A train ride later I found myself at Ikebukuro. The main
shopping area, especially Sunshine 60 street, is full of arcades and cutesy
shops, making it a great date destination. Today was no exception to this and I
saw many young couples wandering the shops and arcades together in their school uniforms (Many Japanese schools have a half day of school on Saturdays, making Saturday afternoon the perfect time to meet your date). Then outside
one of the arcades I saw something that made me squeal like a little girl:
RILAKKUMA!!! Rilakkuma is a character originally from a
children’s book whose name (and personality) are based on the words ‘relax’ and
‘bear’. He is quite popular in Japan and many people like to collect merchandise
of him in a similar manner to those who collect Hello Kitty. I have a bit of
Rilakkuma merchandise, as I saw him on my first trip to Japan and for reasons
not entirely clear to me I just find him unbearably adorable. His little costumed form waddled around waving at people with his tiny hands. He had help from a girl in her twenties wearing tiny Rilakkuma ears and reminding people to wait patiently for their turn with him. I watched as
sweetly dressed teenagers and tiny children alike went up to hug him or take
photos with him, all the while trying my best not to squeal like a fangirl or
spontaneously start hugging every one the area from the cuteness. Thankfully I was
able to keep my ridiculousness to myself for the most part, went over and gave
him a hug, then left other fans to coo over him while I looked for lunch. As I
was still a bit ill I picked one of the various western pasta places and
ordered something plain. As it was an underground restaurant it was quite
noisy, but I was able to eat quickly and head back out to find Closet Child.
This part was a little interesting, as the directions I
found online kept seeming to point to a place where there was no Closet Child
to be seen! I walked up and down Sunshine 60 for a while, utterly perplexed by
where else this map could be referring to, before sitting down with my phone’s
internet browser to clarify my information. Eventually I was able to deduce
that the store had moved a while ago and head off in the right direction, but
not before wasting a fair bit of time. My advice: if you’re ever looking for
this store, try La Carmina’s most recent directions.
Finally, I reached it. The store, much like some other
Closet Childs, had several themed sections with lolita clothing, gothic
clothing and Vivienne Westwood second hand, and I let myself slowly have a good
browse of all of them. Most of the sections in Ikebukuro are fairly small and
cramped, but as promised by my research, this place gets far less foot traffic
and leaves better stock undiscovered for much longer. Searching through the
full racks was difficult, but rewarding. I was able to find several items that
I don’t think I could have at other stores, but managed to hold my shopaholic
spirit in check I think mostly because I was too tired to try more clothes!
Once I had made a couple of purchases it had become clear
that I was too tired and still too sick to continue exploring Ikebukuro that day.
So with a heavy heart I headed back to the hostel, stopping at the 7-11 to grab one of their suprisingly decent reheatable meals for dinner later, and spent the afternoon
and evening sleeping and watching tv.
I held out hope that my resting would give me better stamina
the next day. Tune in next time to find out if it worked!
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