Shinjuku / Harajuku

(This restaurant has a waterfall draping the windows. No, it's on the outside, not sandwiched between glass. It's wet if you touch it. No, I didn't touch it. )
New years eve. Much colder than yesterday. Aching all over. Sob sob sob... We both were. (T_T) Exchanged back rubs with Miki. OMG her legs were like rocks!!! (@_@;) Took it easy and left at 1pm(?). Most restaurants were closed for new year. I'd love to look at the fashion stores in Nakano Broadway, but so far no time. The deals and quality seemed to be better than in Hong Kong. (T_T)

Shopping at Shinjyuku Volks. To be exact, not quite Volks, but a subdivision, Angel's Nest. Unlike Volks, they only carry doll's stuff. The store was much smaller than I thought. It was unbelievably disproportional to such a gigantic train station. Miki didn't find anything too good but still managed to buy a pair of glass eyes and some cloths. Me? I bought a beginner's doll book too for reference, as I'd be helping Miki with her struggling-to-be-born doll cloths business. (Or you can say, there was no candy toy so I spent my money on the book.)

On our way out, we took pictures of the dolls displayed in the window from outside the store. Before we even walked 5 feet away, a girl from the store came out to wipe the glass as if we've left something so unacceptably filthy, she had to clean it up right away. That, was kind of mean. I know usually pictures are not allowed inside the store, but c'mon, that's a display facing the mall. And I didn't see any "no picture" signs. It wasn't like we didn't buy anything. Why were they so unfriendly? I wish I had bought the book elsewhere. Grrr...

Lunch was takoyaki at Gindako. It makes a huge difference when cooked fresh. Delicious! (Let's say, if it's not fresh, I wouldn't touch it.) We made an attempt for the free observation deck at Shinjuku city hall. However, somehow we managed to get lost and couldn't find it. Miki's strength was running out. In order to make the most out of what's left of the day, we decided to visit the Angel's Nest in Harajuku.

We came out of the Harajuku train stration, and got lost again. Went back-and-forth 3 times before finding the building. It was kind of hidden. Miki's love for these dolls really shows, hehehe... (I mean, she was able to find the place although exhausted.) This Volks (I mean, Angel's Nest) is the biggest I've seen so far. Miki bought some good stuff... wigs and cloths? Asked to see the second floor which was closed and reserved for full choice system order and ceremony. The girl let us in. While we were amazed by the display, setup, and atmosphere, the front desk phoned. Earlier, one of Miki's wigs triggered the alarm on our way to the second floor, and all items needed to be rechecked for deactivating the security chip. The sales clerk left one item behind when putting everything back in the bag. So they sent another girl to delivery the missed item, wrapped separately. That, was good service. Anyhow, full choice system is Miki's dream. But too bad it's not possible unless you live in Japan.

The story didn't end there. We expressed our disappointment for not being able to order a full choice system doll, thank the girl for showing us around, then went back downstairs to the other side with 1/6 dolls. While we were looking around, that girl came back with a magazine ad, and ask if we've been to the Korean Volks. Turns out that store doesn't need a local address for full choice system order. We ask if we could have a photocopy of the magazine page with the address, and she pleasantly gave us one.

Now, how come this one has so much better service than the Sinjuku store? Argh!!

It was all dark when we left. There were vendors on the street like an omatsuri in front of a shrine. Must be a new year thing. Ate some nice and warm mini sponge cakes. (Thanks Miki!) Very nice in this cold night. Temperature was dropping by the minute. I was curious about the chocolate covered bananas, but never gather enough courage to actually try one. Because! I don't like bananas. The taste isn't that bad, but I hate the stickiness and sliminess and the film it leaves behind on your teeth. It's just a fantasy that, if they're in Japan, and covered in chocolate, they might be superior or something like that. Pretty unrealistic, haha... My low travel budget came first, so the 300 yen banana was easily skipped. (My digestive system was craving for fruit, veggie, or fiber, though.) We had dinner at Yosinoke, a beef rice bow chain. Cheap and good.

New guests (a guy and a gal from Hong Kong) moved into the room next door late at night. Gotta fight for the bathroom from now on. Anyway, as we dropped by the corner store to get tomorrow's breakfast, might as well get something alcoholic, so we could have a new year toast. I'm not that good with booze, but was able to finish the whole can. Miki was tired enough to pass out after only half a can. We were hoping to catch some new year's eve performance show like the famous red-white, but the "don't laugh or get spanked by men-in-black" show was way more funny!