kenleewrites in 日本

No, this isn’t New York or somewhere else in the States. Don’t let that star-spangled banner fool you. ^^

It’s been a while since I last went down all the way to Ginza. But given its reputation as a posh town, it’s always a good place to bring friends who are visiting shopping.

Our first stop for the day was Uniqlo.

Did you know that Uniqlo is a portmanteau of “unique” and “clothing”? I didn’t know that till I consulted Professor Wikipedia.

Uniqlo has quite a big presence in Glittering Ginza; 4 storeys of shopping goodness.

They sell some pretty decent clothes at reasonable prices; just a tad bit lower than Muji. Besides that, the 2 main differences (imo) are the choice of colors and Uniqlo only selling clothing. ^^ I heard Uniqlo started shop overseas. Seen any in your local area?

It’s denim!

H&M just opened shop in Ginza recently; their very first in Japan. This is what the building looks like. H&M in relatively small rich red.

When they first opened, many queued in line just to be among the first to get in. The queue hasn’t died down yet.

Guards were still there to maintain law and order, ushering shoppers in from time to time. Would you queue in line just to get into a store? I did queue in line on day 1 for the iPhone and to get into wonfes, but I just don’t see myself queueing up just to get into a crowded store with no guarantee that I’ll leave with something. Shopping for clothes in a crowded area is also somewhat stressful don’t you think?

Saw an ambulance roaring through traffic.

I hope they get to where they are needed in time.

Red traffic lights equal…

red tail lights!

Went into one of those big department stores. I think it was Mitsukoshi. I didn’t take any photos in there… they all look the same to me. This is just the cosmetics department.

A successful department store strategy is to have the first few floors just for ladies, the ground or first floor (depending on where you come from) usually cosmetics and fragrances. This particular one had like 6 floors for ladies and 2 for guys. Not that I’m complaining, but I had to ride on a few escalators to get to shopping for me. ><. I think it's unprecedented to have men's on the first few floors and women's on top. ^^.

Some more shots in Ginza. The thing about autumn is that it gets dark pretty early... like at 1730. Good thing we have good ol' casio to remind us of the time. ^^

No trip to Ginza is ever complete without setting foot into the Apple store. ^^. Look at all the airs. Check out panther’s special air review. There’s going to be an Apple event on October 14th; we’re going to see some new notebooks!

Another place I also frequent alot in Ginza is Itoya. Another one of my “difficult to walk in and leave empty-handed” kind of store. Itoya has tons of stationary.

Many big fashion brands in Ginza.

Do you go for branded stuff? I usually spend on gadgets and electronics… figures too. ^^.