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hong kong tokyo shopping opinion


Kasper

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i'm going to Hong Kong for the first time at the end of the month. i'm travelling with miles and there's a black out period at the beggining of may cause of golden week in Japan. i have the option of going for 7 days or 11 days (can't come back in between). the things is, while browsing through the threads about Hong Kong shopping, i'm not convince that i will find much stuff there that i can't find here in Tokyo where i live and that the prices wouldn't be that attractive. i'll be with my girlfriend for the first 7 days and surprisingly, she isn't as much into shopping as i am so i don't think spending more than a day on shopping would be possible. what i wanted to ask is do you think it would be worth it to extend my trip to 11 days so i could have some shopping time or should i just come back to Tokyo cause i can find everything and more here?

also, if someone could suggest a good club or lounge that play good music (underground Hip-Hop, not some 50 cents shit or some electronic stuff) that would be much appreciated.

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I don't know what threads you perused, but I think they're misinformed. Hong Kong is a shopper's paradise. There is no sales tax and you can find many factory outlets. Tell me what brands you're looking for and I'll shoot you in the right direction. Compared to Tokyo... NO... everything in Tokyo is RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Even the big mac meal I had there was circa $7.

Now as for underground hip-hop at clubs.. you're shit out of luck. the clubs here are garbage and they play nothin but Black Eyed Peas and shit. The closest thing to it would probably check out Pi lounge in Lan Kwai Fung on Thursday nights. DJ Kulu hold Vltralounge where it's a variety of downtempo, jazz, and local hiphop freestyling. Just some cool shit.

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Quote:

I don't know what threads you perused, but I think they're misinformed. Hong Kong is a shopper's paradise. There is no sales tax and you can find many factory outlets. Tell me what brands you're looking for and I'll shoot you in the right direction. Compared to Tokyo... NO... everything in Tokyo is RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Even the big mac meal I had there was circa $7.

Now as for underground hip-hop at clubs.. you're shit out of luck. the clubs here are garbage and they play nothin but Black Eyed Peas and shit. The closest thing to it would probably check out Pi lounge in Lan Kwai Fung on Thursday nights. DJ Kulu hold Vltralounge where it's a variety of downtempo, jazz, and local hiphop freestyling. Just some cool shit.

--- Original message by Landy on Apr 11, 2006 01:15 PM

Red monkey

Evisu

Y-3

Bape

Ijin

Maharishi

And some own brands that can't be found in uk! I'm going to both tokyo and Hk and also china, cambodia and thailand. So is HK cheap then? Which will be best for 1. clothing 2. electronics in terms of which one is going to be cheaper baring in mind i've only got about 2 days in each.

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i think for japanese brands, they're probably cheaper in japan because they don't have to import. but of course if you see a deal, you can always take it. stuff like red monkey is cheaper here. there's a lot of stores here that carry it. there's bape stuff everywhere here too, but be careful for knock offs. if you go to the BWS in central you'll be disappointed because the stock has been gutted clean from crazy shoppers. only a few crappy t-shirts left and odd sized shoes. check out the D-Mop store in silvercord in tsim sha tsui (across ocean terminal). they have a ton of Y-3 stuff there. red monkey is carried in a store called 1001 and also at a department store called lane crawford. i saw some maharishi stuff in a store in central. i forgot the name but it was near lan kwai fung. but i really think you'd probbaly find more maharishi stuff in the UK.

i think electronics in hong kong are much much cheaper. i bought a sony camera in HK 2 years ago and it was several dollars more in tokyo. beware of local electronics shops because they're very good at jerking people. try a large reputable chain electronics store like fortress.

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well you could start in central. do some shoppin at the BWS store and IFC2 mall.. then take the ferry over to tsim sha tsui. its a good cheap way to look at the city. shop around TST where ocean terminal, silvercord, and various electronics store is. make sure you catch the 8pm light show on the promenade.

maybe use the next day to wander around causeway bay to check out the lil boutiques there.

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i wouldn't extend your stay for shopping.

anything i wanted was way overpriced (all jap. brands though), as far as "cheap stuff" i didn't buy anything because i thought it was all overpriced compared to the mainland. if you want cheap stuff maybe you should go over to shenzhen- its only 40 min. by train from hong kong (but depending on your nationality you may need a visa)... and that's where you should get cheap stuff.

the mhi place was called sistyr moon.

but hong kong has a lot of touristy stuff to do, you can go out to many outlying islands, you can go hiking in the new territories, beaches, there's disneyland and ocean park....

Edited by xcoldricex on Apr 12, 2006 at 07:30 PM

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the only place where you can hear some underground hiphop is dip on hollywood road (its hard to find though) on fridays- if they're still doing it.

all the other hiphop clubs- heihei, sugar (here if you're lucky and its darryl is playing stuff late night he might play some good stuff), papparrazi, etc. play top 40 shit.

what's golden week? uhoh. i'm planning on heading to japan at the end of april- you're located in tokyo? i'm going to be there for about a month and half, maybe longer. i can give you what i know about hk and you can help me out with tokyo. email me!

