Day 2 was easily the best day in our Tokyo stay. Of course, it's not without a few misses, but the good stuff outweighed the not-so-bad by tons!

Ikebukuro is home to Sunshine City and the fabled Otome Road. While I didn't get to explore it as much as I would have preferred (unfortunately my companions did not at all share my nerdy interests), I found most of what I went for so it was great overall.

We entered the wrong street at first, so I thought it would be important to note that the street you should be looking for is a wide one that has a KFC and a Denny's. Other notable shops would be UNIQLO and American Eagle.

Not far from UNIQLO is Ikebukuro's Animate.

Further down the street from UNIQLO is Tokyu Hands and just behind Tokyu Hands, right in front of a Family Mart, is K-BOOKS Cast-kan (their Twitter account is here). There are several K-BOOKS in the area with different specializations, but Cast-kan is the one that sells merchandise related to 2.5D stages and actors.

It's no suprise that I blew off most of my money at K-BOOKS Cast-kan. I found what I came for and bought even more. The moral of this story is don't be like me, kids. Don't ever get into fandoms! (Again, I'll be writing about my loot on a separate post.)

Even if you're not into nerd stuff, there are some general shopping to be done as well, with places like UNIQLO, American Eagle, shops within Sunshine City itself, and, of course, Tokyu Hands.

The underground passage from Tokyu Hands to Sunshine City will eventually lead you to this sign.

Just follow these cuties up the escalators. You'll know you're on the right floor when the Pokeballs stop.

Tokyu Hands felt like a trap for people who are easily fascinated by pretty things. It was hard not to get sidetracked! If I had known that I wouldn't find any Drifloon merchandise at the Pokemon Center, I would have spent more money at Tokyu Hands' stationery section, so I suppose not knowing was for the best.

The Pokemon Center stocks season exclusives, like the Eevee dressed in Christmas-y garb and a literally white Pikachu. I wasn't so fond of the Christmas items, though. Maybe if we visited earlier we could have gotten a chance at Halloween themed ones. Halloween tends to lend to cuter costumes, after all, and I would have been more inclined to buy the Ghost Pokemon merchandise that I did like but decided against picking up. MAYBE THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A DRIFLOON.

(I am still so salty about the lack of Drifloon. I will never get over it.)

Day 3 was terrible in comparison to the first two days. Shinjuku isn't for people like me who is bad with directions and gets hung up on negative experiences. I found the area very confusing, messy, and overwhelming in a bad way. It's definitely not somewhere I'd recommend visiting, although I'm not sure if it's just because it doesn't cater to any of my interests.

Okay, I have to admit that I've read reviews advising against this particular Don Quijote. I don't know if it's the same in all branches but this one is worse than I expected and not at all cheap. Terribly disappointing. Might as well go to Daiso or Watts!

There were a lot of disappointments that day, but the icing to the cake was getting stopped by police in Koenji to check our passports. Though my brothers seemed to have gotten over it pretty quickly, I found it rather traumatizing and I'd rather not recall the experience if I can help it. It's weird how I can admit things on the internet that I can't in real life for fear of being made fun of.

(Always always carry your passport with you.)

Anyway! The cherry on top was that the thing we went to Koenji for in the first place was sold out in that shop and my brother found it in Yellow Submarine in Akihabara. So basically we could have avoided the icing if we just went back to Akihabara or checked out the shop before going anywhere else. In conclusion, Day 3 was a massive waste of time.

We ate takoyaki, though, so at least I had that.

We went back to Osaka the next day. I wish we had time to visit a few more places like Odaiba or explore Ikebukuro and Shibuya a little longer, because there definitely were much more to do and to see than we were able to. But Tokyo, Ikebukuro besides, probably isn't as much for me as Osaka is. I guess it's just like in our country: I prefer the more laid back Davao over Manila's hustle and bustle.

Goodbye, Tokyo. #japan #tokyo #shinkansen #nozomi

A photo posted by bones made of stars (@galacticlycoris) on Nov 7, 2015 at 6:02pm PST

Here's something to think about if you're planning on visiting Japan for the first time: whatever you expect from Japan is probably 100% right but also 100% wrong. Yes, their restaurant servers and convenience store cashiers and the train staff in stations will all be helpful and friendly because they're all doing their jobs, which is to help you. However, you might also encounter taxi drivers who will take advantage of the fact that you're not familiar with the place and people handling the luggage on the bus judging the amount of bags you have.

As a foreigner, you will always be treated as such. There will always be that distance, a gap between that you will never be able to bridge no matter how local you think you look and act and speak like. It's annoying and frustrating, but that's how it is in Japan and learning how to deal with it and survive despite it is part of what makes the experience interesting!