[ENG] Japan2k26, Day 5
2026-01-28 10:10pm, 4 Chome-15-14 Nakacho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-0012
Hi everyone, my dears. As you can see, starting today I’m posting again in Italian as well. A few people wrote to me by email saying they preferred it, so I’ll make everyone happy hahahaha.
Today is the fifth day of my trip to Japan, and I’m writing a few lines from the usual lounge, which by now feels like home, but that unfortunately I’ll have to leave tomorrow morning at 10:00. We’ll be moving to Kyoto, a more traditional city, so we can also visit nearby places like Osaka, Nara, and maybe even Kobe, where we probably won’t try the beef because it’s insanely expensive ahahaha.
I’ll start by saying that today was probably one of my favorite days in terms of the neighborhoods we visited. We found a lot of really nice shops, so now I’ll tell you about it.
It all started with a very simple breakfast: an iced latte, which I really enjoyed, and an egg cylinder like the one I had the other day. Honestly great as a morning meal, even if a bit risky for the intestines (I ran to the bathroom no more than 10 minutes after eating it, but that’s fine…). After getting ourselves sorted, we took the train and headed to the first neighborhood.
We got off at Ikebukuro station, and right away we found ourselves in something much more compact compared to Shinjuku and Shibuya, but that somehow contains the foundations of both: retro shops, video games, manga, high fashion, vintage, food, street food, and pretty much everything you can imagine. All of this, of course, in a not too big area. I imagine that during high season it must be pretty hard to visit, since it’s so concentrated and crowded.
We visited several shops, including Book Off, where I bought a pair of AirPods Pro 2019 for 9,900 yen, obviously used. I didn’t really have a choice, since my Nothing Ear (a) lost their case (the charging base literally fell out of my pocket on the subway). After that, we walked along the main street in search of… nothing, really. We just wanted to get inspired, so we ended up inside what they say is one of the biggest shopping malls in the world, located in the Sunshine 60 skyscraper (60 floors, by the way). I have to say, though, it didn’t impress me that much.
After that, we enjoyed a nice lunch at Sushiro (a very well-known chain here in Japan, amazing value for money). We wandered through a few more shops before stumbling upon one in particular whose name I unfortunately don’t remember. They sold really beautiful clothes with Japan-inspired embroidery and designs. My brother Massimiliano bought a really nice T-shirt, while my brother Andrea got an amazing kimono and a magnet. Everything was reasonably priced. Thanks to a review, we also tried a lucky draw to win an exclusive T-shirt, but it ended with three lost coins; to cheer us up, the cashier gave us three candies.
Once we were done in Ikebukuro, we took the subway and moved on to Ginza, which is hands down the most beautiful district I’ve seen so far. Huge buildings, incredibly bright lights, a mix of narrow, traditional alleys and massive, almost inhuman-sized buildings. I found way too many things there, and there are some absolutely crazy places. We visited a few shops and then went into another shopping mall because my brother was looking for a specific perfume that was only sold in a bookstore on the top floor of this extremely luxurious mall. Just to give you an idea, inside you’ll find brands like Hermes, Gucci, Prada, Maison Margiela, Chanel, and many others.
On the top floor, I found my absolute favorite store so far: Tsutaya Books. Literally my paradise. Design books and more, incredible writing, amazing posters, art mixed with paper an unreal place, even if very expensive. I didn’t buy anything because, as I’ve said before, I sometimes limit myself a lot to avoid spending money unnecessarily. Looking back, there was a book I should’ve bought, but I’m sure I’ll find it again in Kyoto, so I’ll get it there (I’ll let you know, I don’t remember the name at all).
The day ended with dinner at a super traditional little place that served udon. I didn’t even sit down: we ordered from a tablet outside, walked in, and the food was basically already ready. We picked it up, ate standing at a table with who knows how many salarymen and office workers, thanked them, and left. The whole thing lasted no more than 10 minutes ahahahah. The level of frenzy in these places is incredible.
Usual stop at 7-Eleven to grab a smoothie and a tiny crêpe filled with whipped cream, chocolate, and banana. I have to say it was really good, maybe because it was so small that it wasn’t overwhelming at all. Now I’m back in the usual lounge: shower done, bags packed. Tomorrow we wake up early, around 8:00; at the latest by 9:30 we want to take the subway to Tokyo Station, and from there we’ll take a Shinkansen that should bring us to Kyoto in about two hours, I think (not 100% sure).
I say goodbye to Tokyo with tears in my eyes, because it truly left me speechless, and even now I don’t feel like I’ve fully realized everything yet. I know Kyoto will leave me just as amazed. I’ll keep you posted. Thank you so much for reading this post, love you all <3
— tega