Japan Day 13: K-Pop, Cute Glasses and More Shopping in Shibuya

Day 13 was another Shibuya shopping day, with Tower Records, Loft and Daiso on the itinerary.

It didn’t sound like an especially ambitious day compared with some of our others, but somehow, it was still exhausting!

Tower Records: Kid 2 Was in Her Element

Our first major stop was the huge Tower Records in Shibuya.

Kid 2 had been looking forward to this one because she wanted to shop for some of her favorite K-pop music. And she definitely had a much better time there than Kid 1 and I did!

She eventually found one of those elaborate album sets that are much more than just a CD. Hers came with a book and various extras like postcards or stickers—the kind of package that makes buying a physical album feel like opening a present.

Kid 1 also managed to find a book for a friend, and I found two books for Kid 2 designed to make learning Japanese a little more fun and cute. I can’t remember the titles anymore, but they seemed perfect for her.

So technically, Tower Records was a successful stop for all three of us.

Our ears might disagree.

At first, the store was fine. The crowds weren’t really a problem, but after spending enough time inside, the constantly loud music started getting to Kid 1 and me. Kid 2, surrounded by K-pop, was having a blast. Meanwhile, the two of us were increasingly ready to leave.

Exploring Loft for Gifts

Fortunately, we didn’t have far to go for our next stop: Loft in Shibuya.

We didn’t have one particular thing we needed there. The idea was mostly to explore and look for gifts to bring home.

But the best discovery of the visit wasn’t a gift.

It was a pair of prescription glasses for Kid 2.

And strangely enough, glasses had actually been part of our Tokyo plans from the beginning.

Before the trip, friends had told us that buying prescription glasses in Japan could be a great deal. Prices could be very good, and simple prescriptions could sometimes be ready within just a few hours. More complicated lenses might take a few days, but that still seemed amazingly fast compared with what we were used to.

My original plan was therefore to buy glasses on our very first day in Tokyo. We would arrive in Shinjuku, put our luggage in a coin locker, go to JINS, choose our frames and get everything taken care of.

Of course, if you’ve been following this trip, you already know that our arrival in Tokyo did not exactly unfold according to plan.

And even when we did look at JINS, we couldn’t find frames we really liked. Most of what we saw was quite plain and minimalist.

So much for that plan.

The Pompompurin Glasses We Weren’t Looking For

Then, completely unexpectedly, we found glasses at Loft.

And not just any glasses.

They had a Sanrio collaboration celebrating a Pompompurin anniversary.

Cute glasses + Pompompurin + Kid 2?

We were in trouble.

More importantly, the frames actually looked really good on her. There was no point buying glasses just because they were cute if they didn’t fit properly, but these did.

So, obviously, we couldn’t leave them behind.

Interestingly, this particular pair wasn’t really cheaper than what we would have paid in Canada, so we didn’t get the amazing Japanese-glasses bargain we’d originally heard about. But we did get something much more Kid 2’s style than the minimalist frames we’d seen earlier.

And the speed was impressive: we only had to wait about 45 minutes for her prescription glasses to be ready.

Forty-five minutes!

An Unexpectedly Peaceful Dinner

We needed dinner anyway, so the wait worked out perfectly.

We found a nearby Chinese restaurant and ordered several different dishes to share. I don’t remember exactly what everything was anymore, but the food was good.

What I remember much more clearly was the environment.

It was quiet.

It was cool.

After Tower Records and another long day on our feet, sitting somewhere calm and air-conditioned felt wonderful.

Once we’d eaten, it was time to pick up Kid 2’s new glasses and continue shopping.

One More Stop at Daiso

Our final major stop was Daiso.

I had a few practical things I wanted to bring home from Japan, especially kitchen items and accessories. I picked up things like lunch containers, large cooking chopsticks and some cute sponges.

Kid 2, meanwhile, went into back-to-school mode.

Pens, notebooks and other stationery supplies came home with us. If you’re going to need school supplies anyway, you might as well buy cute Japanese ones!

One thing surprised me, though: this large Daiso didn’t offer tax-free shopping.

After shopping tax-free at various stores during the trip, I had simply assumed that a Daiso this big would offer it too. Nope.

Not a major problem, especially considering Daiso prices, but still unexpected.

Another “Easy” Day That Wasn’t Easy

On paper, this wasn’t one of our complicated sightseeing days. Just a few stores and dinner.

And yet, we were exhausted again by the end of the day.

Still, everyone found something they wanted, and the unexpected discovery of Kid 2’s Pompompurin glasses made the day particularly worthwhile.

Not bad for a day when Kid 1 and I mostly wanted Tower Records to turn the volume down.

Coming Next…

We were heading somewhere extremely cute the next day.

Unfortunately, the day itself would turn out to be considerably less cute than expected.