Saturday, October 13, 2012

Don Quijote in Japan


When we first moved here (Tokyo) a few months ago it was my intention to write on this blog often to relate what life in Tokyo is like for westerners who are, by far, a minority.   I have failed miserably.  Well…let’s just say I have been extremely lazy and have been using everything from the language barrier to the summer heat as an excuse to stay in the house and not venture out.  Don’t get me wrong, the fact that I don’t speak Japanese IS a challenge and the summer WAS unbearably hot but I have been given a great opportunity to discover this very unique city and I am not gonna take it for granted.  The weather has broken, fall winds are blowing and this is where this home-buddy puts an end to her summer laziness and starts exploring Tokyo and the surrounding areas.  I still don’t speak Japanese but I have a translator on my iPhone.

I am a big believer in taking baby steps, so instead of attempting to climb Mt. Fuji on my first outing of this “let’s discover Tokyo” mission, I opted for a shopping trip.  Baby steps remember?  I had heard of this store Don Quijote (Don Quixote in English) or Donki as the locals affectionate call it, but there is not one in the routes we normally take to go to the places we normally go to and I never took the time to look it up.  Did I mention laziness had set up camp in my house for the summer months?  Ok.  All I knew about Donki was that one could find “anything” and one could find it at a discount, which made my heart dance with joy because not many things are found at a discount in Tokyo.  Tokyo is the 3rd most expensive city to live in the world, behind Olso #1 and Zurich #2.  I have not done an expert analysis but I think it would be safe to say things here are at least 25% more expensive than what we are used to pay. 


In any case, it was time to pay Donki a visit.  I did the obligatory google search to find the address.  Luckily for me Donki appeals to tourists – it is ranked #314 of 711 things to do in Tokyo by Lonely Planet travelers – and I was able to find the address in English.  I quickly clicked on the “maps” tab, I entered “point A” and “point B” details and clicked on “get directions” and within seconds I had the map, which would guide me to the famous Donki.  Donki’s time had come. 

[I need to make a pause here to point out how entirely bizarre it is to have a store in Tokyo, a city where 99.9% of everything spoken and written is spoken and written in Japanese, named after a Spanish fictional character…weird!]

Back to the story….armed with my map, my iPhone and my bicycle I embarked on my journey on a beautiful sunny and breezy afternoon.  It took me 15 minutes to get to my destination and to my delight there was a 100-yen store – the equivalent of a $1 store – right across the street from Donki.  I HAD to go in.  I have been to another 100-yen store and these places are full of surprises!!!!  The stuff in the 100-yen store here is of higher quality here than at the $1 store back home…I hate to say it but everything in Japan seems to be of higher quality, hence the lack of discounted or “cheaply’ priced items.

The 100-yen store was a total success… I paid 1000 yen and I walked out with….well…hmmmm….10 items….simple math!  Then I crossed the street to the main attraction – a gigantic 6-story building filled with things waiting to be bought by this expeditioner from the far West.  The board that listed the contents of each floor was so big it covered the whole entrance wall…floor to ceiling.  Donki is like having a Sports Authority, Target, Office Max, Home Depot, Michaels and Walgreens all in one place.  I am glad I finally made it to see Donki…I would go back, but the real reason to go back to Donki is for that awesome 100-yen store across the street…That’s the beauty of exploring…you never know what you will find or where you will find it.  


Mission “let’s discover Tokyo” will continue.  Let’s see what will the fall winds blow my way next week.

Until then, I invite you to do some exploring in your area and tell me about it!
See you soon...
Mad

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