What Did I Buy in Tokyo: 2024 Edition

I’ve been documenting the things I purchase in Japan for almost 20 years, and it’s really cool to see how my tastes have changed as I’ve grown up.

Back in 2008, when I went on a big tour of the whole country, it was a lot of keychains, clothes, beauty products, magazines, and Starbucks tumblers.

My trip in 2017 was different: I still bought magazines, beauty products, and clothes, but the magazines were coffee mags, not just fashion ones, and the clothing was Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto, not just thrift store finds. Also: sauces, salad dressings, and my favorite stationery brand, Delfonics.

In 2024, I went alone, and shopping was pretty much my goal—so I really made up for the years I missed and bought a lot of cool things.

Coffee

I have been buy coffee beans everywhere I visit since 2022. Unfortunately I did not like any of the beans I got in Japan - I think I just have different tastes that the Japanese.  Well, I had to try. 

Magazines

I have been buying Japanese magazines for years. My habits are mostly the same: fashion magazine with an emphasis on streetwear, coffee magazines, and now also Taiwan travel magazines.  

Food

I discovered my new favorite salad dressing ever at the market in Azabudai Hills. I also discovered that I really like Muji curry and am relieved that I can restock and order more in the US. 

Beauty Products

I discovered Le Labo in Tokyo after washing my hands with the best smelling soap in the world at Cafe Kitsune, only to realize that it was Le Labo, and that a store was mere footsteps away. I bought a lot, then realized that I can actually get it in the US too. Oh well. 

Japanese Beauty Products

I am not as into Japanese beauty products anymore, as I prefer Korres for skincare and Urban Decay for make up, but I forgot some brushes and lotion and essentials on this trip, so I bought them from a local cosmetics store.

Pride Merch

I had the good fortune for showing up in Tokyo on Pride week, totally unplanned. Last time I was at Tokyo Pride was in 2014. There was not merch for sale (not really) so we made our own T-shirts and painted them. This year Pride has become more commercial and mainstream, so there was a ton of merch. Of course I had to support my community and buy some shirts and a towel. 

Gifts

Japan is still my top destination for buying edible gifts. This time, a lot of my family members requested mochi and cookies, and cakes, so I had to make a special trip to Tokyo station to purchase these.

Delfonics Stationary

I was sad to discover that my favorite Delfonics store had closed, but the goods news is that they have expanded to having a space at many large department stores throughout Tokyo. Every since Delfonics started shipping to the US, I have not had the need to purchase so much from Japan, but I did find a few cool things. 

Gifts for my Daughter

This is the newest category on the list. Now that I have a young daughter, I cannot return home from a trip without getting her some gifts. I found lots of small cute things, and instead of giving them to her all at once, I give them out over time so she appreciates them.

The Return: Japan 2024

The yasukuni-dori, same view for the last 20 years

Until today, the last time this blog featured a post about Japan was in 2019, about a trip I took in 2017. Hard to believe that much time has passed since I’ve been to Japan. I was planning to go in 2020, but the pandemic delayed me. When the country finally opened back up to tourists in 2022, work obligations prevented me from going. I kept putting it off—until one day, in December 2023, I said enough and planned a six-day solo trip to Tokyo.

I picked a random week in April, when the flights were decent and I could get a full weekend in Tokyo. I booked my hotel that same night and paid in yen. Once both reservations were made - so suddenly, without asking anyone for permission or approval or advice...the trip became final.

These next few posts will be about my solo return to Japan, after seven years and a decade after living there. So much has changed, which is remarkable for a city that seldom changes and still has all the landmarks I remember from when I was in high school, twenty years ago.

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From my diary, April 16th, 2024, on the JAL flight:

I meant to write something else in this entry. Something about returns.

I haven’t been back to Japan since 2017. I haven’t been there alone in a decade. Something feels right about this trip and its timing. Something feels right about me going alone. I’ve gotten used to traveling alone—since I’ve done so often for work these days. But this time feels different. It should feel different. This is not a trip someone forced me to go on. I am not here for work. I am here for me. I chose this.

Four months ago, on December 12th, just days before I started to fast, I was sitting on the couch with my partner. I was sick and tired of complaining about how much I miss Japan and how we’ll go there soon, soon, soon, this year, next year. It was all talk. I was tired of waiting. Tired of waiting for my friends to get back to me. Tired of waiting for work to lighten up. Tired of trying to plan around my daughter's school or partner's work.

I looked a few months out, found a week when she’d be in school and I wouldn’t have work travel nearby, and I booked it. The airfare and the hotel, because those had to be done right away. And now I am eight hours away from landing in Tokyo. I can’t believe it. Soon I will see my friend and be eating my beloved kaisendon. Ten years since I left.

I return to the same places because that is how I measure what a different person I am. What a different person the place is. We meet each other again as changed entities.

My first cocktail, within 3 hours of landing

Starbucks Japan's Sweet Potato Specials

On my trip to Taiwan I had a 3-hour lay over in Nartia - just enough time to swing by Starbucks for some unique drink specials. 

Sweet Potato was the flavor of the season and Starbucks had a full line up of frappuccinos, lattes, chiffon cake, and scones. 

I passed on the Sweet Potato scone which looked too artificial and dry, but Japanese Starbucks does cakes very well. The Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake was lightly sweetened, moist, and had just a hint of creaminess. 

For drinks I ordered both the Frappuccino and latte so I could taste the flavor in both versions. 

The Frappuccino, as with most Japanese concoctions, tasted like a liquid cake. If Japanese pastries are lightly sweetened, the Frappuccino more than makes up for that by being excessively sweetened. Still, I enjoyed the the taste as well as the corn flakes that were crushed into the drinks for a little texture. 

The latte was also sweet but not excessively so - and would be my preferred choice if I had to order again. The sweet potato flavor was a bit more bold, and didn't have all the extra competing flavors of the frappuccino. 

I always feel a certain sense of nostalgia by having special seasonal drinks at Starbucks in Japan. When I was living in the countryside, a 1-hour drive or 2-hour bus ride would take me to the nearest Starbucks and I would enjoy the drink offerings and ambience that I couldn't get in the countryside. 

Oliver Sky Oasis in Narita

Every once in a while I come across something truly special in some airport around the world. Most are dull and generic. Many I'm forced to spend time in due to layovers, delays, or long security process. But occasionally there are those airports I wish I could venture into and hang out with no boarding pass. And Tokyo Narita's Terminal 1 is one of them.

It wasn't always like this. I've flown into, out of, or through Narita dozens of times. I can never recall being impressed with it. Honestly the airport felt dated, especially when compared to it's rivals in other Asian hubs like Seoul or Singapore or even Taipei's Taoyuan. But there've been some major changes in Narita recently, and one of the is the addition of Oliver Sky Oasis.

Adjacent to Starbucks, this is a great lounge for anyone to enjoy. Excellent seating, perfect atmosphere, natural lighting, outlets on every chair. I would rather be here than any of the premium lounges that require membership.

My go-to routine at Oliver Sky is to order at Starbucks then take a seat. Then I read off my Kindle or open my laptop to get some work done. Either way, it's one of the best places to be. 

Photo Diary: best of Kyoto summer 2017

On my third trip to Kyoto I finally found my rythym.

Half-day tourist beat, half-day counter-culture café lufe.

A clash of old and new. Modern and ancient. Nature and city.

Kyoto: the third time’s a charm.