japan :: tokyo :: general

[julianREE]

headed to tokyo/HK this christmas and have some concerns about the weak yen to dollar exchange rate.

is it worth it to buy clothes in tokyo, or is it a better idea to wait till HK? Are japanese brands (mainly interested in Julius, Viridi-Anne) that much cheaper in japan or are they similarly priced in places such as HK or NYC? Looking for Atelier NY type brands, and last time I went to Tokyo (Summer '08) I had a blast because of the incredible selection and "fair" exchange rate.

[herpsky]

just got my phone unlocked. it was easier than i thought. paid 3.50 to a seller on ebay.

[boomtime8]

Herpsky did they do the "factory unlock" just put in your phones code to apple to be moved to the unlock list, and then you just download the unlocked firmware through itunes?

[pompadork]

Using rentafone right now actually. It's like $130 my 2.5 week stay and they also let me use a little eneloop micro USB power supply as well (small battery pack in case it dies while outside). Really useful so far.

Also Harajuku is not confusing to navigate or anything maybe just overwhelming. Every human inside la foret though; my heart.

Any recommendations on tekky blakkk winter coat locations? Might just give up and go to that ICI place near the station. I'll try to find a north face store that isn't the girls only one since that's all I stumbled upon yesterday.

[herpsky]

Herpsky did they do the "factory unlock" just put in your phones code to apple to be moved to the unlock list, and then you just download the unlocked firmware through itunes?

That's exactly it. They take your IMEI (ID code) and somehow push it to Apple's server. You back-up the firmware to your computer --> you restore. You get a confirmation message in iTunes. It said something like, "congratulations your phone has now been unlocked." Surprisingly easy to do.

[herpsky]

Using rentafone right now actually. It's like $130 my 2.5 week stay and they also let me use a little eneloop micro USB power supply as well (small battery pack in case it dies while outside). Really useful so far.

Also Harajuku is not confusing to navigate or anything maybe just overwhelming. Every human inside la foret though; my heart.

Any recommendations on tekky blakkk winter coat locations? Might just give up and go to that ICI place near the station. I'll try to find a north face store that isn't the girls only one since that's all I stumbled upon yesterday.

TNF and TNF Standard on Meiji-dori both have mens items.

WISM on cat street has a lot of WM and Highland Park.

It might be easier to go to a select shop than hitting up a bunch of flagship stores.

It depends on your budget too. You would have to go to outdoor specialty stores if you don't have 50k+ yen to drop on a jacket.

Vendor has a lot of cool looking high-tech jackets by nonnative and folk.

[pompadork]

TNF and TNF Standard on Meiji-dori both have mens items.

WISM on cat street has a lot of WM and Highland Park.

It might be easier to go to a select shop than hitting up a bunch of flagship stores.

It depends on your budget too. You would have to go to outdoor specialty stores if you don't have 50k+ yen to drop on a jacket.

Vendor has a lot of cool looking high-tech jackets by nonnative and folk.

Thanks. Are those two NF stores more north of Meiji Dori like past lazy hazy planet or south towards the women's NF? I didn't go on cat street yet either today I guess. And looking to spend a lot on a coat; Canadian winter. Going to just go to Burton IMO :v I'll keep an eye out for that WISM place.

[1M]

Thanks. Are those two NF stores more north of Meiji Dori like past lazy hazy planet or south towards the women's NF? I didn't go on cat street yet either today I guess. And looking to spend a lot on a coat; Canadian winter. Going to just go to Burton IMO :v I'll keep an eye out for that WISM place.

sorta near audi...and UT..?

[herpsky]

Thanks. Are those two NF stores more north of Meiji Dori like past lazy hazy planet or south towards the women's NF? I didn't go on cat street yet either today I guess. And looking to spend a lot on a coat; Canadian winter. Going to just go to Burton IMO :v I'll keep an eye out for that WISM place.

if you don't have a whole lot of time, going to DSM, Hankyu, or Isetan might serve you betterb/c they are literally one-stop shops that stock all kinds of grails.

TNF is the women's store you are talking about. It's near where UT used to be (I don't think it's there). If you see LHP, you've gone too far.

