Shibuya Shopping Trip

Activity > Tokyo > Shopping > Shibuya

I stared pensively out the window of the train and bit my lip. Last week, I had moved to Japan after getting a better opportunity to train in one of the biggest hospitals in the country. This, in the wake of finding out that my fiancé had been cheating on me with another member of the staff where we were working. With nothing to tie me down, I had packed my bags and flew off to the Land of the Rising Sun the moment my trip was approved.

I had quickly settled in one of the dorms that were available to the residents and made friends with one of the nicest roommates in the history of the world. With lovely round eyes and a sunny smile, Hino Kyoko was the very picture of the Japanese word kawaii or cute. She also possessed a closetful of outrageous maid outfits for when she worked in her uncle’s maid café in Akihabara, whatever that is.

I had briefly mentioned to Kyoko that I was going to need a new pair of jeans after the last one croaked on me. In that cute way of hers, she had told me that she was in the mood for a bit of a shopping spree in the weekend after she covered for one of the waitresses in their café.

"We could meet in Shibuya Station," she told me. "It’s a popular enough meeting place so people can easily point you out if you ask for directions. We can meet by the statue of Hachiko."

I have never had much of a talent navigating and so after I got off the train, I asked someone in a uniform where the statue was and waited for Kyoko to arrive. With a few directions from one of the locals, I found the statue of Hachiko and Kyoko waving to me. I shook my head and smiled at the punctuality of the Japanese, another reason I might decide to stay in this country for good.

"Really, Kyoko-san, I don’t need an armful of jeans," I teased her, staring wistfully at Tokyu. The building was huge, twelve stories high, and I was pretty sure it was packed with clothing stores. I could just get in, grab a pair, and get out as fast.

"Michelle-chan, if you want to go shopping, you really must see Center Gai first," Kyoko insisted firmly.

I wrinkled my nose. "Isn’t that where the nightclubs are?"

"It’s not yet night," she reminded me with a soft smile. "If it makes you uncomfortable, we can leave before the clubbing crowd starts coming. By then, we’ll have enough jeans to last us three months."

I followed her as we wound through the streets and almost gaped when we reached our destination. No kidding, Center Gai was a bit of paradise for the young and trendy fashionistas on a budget. Not only that, it sold everything from gadgets to video games to those weird flashing contraptions some of the youth were so fond of wearing.

Kyoko and I ducked into one of the shops where an elderly woman greeted her with a warm smile. "Ah, Kyoko-chan! Are you looking for something for a new costume?"

Kyoko presented me to the shopkeeper with a grin. "This is my new friend, Michelle. She tells me she needs a new pair of jeans."

The older woman made a sound and shook her head. "Pretty girl. Not just any jeans will do for you, if you are a friend of Kyoko. Follow me."

I followed her into the interior and at her behest and Kyoko’s, I managed to try on one outfit after another. Kyoko, as I also discovered, knew a lot of the people in the Center Gai and not just Chiharu-baasan. By the end of the afternoon, just when the sun was beginning to set, it was almost impossible to see us beyond the piles of shopping bags we managed to acquire between the two of us.

"Remind me not to go shopping with you when you’re in the mood," I told her, when we settled back into the train on our way back home.

She laughed and winked at me. "But it is very good for the heart, ne?"

I smiled and sat back, staring out the window as we sped past the city lights. She did have a point. Shopping at Shibuya was a very pleasurable experience — one that made me forget all my troubles and apprehension for a brief afternoon.

One of these days, I just might venture out on my own. With a map, of course.

I stared pensively out the window of the train and bit my lip. Last week, I had moved to Japan after getting a better opportunity to train in one of the biggest hospitals in the country. This, in the wake of finding out that my fiancé had been cheating on me with another member of the staff where we were working. With nothing to tie me down, I had packed my bags and flew off to the Land of the Rising Sun the moment my trip was approved.

I had quickly settled in one of the dorms that were available to the residents and made friends with one of the nicest roommates in the history of the world. With lovely round eyes and a sunny smile, Hino Kyoko was the very picture of the Japanese word kawaii or cute. She also possessed a closetful of outrageous maid outfits for when she worked in her uncle’s maid café in Akihabara, whatever that is.

I had briefly mentioned to Kyoko that I was going to need a new pair of jeans after the last one croaked on me. In that cute way of hers, she had told me that she was in the mood for a bit of a shopping spree in the weekend after she covered for one of the waitresses in their café.

"We could meet in Shibuya Station," she told me. "It’s a popular enough meeting place so people can easily point you out if you ask for directions. We can meet by the statue of Hachiko."

I have never had much of a talent navigating and so after I got off the train, I asked someone in a uniform where the statue was and waited for Kyoko to arrive. With a few directions from one of the locals, I found the statue of Hachiko and Kyoko waving to me. I shook my head and smiled at the punctuality of the Japanese, another reason I might decide to stay in this country for good.

"Really, Kyoko-san, I don’t need an armful of jeans," I teased her, staring wistfully at Tokyu. The building was huge, twelve stories high, and I was pretty sure it was packed with clothing stores. I could just get in, grab a pair, and get out as fast.

"Michelle-chan, if you want to go shopping, you really must see Center Gai first," Kyoko insisted firmly.

I wrinkled my nose. "Isn’t that where the nightclubs are?"

"It’s not yet night," she reminded me with a soft smile. "If it makes you uncomfortable, we can leave before the clubbing crowd starts coming. By then, we’ll have enough jeans to last us three months."

I followed her as we wound through the streets and almost gaped when we reached our destination. No kidding, Center Gai was a bit of paradise for the young and trendy fashionistas on a budget. Not only that, it sold everything from gadgets to video games to those weird flashing contraptions some of the youth were so fond of wearing.

Kyoko and I ducked into one of the shops where an elderly woman greeted her with a warm smile. "Ah, Kyoko-chan! Are you looking for something for a new costume?"

Kyoko presented me to the shopkeeper with a grin. "This is my new friend, Michelle. She tells me she needs a new pair of jeans."

The older woman made a sound and shook her head. "Pretty girl. Not just any jeans will do for you, if you are a friend of Kyoko. Follow me."

I followed her into the interior and at her behest and Kyoko’s, I managed to try on one outfit after another. Kyoko, as I also discovered, knew a lot of the people in the Center Gai and not just Chiharu-baasan. By the end of the afternoon, just when the sun was beginning to set, it was almost impossible to see us beyond the piles of shopping bags we managed to acquire between the two of us.

"Remind me not to go shopping with you when you’re in the mood," I told her, when we settled back into the train on our way back home.

She laughed and winked at me. "But it is very good for the heart, ne?"

I smiled and sat back, staring out the window as we sped past the city lights. She did have a point. Shopping at Shibuya was a very pleasurable experience — one that made me forget all my troubles and apprehension for a brief afternoon.

One of these days, I just might venture out on my own. With a map, of course.