Shopping in Japan!

Been chilling out in Tokyo for over a week now..weather's been cloudy with rain on some days starting tomorrow.

People always say shopping in Japan is expensive...I dunno relative to what..Kmart or Target pricing? Unless you have a snobbish premium luxury brand preference, I often find myself going crazy shopping here in Tokyo and my check-in bags are never enough because after the currency conversion..it's still hell alot cheaper here than back home.

Take for example, I got myself a pair of Levi Jeans for 3000yen. That's about estimate HK300 dollar. Find me a boutique in HK that sell a brand new jeans at that price...If I had bought 2 pairs, 3rd pair will be free. CRAZY!

Knowing full well I am short of space, I opted for one pair of jeans and went on to get a pair of boots instead! My 9th pair? Dunno what is going to happen to all my boots when I return to Sg. Probably still wear them I guess...though it prob will invite alot of stares.. Do I care? No, not really. *lol*

Tomorrow, going to head down to Shinjuku to get more stuff. Breams is a popular local Japanese brand. The one they have here in Midtown is too limited and highend, so heading to the area where it caters to more mainstream demand is better for me. Did a round of heavy damage in Shibuya the other day. My gfs and I spent like 4 hours just in 109 alone!! Then we pop over to Loft and I spotted the hair treatment lotion my hairstylist used!

Imagine...I had to pay HK600 for hair treatment, but I get a 250ml pack for 1250yen here (125HK). I would be rather stupid not to buy it...

By the 4th day, I had practically blisters on every toes except the middle one. No it didnt all come from shopping...but some were from my 4hour hiking trip to Mitake San. Those steep slopes were a killer!!! more on the hike later...

Went Muji...bought more stuff. Went Odaiba, bought more stuff.
I am leaking money outwards contributing to the Japan economy faster than I can blink!

One observation though. There is significantly a HUGE reduction of foreigners here in Japan. In the course of the week, I had only seen 4 couples of westerners. That's almost unthinkable in the past! Even for business, there werent alot. Not sure which is a greater contributor to the drop...1. The radiation? 2. The earthquake? 3. The Euro crisis? 4. The weak US dollar? It works well for me...the streets actually felt less packed. Ha..in Japan, less packed? But I positively felt so...at least in my usual hangouts...

Alrite...gotto sleep now. 2am...waking at 10am to hit the shops when it open at 11am tmw. I need a brand new luggage soon!