The Disney Store, Saki Tasting, and Don Quijote

As promised, an update (two days later) to add story to the photos.

Every day here starts out early.  The time difference has transformed this early bird into a night owl. I puttered around for a bit, then headed out to do some shopping.  I set out with a specific drugstore address in Google maps, but stumbled upon a close one on the way.  I got most of it tax free, which was a mistake as I needed most of what I got during my stay here.  

Found another drugstore and bought things not tax free because I need sunscreen and face wash dammit!

The grocery store was next and surprisingly close to my hotel (1 block away).  Got plenty of groceries and headed back to the room so that I could finally have breakfast. This was a small cup noodle and a cheese danish in the shape of a pizza slice. 

I puttered around, getting my stuff in order and checking out Japanese TV, wasting a little time before heading out to the meeting point for the saki tasting I had booked that afternoon.  I headed out super early as I was not too familiar with the subway system or trusting of Google maps.

I found the meeting spot with only a little difficulty (Google isn't super accurate here) and decided to wander around for a couple of hours.  I was in the main high-end shopping district (our meeting place was next to a Louis Vuitton store).  I walked a bit and accidentally happened upon the flagship Disney store in Tokyo.  I was able to waste a couple of hours easily.

This twinkling Mickey hangs over the entrance lobby area.

This guy is on the top floor.  He's a photo op, but the one behind him is for sale (not luggage sized).

This hung along one of the stairways between floors.  There were a lot of paintings hanging in the starwells, and a lot of annoying tourists (like me) taking pictures of them. 

A couple of hours, and about 80 dollars later, it was time to go taste saki.

Our sake sommelier, Aki, met us on the street and took us down a hidden elevator to a sake bar.  There were over 20 of us squeezed in tiny Japanese chairs.  I sat with a very nice mother and daughter from Chicago and was smart enough to snag an end seat (because I am not Japanese sized). 

We had a glass for each saki we would try, a handout, and a glass of water.  Yes, that was a lot of saki.

Aki first served us some sparkling saki.  He did this to mix it because it is a cloudy saki and it settles. 

The first pour, the sparkling saki gets a special glass. 

These are all of the ones we would try.

this is an aged saki, which actually has a little color.

This one, I think was my favorite, which is a sweet saki

This is what it looked like.  Very cloudy.

This is what our table looked like at the end. 

Then, slightly buzzed from the sheer amount of alchohol I'd imbibed, I decided to find the nearby Don Quijote, a large discount store.  I found it pretty easily.  

This is the store directory.  That's a lot of discounts.  The store mascot is a blue penguin wearing a Santa hat.  I don't know why...

However, streetside, his butt pokes out of the store front.

And he pokes out again above the store entrance.

A couple more hours, and 170 bucks poorer, I headed back to my hotel with my haul. I am stocked for sunscreen and skincare.  I got a few snacks, but I plan to go to the Mega Don Quijote and shop some more. 

Very tired, I did make it back without incident and collapsed after uploading photos.  The next day would be spent on a whole day tour taking me to Mount Fuji.