Edited by xcoldricex on Apr 12, 2006 at 07:45 PM

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  • 2 weeks later...

thanks for all the infos. Golden week is a week in japan where there's like 4 publics holidays so most companies will close down for the week so most ppl here get holidays. and it seems that pretty much everyone HAS to go somewhere on holiday so it's pretty crazy. the airport is packed like a rolling stone concert and the trains run at like 200% capacity.

xcoldricex, thanks for the offer, and don't hesitate to ask me about tokyo. i was told by some friends that many high-rise have bars/lounge on their top floor and i'm pretty down with the idea of having a drink while looking at hong kong skyline. i know these place must be a bit expensive but i would appreciate if someone could make a recomandation. also, if you have some other idea like restaurants/neighborhood/touristy stuff that i might not see in a tourist guide or any other things i shouldn't miss out, don't hesitate to suggest something to me.

one last thing, i was hoping i could bring my girlfriend to a cruise dinner but so far, the only cruises a found were like cheasy huge boat that didn't even have chinese food. i would like to go to something more traditional, i don't mind paying a high price so if someone has ever done something similar or has any info, it would be much appreciated.

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if you're lookin for high-rise bars...

in Central, Pi club/lounge has a stunning view of midlevels and the surrounding central area

in causeway bay, there's a building called the continental diamond plaza. there are several bars and lounges in each of the top floors. one of my friends own a place called siren on the 21st floor. if you wanna bar hop just go floor to floor.

ahhh but there's one lounge in TST in particular that's well known with a stunning view of the HK skyline. i don't know if its sky lounge in sheraton or what. i gotta remember. i've never been though myself. maybe coldrice knows the name.

as for a cruise dinner.. if you have bank.. i know there are junks you can rent where they take you to the outskirts of hong kong. small fishing boats come up along side your boat with their fresh catches and they cook it for you right on their boat. i dunno who you would call about that though. try the aberdeen marine club or soemthin.

Edited by Landy on Apr 26, 2006 at 01:08 AM

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Landy can you give me your opinions on these shops and what they sell (if you know)

8Five2

JUICE

Dmop

EXIT

Silvercord i.t BEAMS T

Also which area is going to be best because i only have one day really! Are many of the areas close together?

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8five2 - i kno the owner. cool ass OG skater dood named brian. 8five2 is mostly a streetwear/skate shop... more oriented to skate stuff, but they carry some good stuff from crooks & castles to mike. the shop is real small but has a real mom n pop feel to it. look out for brian's own knowledge line. he makes t-shirts and hats emblazened with the HK 852 area code. definitely some cool stuff to bring back home cuz its something indigineous to HK as opposed to the japanese stuff. grab an 852 trucker hat or somethin. i got one myself.

Juice - poptart edison chen's store. staff there is snobby as fuck. the location is upstairs so you got to do a big of hunting to find the place. they carry mostly japanese labels. stuff like neighborhood. real pricey shit that puts a dent in your wallet. but they do got some nice and interesting designs. but reaaal pricey.

dmop - high-end boutique stuff that carries stuff like g-star, evisu, Y-3, etc. lotta high end fashion stuff at high end prices. but nothing super spectacular that you couldn't find online or at home.

EXIT - never been there or maybe i have and don't remember the store's name.

BEAMS T - i walked in and walked right out in the silvercord mall. they have a lot of really cool t-shirts. some really dope designs and stuff... but i would never pay $60 USD for a t-shirt, no matter how cool it is. i'd rather buy some fobby shirt at the market for $3 USD. it'd be a better story anyways then as opposed to goin to some mall and slappin down some dough.

8five2, juice, dmop are all located in causeway bay and within general vicinity to each other. the silvercord mall is in tsim sha tsui though i wouldn't be surprised if they had a location in CWB as well. if you don't give a shit about sight seeing and you only wanna shop.. definitely just stay in causeway bay. you could definitely spend a whole day there blowing your money. where d-mop and juice are located right next to "fashion island" where there is a shitload of stores and stuff there.. just fancy boutiques. CWB is almost home to a lot of small local HK designers like around where 8five2 shop is. if you look around, you can find a lot of cool local things that won't break your wallet either.

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are any of the factory outlet shops worth going to, what labels do they sell? Mum wants to go up to the peak and go on the star ferry and see the laser show and the rest of the day is mine for shopping, we are staying at the charter house in Wan Chai, have you got any more reccomendations or suggestions how we spend the day - thanks again.

