Tokyo travel guides cheap buys

Okay, Tokyo Cheap buys series #2!

I will be recommending the takeya store at Okachimachi station (one station away from Ueno station on the Yamanote line)

Takeya is actually made up of various buildings located beside each other (talk about wow shopping huh) & you can get tax rebates (for tourists too). Get more information from their website (well it definitely is a tourist attraction considering the fact that they have like the web up in English & Chinese too. Think they have Chinese speaking staff as well, not sure about English tho)

okay, takeya actually sell a wide variety of goods, ranging from women’s fashion, men’s fashion, electronics, food, home furniture, home accessories and so on (they have like 8 buildings or more)

web flyer here (only in Japanese)

& oh, they sell, marked down branded goods (gucci, coach, ferragamo at discounted prices too)

they only accept cash if I am not wrong, so do bring lots of cash if you are planning to splurge there ^^

download map here

this will be more of a place for grown ups than gyaru fashion tho (pls note!)

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tokyo travel guides : cheap buys

Okay, I am sure many people have said shopping in Tokyo is expensive (so is eating and whatever, no thanks to the exchange rate) 

But, i have something to say : if you want to shop for cheap(er) things, don’t go to the tourist/ high-end areas, since the things there are definitely more expensive. Shibuya109 is definitely an expensive place for you if your budget is like 30 bucks and under for a one piece (dress).

I will introduce you some of the cheaper shops in Tokyo where you can buy things for cheap (or rather at a cheaper price compared to other areas and at a reasonable quality)

First up : Shimamura (will talk about other shops in other posts)

If you have been reading popteen / is a fan of Shiina Hikari aka Pikarin/ reading some other Japanese magazines, you would  have probably heard about this shop, well while it is branded-branded (if you get what I mean), the clothes are still cute & suitable for people of all ages (they even have kids’ clothes & toys, interior goods, shoes, stationary, towels etc) and also for people in their 50s and so on, so you can go check it out, since they carry Masuwaka Tsubasa s-leg line (leggings, tights, socks etc as well)

get more information about shimamura here

& the good thing about shimamura is that they have sales items which change like every 3-5 days and they will inform customers on their website through digital flyer. for eg 22/08 -25/08

something like this (see it on the web - bigger picture)

download the map here

okay since the map is in japanese, let me tell you (shimamura is the one that have like a bubble thing popping up and it is sandwiched between Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC & sukiya and it is on the 2nd floor)

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Travel guides : Osaka, Japan

If you are visiting Osaka and is considering purchasing the enjoy eco card (800 yen/ 600 yen on PH and weekends) mentioned in previous post, you might want to consider topping up some money and get the Osaka Amazing Pass instead.

1D pass cost 2,300 yen while a 2D pass cost 3000 yen. If you were to get a 2 days enjoy eco card (1600 yen), you might as well top up 1400 yen for this 2 Days pass, which grant you free admission to 28 tourist attractions including Osaka Castle, Tsutenkaku, Tennoji Zoo and so on. It also includes discounts such as free gifts/ discounts at selected souvenirs shops or restaurants. Quite worth it I guess, considering the fact that Osaka Castle admission is probably about 500 yen, Tsutenkaku 700 yen, Floating Garden Observatory and Hep 5 Ferris Wheel 700 yen each? Plus unlimited train rides is always welcomed in Japan, seriously.

For full list of participating outlets/ benefits, click here.

However, if you are not into some attractions and want to visit only a few places a day and no pressure about wanting or feeling that you have to visit as many attractions as possible that are included in the pass, then you might want to get the enjoy eco card instead for just the unlimited train rides. If you want to visit as many places as possible in a tight schedule, then I will recommend you to get this pass. It even includes free admission to a onsen (hot springs) too.

For more info, click here

Considering the fact that one trip cost about 180yen in Osaka , if you are visiting a few places a day, it is definitely worth to get get a pass, especially since this comes with so many discounts and free admissions too.

Travelling to Japan? Use this easy and convenient website to help plan your train routes (includes timing and price too).

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Tokyo travel guide : cheap eats

Alright, bet many people are saying that food in Japan are expensive (well they are, if you are not looking at the right places or are always dining at expensive/ posh places)

I am gonna introduce a shop, or rather, an outlet shop for desserts. yup, desserts (all the girls say yay now!) While I have not been to this shop myself, I have heard that this shop sell snacks/ desserts that are sold in any other konbini (convenience stores like 7-11, family mart, lawson, sunkus, lawson 100, circle k etc) & btw, I think desserts sold at Japan konbini taste awesome. (and they are cheaper than other patisseries, bakery etc)

Okay the shop that I am recommending is Domremy Outlet which sell dessert at a discounted price (mostly due to the damaged packaging - well you know how Japanese are with their packaging…) so while there is no difference to the taste or quality of the desserts. the slightly damaged packaging or maybe shape of the cake etc might be different or considered unsuitable to be sold in shops. so they are sold here at a discounted price (yay for us!).

The branch that I am talking about is located at Ueno (on the JR yamanote line), near shinobazu pond (1F of coco grand hotel pictured below)

well, the sweets/ desserts change periodically so you might want to go to their web and find more information about their offerings.

download the map here

(simply alight from ueno station and walk towards the direction of okachimachi station) ^^ you can use the map and ask passerby for directions as well

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Tokyo travel guide : Tsukiji Daiwa Sushi

Okay, so you guys have probably heard about Tsukiji & its sushi and tuna auction etc. So, we ate at sushi dai last time, which we actually queued 3hrs + for. This time, the queue was even longer and so we went to Daiwa sushi instead which was faster because unlike sushi dai which has lesser seats and serve sushi to you after you are done, Daiwa serves sushi all at one go and well, you just have to leave after that cos there’s way too many people queuing outside. 

More info here

We waited for about 1hr+ to get into Daiwa sushi and it was worth it (btw we think it’s worth it to queue 3hrs+ for sushi dai as well)

You can look into the shop while you are queuing hehe. 

& yay, we are finally in. & have to say, sushi Dai chefs are friendlier.

Set meal comes with miso soup with fish in it

The cuts are fresh and super duper thick. we are both ootoro (tuna belly) fans and the set doesn’t come with ootoro and so we ordered one ala carte ootoro each and it is so thick and heavy when we tried to lift it up with our chopsticks, the sushi topple over ^c^v

Thick yum. 

compare the size of the fish to the rice seriously.

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