Japan again, Day 2

Today’s destination was Shibuya and Nakano. Belle really wanted to visit Grimoire and I hadn’t been before so we decided to pay a visit. It was a bit of a walk from the train station and also out of the way of the main shopping strip on Shibuya. 

We were about half way there when all the buildings started looking grey and nondescript and I wondered if we were going the wrong way. We kept walking and thankfully the shop had a lovely easy to find entrance once we got close enough.

Grimoire stocks a majority of clothing and accessories that follow the Dolly-Kei or Mori asthetic. Alot of the stock is vintage or antique but they also have their own accessories line which is most well known for its tights.

Belle and I both picked up a couple of things here and chatted with the shop assistant who spoke English. She very kindly allowed us to take a picture in the store.

On our way back towards the main strip of Shibuya we dropped into Disney. This is another store that is easy to find as the exterior looks like a bouncy castle. The front doors are shaped like Micky ears and you walk in to experience not only lots of merchandise but giant characters and scenes at every turn. Once you are within the store you walk up a spiral stairs witch showcase 3 floors of all things magical and Disney. Even if you are not a huge Disney fan or intending to buy anything, it’s still well worth the visit.

 

The other stores I marked out on my list were 109, Mandarake and Don Quijote. 109 is a shopping complex for women mainly targeted from teen to twenties. Anything that is on trend is found here and the shops compete to stay in residence here with a really high turnover of stock to stay in fashion.

Don Quijote is a variety store that I have talked about in previous trips. Stock can be determined by location and can range from Designer handbags, to costumes, pop culture and food. You never know what you can find in these store and the prices are always great so I always make a habit of marking them on my map.

Mandarake is another favorite of mine and the best way to describe it would be to say that it is a second hand resale store for anime, manga and pop couture collectables. The Shibuya store has a great selection of books including manga, concept and art and magazines. I have found it a excellent place to pick up old editions of Gothic Lolita Bibles. There are also several rows of figurines, limited edition signatures and artwork and Ball Jointed Dolls. While we were here I picked up a couple of Sailor Moon items that were released that were really hard to get online including the nail polish set and compacts.

 

After finishing up in Shibuya we jumped on the train. Belle and I snapped some pictures on the train, it was midday and pretty quiet. We were both wearing outfits almost completely made up of items we had bought on the previous day. I was wearing a black Atelier Pierrot long sleeve blouse and Innocent World Strahov Library JSK. Topped off with an Angelic Pretty beret and Jane Marple shoulder bag, thanks Closet-Child!

 

After finishing up in Shibuya we were heading over to Nakano, but first lunch….hmmmmmm Kareage! Nakano is found on the Chuo line two stops from Shinjuku. The main reason for heading to Nakano is, Nakano Broadway. Nakano broadway starts off with a mall of shops that lead up to a center containing 3 full floors of anime, manga and merchandise. In my opinion is the

next best place to shop after Akihabara for pop culture related items and easier to navigate as its all in the one spot. There are several Mandarakes located in the building and they each specialize in different areas. It has a bit of a marketplace feel and every time I visit, there are some shops that have changed.  This visit I found 2 stores that had lolita in it. One was a second hand lolita store, the second was a cosplay store that had a rack of lolita in it, all with great prices. I found some more elusive Sailor Moon merchandise which made it a very Sailor Moonish kind of shopping day!

 

♥ Alyssium♥

 

Read on for Japan Again day 3

Go back to Japan Again day 1

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