Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Osaka Shoptripping 08: Brunch for Four

Brunch for FourBrunch for FourBrunch for Four

 

tried this as a street snack

and immediately turned into

something on the table

sweet potato fries

 

Kimchi seafood soup x fried cabbage

and of course ready-to-eat sets

Kimchi seafood soup

on top of

satisfying

 

fried udon

Fried Udon

 

as you can see

chili powder is an essential

and this one in travel size

that we found in 7-11 is

really traveler-friendly

should have bought more

 

fully utilizing the

kitchen, toaster, and cutleries

our apartment via HomeAway

our apartment via HomeAway

 

really awesome place!

more photos, next post

Osaka Shoptripping 07: ❤ for Grocery Shopping

as you would have heard

convenience store in Japan is

pretty awesome

grocery shopping at convenience storegrocery shopping at convenience store

 

yeah there’s one at

almost every corner of the road

corner store?

 

and our grocery shopping got upgraded

to the next level since

there’s a 24-hour supermarket

“foodium” across the road

foodium, Shinsaibashi

 

we were here almost everyday

buying ingredients for breakfast

or ready-to-eat sushi / bento sets

foodium, Shinsaibashifoodium, Shinsaibashi

 

day # 1

after a trip to 7-11 and Family Mart

all instant food

 

day #2 onwards

after we discovered “foodium”

hehehe

 

stay tune for the next post

on what we do with these stuff

Monday, December 26, 2016

Osaka Shoptripping 06: Tax-Free Shopping

from my previous post about

tax-free shopping at GU

 

one good thing about

tax refund in Japan

they can do it on the spot

as long as you have a passport

 

10k is usually the

minimum amount of purchase

to qualify for tax-free shopping

 

the same goes to shopping at

health & beauty stores

and certain stores in outlet malls

 

however certain lux brands

have a higher minimum amount

but of course

there’s no way that

you will not qualify for it

 

as long as you are buying a

standard item such as a bag

from a lux outlet

 

look out for this sign or

confirm with the staff

because certain stores are not tax-free

this is a sign board

i “borrowed” from Bershka

Japan tax-free shop

 

do take note that

certain store has different policies

as to tax-free and non tax-free items

e.g. in a cosmed store

snacks and beverages are not tax-free

since you gonna eat/drink it anyway

 

yet in a tourist souvenir store

food are tax-free but

and non-food souvenirs are not

the Halloween snack box is tax-free

but the rest are not and

I don’t get why

Tax-free vs Non-tax-free

 

I actually didn’t manage to enter

were rushing to find Disney store

Bershka @ Shinsaibashi

 

to find that…

at 8:50 PM

Disney store @ Shinsaibashi

 

tax-free or not?

another borrowed picture

basically the price on top

the pre-tax price is the one on top

and the one below is of course..

Lotte X Moomin XYLITOL

 

while some will simply display it as

the pre-ta [price] + 8% VAT tax

thumbs up for this : )

Snoopy Halloween pack

 

i have a question here?

to qualify for tax exemption

does the 10k minimum amount

is inclusive of tax or pre-tax

 

if my memory doesn’t fail me

and from the example below

I think the amount is inclusive of tax

 

that’s why i ended up paying

9530 Yen in GU instead of 10k+

 

i didn’t know GU is

tax-free in the first place

so it just happened that

our shopping exceeded 10k

 

so it’s save to

calculate your total amount in

tax-inclusive price if you

want to know if qualify for

tax exemption or not

Osaka Shoptripping 05: GU

it’s a nationwide fashion chain store

similar to Uniqlo,

now also available in HK & Taiwan

and soon in South East Asia, i hope

GU Japan

 

simple piece at affordable price

for the whole family

this is where we finally found

something for my mom and tween niece

GU Japan

 

i didn’t buy anything for myself

but i am pretty sure

i paid less than 10k yen for

7-8 pieces for my mom, sister and niece

 

the one we shopped at is in

a neighbourhood mall, AEON

yes!! we went to that extent

to complete our shop tripping

Aeon Japan

 

here’s another one at Shinsaibashi

and I remembered seeing one at Rinku Town too

GU & Shinsaibashi

 

tax-free despite this is not

in a tourist shopping spot

for purchase above 10k yen

 

ahh.. gonna talk more about

tax-free shopping in the next post

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Osaka Shoptripping 04: Dōtonbori x Shinsaibashi

Dōtonbori 道頓堀

is more like the tourist side of the city

with a lot of eateries, souvenir stores

Dōtonbori 道頓堀Dōtonbori 道頓堀Dōtonbori 道頓堀

 

Shinsaibashi 心齋橋

further down the road

depending on which direction do you walk from

is more like the shopping district

where you get stores like

ABC Mart and Samantha Thavasa

as well as Bershka, H&M and Forever 21

Shinsaibashi 心齋橋Shinsaibashi 心齋橋Shinsaibashi 心齋橋

 

we were almost here everyday

as it’s within walking distance

from the apartment we rented

 

the shopping is mainly about

  • souvenirs
  • cosmetic + skincare at Cosmed
  • and (more) bags

souvenir shoppingCosmed shoppingBag shopping

 

not forgetting

food tasting

Ichiran Ramen

Osaka Shoptripping 03: Rinku Premium Outlets

Rinku is seriously far from the city

yet one stop away from Kansai Airport

which serves its purpose well

 

thought of dropping by

on the day of departure

instead of making a trip

to and fro the city

but thank goodness decided not to

because…

 

we started the day at the first store,

GAP at 2 PM

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

and finished off at 8:20 PM

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

shops close at 8 PM during weekdays

we were actually shopping in Seiko

behind closed gate

and we met the salesperson

on out way to the subway station

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

bags bags bags

there is free Wi-Fi and

feel free to Facetime or whatsoever

to communicate with the shopper at the other end

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

 

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

50% + 30% for Coach

technically it’s 65% off storewide

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

it’s so huge that

i had to start utilizing the floor plan

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

the store that I am aiming for

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

too bad

these are available in 38.5 / 40.5

anything in between will do fine you know

asics Gel Lyte III

 

by 6:30 PM

i offered caretaking service

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

by 7:30 PM

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

final 30 minutes at Seiko

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

and I found my consolation loots next door

Rinku Premium Outlets

 

my loots at the end of the day

so unlike something you’ll loot from

a Premium Outlet abroad

i happened to need a new umbrella and

i buy Vans almost everywhere I go

the salesperson got me to buy sneaker socks

probably because mine looked ugly

GAP umbrella in navy blueStack'ism sneaker socksVans Surf Up

 

three of my fellow travel mates

get this of the same design

and i was actually the one who spotted it

saying that it would be great if

the outer rim is black.. make it all black

they kinda agree and they all bought!!

it’s a mad world shopping with

women of a different class/outlook as you

Coach watch