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s for outlet stuff.. i mean there's tons of import/export shops all over HK.. even in wan chai. they're just these clothing shops that have a mish mash of labels. like you'll just see racks of akademik, LRG, and roxy shirts going for $7 USD and sweatshirts of other brands on another.you're better off telling me what labels you're interested in and i'll tell you where to go.

are you only going to be in HK for one day? if your mom is gonna drag you everywhere, i don't see how you will have time for yourself to shop. the peak is gonna take you a couple hours to get up there and look around and if she takes you to see the laser light show, you'll be at the TST promenade at exactly 8pm. so that pretty much sucks up your afternoon and evening. might as well tell your mom to forget it and you're going off on your own.

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he should be so lucky - its his mother who's got the wallet. I'm only bothered about going on the tram up the peak and having a look at the view for ten minutes is that possible before the shops open and I wondered if we could see the laser

show from the star ferry or will it be impossible to get on it because every one has the same idea.

Most the brands i'm going for are not likely to be in there i don't think:

RMC

Y-3

Evisu

Doubt they will be but possibly these might?

Armani

Adidas Originals

Puma

Nike

D&G

Edited by janneh on May 1, 2006 at 10:31 AM

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there's no rush to the laser show. they have it every single night so its not like its once in a lifetime. you can grab the ferry or just take the train.

i kno up at the peak has a mall but i haven't been there in years. so i dunno if it has that stuff.

if you're mostly interested in RMC, Y-3, and evisu then why don't you do this...

take the peak with your moms, the tram and all. have a nice lunch or whatever. take the tram back to central and then head to the IFC2 mall. there's the flagship lane crawford store there that carries RMC and evisu as well as a ton of other fancy brands. the IFC2 mall also has the evisu flagship store there as well.

after central, take the ferry to the tsim sha tsui. there's another lane crawford there in ocean center. silvercord mall is also right next to ocean center so you can check out d-mop and beams t. after that you can check out the laser light show. that shit lasts bout 10 minutes and you can still do some more shoppin after that. on granville road in TST there's a ton of nike and adidas stores. also right around the corner on chatnam road is 1001 originals which carries evisu and RMC.

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HK has the best shopping bar none. In fact, Japanese brand clothing are often cheaper in HK than in Tokyo, which is absolutely ridiculous-- e.g. Evisu, Bape, Hysteric Glamour, Neighborhood. I know for a fact because I was in both countries within a week, saw the exact same product, and it was priced cheaper in HK than it was Tokyo.

With the price to transportation, you would expect at least japanese brand clothes would be cheaper in Tokyo than HK, but the fact is, it's generally not. I venture to speculate that there's just higher supply in HK given demand and lower standard of living all around in HK.

(With that said, I would suggest that in HK, just walk around and go into everystore that looks like it might have something-- sure, while you might start going crazy with hypercapitalist consumerism, it will probably also mean that you will score mad good clothes for cheap. I second where everyone says to go shop. Generally Mong Kok, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai. In that order)

Edited by Sauce on May 5, 2006 at 11:52 AM

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im going in 2 weeks and i was wondering...since the bape BWS store will be out of good stuff, where else can i get LEGIT bape gear? im looking for hoodies and shoes

other brands/items im looking for:

bape

xlarge

nike (dunks, jordans, vintage, air max) heat

dry denim or fashion denim (apc, evisu (not the baggy ones), nudie, cheap monday, etc)

high fashion stuff (h&m, etc im not too sure)

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there's bape stuff all over causeway bay. just look around the streets on lockhard road and cannon road, behind sogo. there's even a bape store built into an ichiban crepe place. they call it bape and crepes. check the stores on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

xlarge can be found at the i.t. stores. they have one in fashion walk of causeway bay.

nikes can be found in mongkok on nelson street and also in this shopping mall on shantung street between nathan and sai yeung choi south.

dry denim. APC has a store in silvercord in tsim sha tsui. but they also have one in causeway bay. check their site for the location. nudies are only sold at seibu in pacific place. i saw that they only have the baggy bjorns in dry selvage (which i picked up) and the slim jims in dry i think. evisu can be found in the flagship store in the IFC2 mall. also check the lane crawford store in the IFC2 mall and pacific place cuz they carry a wide variety of dry denim from aletier la durance to PRPS.

h&m high fashion? if you want high fashion just look around central. it's like 5th avenue, new york. there's an entire complex full of armani stuff there.

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There are numerous places that are exclusive Bape retailers, ConceptShop HK being one of them. Google them, you'll get their webpage as well as their address. I know that there are a few more of them, but I am only familiar with Concept Shop.

There is also a X-Large store in Silvercord in TST, and APC has another location in Causeway Bay across from Juice.

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^ i think i saw one shop, but it was so obvious that it was fake. plus the prices were too low. but the other boutiques around there, they carry the real stuff. i don't think i've ever seen a shop sell fake bape at real prices. so if the price is up there, then you kno its real

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