. It's got stuff for the whole freaking family. And It has plenty of cute stores too. It's a maze though, so I suggest taking a floor Guide. Food is no issue, with the bottom of Seibu having this HUGE supermarket thing that really only sells food that can be eaten right out of the box, like Takopachi and Bentos and Lasagne and stuff. It has caramel pudding too, and a few bread shops. There's auntie anne's too, beside Seibu, and a whole load of Eateries surrounding the whole area.
Okay so you're STILL not interested in any of the above and you like electronics. And you think "well I'll go to Akihabara". You don't have to. There are 2 BIC Camera Stores across the road from each other. 6-7 floors, BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD. And don't be stupid, Bic Camera doesn't just sell Cameras. It sells a whole LOAD of different types of electronics, from Walkmans to Washing Machines. It's just amazing what this ward has to offer, I'm serious.
And now you're saying you wanna visit places like Harajuku and Shinjuku and Shibuya too. Relax, Ikebukuro is on the same JR line as ALL of those things, and all you have to do is walk to Seibu and you'll see the JR entrance to the Ikebukuro Station. Yup! Ikebukuro lies on the Yamanote line that runs places like Shibuya and all the lot, so you basically only have to sit on the train and wait. Warning though, it is a MAJOR transfer station, with like 5 other lines intersecting it. You may want to avoid rush hour.
Now, you're thinking, well I wanna see K-books, and Mandrake (a cosplay store there, which does sell other items too). THEY'RE ALSO IN IKEBUKURO. Just a little further away :P Now if you're willing to walk, it's great, but it's kind of sort of far out a little. Or you could take a cab, and pay the base fare of 710 Yen. Whether you take a cab or walk, go to Sunshine Prince Hotel and Alight. What you'll see is (on the way) a K-books and a Mandrake store. Cool right? Walk out of the front lobby and turn left, and look around. You'll see it instantly. It's home to a few cosplay stores, so look around for them, and K-books, within that area alone, has 6 stores, all with different items. So Don't forget to check what you're looking for before going on a wild goose chase.
So you're (again) stuck with family. How do you get rid of them? Easy. Sunshine Prince Hotel is connected to a shopping mall with plenty to look at, just go to reception and they'll point you in the right direction.*POINT* Most / all Japanese stores typically open at 11am, so don't bother getting out any earlier.
Places to Visit in the different wards?
Harajuku: For the Lolita/Punk Enthusiast, Innocent World and Bodyline. Bodyline is on the second floor of a building, so look UP. There's plenty of good crepes here too, so stop for one.
Shibuya: A Sushi Restaurant called Midori. 4th Floor, Mark's Building, come out of the station turn left. Queue Early, it's a little pricey but it's 1000000% worth it.
Akihabara: Yodabushi Camera. It doesn't (again) just sell electronics, but it also has major amounts of Make Up there. It's really Awesome.
Ueno: Walk the whole street. Try not to get lost. The end.
Also, I suggest (In Ikebukuro) walking to the right (of the B Ikebukuro), crossing the road, the crossing again (to the right side) to find a Pharmacy thing called Esscence. It has Lenses, Eyelashes- it's like a cosplay/gyaru dream store. For those who wanna know, aim to Buy Jumily and Dollywink eyelashes there. I realize that Dollywink/ Candydoll do not have the best foundations or whatnot in their market, there are plenty of better ones, aim for those. The lashes are 1260 Yen (dollywink) and 1050 Yen (Jumily, I suggest the type 2 (?) ones because they come with 2 different styles of lashes)
So this is all I can vomit and spazz out about Ikebukuro and it's awesomeness, and if you guys have like other things you want to know before planning your next trip, ASK! There's a lot more I didn't include XD hope you guys didn't find this too long! Till next time for taiwan, then?
xoxo
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