I can probably help you better if you know exactly what labels you are looking for.

White mountaineering http://goo.gl/maps/0mv26

WISM http://goo.gl/maps/hDitI

TNF Standard http://goo.gl/maps/Pu3Nr

Make sure you have the sufu iphone app

[pompadork]

Have the app! The itinerary map is useful. Also all three of those links (for me anyway) open on the same location for TNF Standard. WM is on the sufu map and I can try to find wism if its just on cat street somewhere. DSM and Hankyu and Isetan though?

As for labels I'm not even sure anymore. For coats specifically stuff like acronym or nicer NF or arcteryx or etc. are good, but there's so much shit I can't even narrow down labels for clothing otherwise. I should just stop people on the street and pay them to take me shopping.

[herpsky]

i'm not doing much tomorrow during the day. i can probably take you. you can pay for coffee and transportation.

if you wanna get wasted, i'm totally free tonight. i'm really bored.

[herpsky]

you are not traveling solo, are you?

[breams]

Free to grab a drink tonight as well if any of you guys want.

[pompadork]

Possibly if I can not be a shy goblin for a day.

Also found WM and TNF store. Bought some stuff, but just need a winter coat then I'll be mostly good. Search continues.

Also what's with that restaurant or cafe or whatever on cat street (or a street beside cat street) that always has a huge line?

Edit @herp traveling alone but was staying with a nakama. Stay"ing" because his shibuya apartment was a literal cockroach breeding zone so now staying at prince Shinjuku. Sucks as I wasn't planning to spend hotel money but the view is worth it.

Edited November 9, 2012 by pompadork

[breams]

Probably that's Eggs N Things? Aside from girls liking Hawaii and breakfast, not sure why it's busy. The line up is always 95% girls and 5% depressed looking dudes.

People line up for ridiculous stuff here anyways.

[conqueror]

are there still endless lines every single day outside krispy kreme in shinjuku (just near tokyu hands)?

[herpsky]

There are several Krispy kream stores. They aren't that crowded.

[mrip]

i'm really bored.

go to the akb48 theater lol

[herpsky]

it's not like they are playing a show everyday, bru.

Last night was fun. Got a little too drunk. Beautiful day. I'ma go for a run and expose my virgin lungs to the terrible air / gas outside. LEL.

[martin_henk]

I was planning on picking up the SIM from B-mobile but no iPhone 5 support, i've been told to cut it but someone mentioned to me that the nano SIM is a little bit thinner than the micro and it might not work, even though ¥4k isn't much i'd rather not take the risk of it not working.

mobile internet on the "cheap" is such a big hassle indeed. i found this blog some time ago, which has the best info about all this crap http://www.japanmobiletech.com/ especially the b mobile stuff is explained in great detail

Edited November 11, 2012 by martin_henk

[kiya]

In Tokyo for the next week, lets party.

[pompadork]

K found a jacket and registered my konami e amusement pass for jubeat. Good day IMO.

[threeseed]

hey guys .. so going to be travelling solo for xmas break in tokyo .. any thoughts on good bilingual bars/clubs .. muse still good ?

also a contribution to the thread: http://www.omote3d.com

[herpsky]

have you played sound vortex booth?

it's a new bemani game by konami. i played it last week.

[Warakia]

I love the feeling of turning those dials and having the entire screen do a 360. Wish I had the time to play it more but I still tend to stick to Jubeat.

[pompadork]

yeah pretty much only playing jubeat, sdvx and exvs full boost. Too bad at IIDX and project diva isn't fun.

[herpsky]

In Tokyo for the next week, lets party.

let's get a burger or something

[pompadork]

Maybe a random question but any common places to get decent skin care stuff? I noticed Isetan men's had a section but not sure how pricey it was.

[herpsky]

why don't you just go to a drug store? seriously, most skin care products at japanese drug stores are really decent.

stuff at high end stores are mostly imported from europe and the US anyway. stuff like malin+goetz, aesop are all great but they are pricey.

[pompadork]

Yeah figured, ãŠK. Also man shinjuku is kind of trashy at night. There are probably worse places but still pretty sleezy.