31 March 2012

Tokyo/Kinugawa Onsen March 2012 - Part IV

Continued from Part I, II and III.

This is the last part of my trip recap and my fave!! Having been to Japan so many times, I thought that I won't really have that many things to buy this time round, but I was wrong :p I managed to fill my luggage :p Well, at least it wasn't overweight or anything :ppp

So here's the shopaholic sharing some of her favourite haul =D

Starting from food stuff.

Bought these Financiers from Pierre Herme at Isetan Shinjuku. Financier is one of my favourite pastry; and even since Patisserie Mont-Blanc at Jiyugaoka stopped selling Financiers, I'm on a search for alternatives. Previously I have bought the Financiers from Patisserie noix de beurre, also at Isetan Shinjuku, but this time I thought I would try from another Patisserie.

These did not disappoint, the original and chocolate were both moist and dense and I love them!
Bought these sauces at Shibuya Tokyu Food Show. The sauce on the left is tangy and suitable as dips for deep fried food and even as salad or tofu dressing. I saw the advert on TV and thought I had to give it a try. The sauce on the right is basically ketchup made using organic tomatoes and 30% less salt. Since dear son loves ketchup now, I thought this might be healthier for him. And yep, he loves it to bits, dipping everything with it! Even hubby thinks that this ketchup tastes quite "pure" and good.
Bought this yuzu honey tea from Shibuya Tokyu Food Show. I love yuzu tea and my first drink when I land in Tokyo is usually the bottled yuzu honey tea from the vending machine :) This is actually quite light, had to mix around 2 tsp to a cup of water to get a bit of taste.
These are my favourite lozenges for sore throat except for the purple one on the right which sucked (pun intended!). The apple one tastes really light and fruity and it makes the throat a little numb so instantly feel better. Have not tried the orange one yet though. They are be found at those older-style pharmacy, usually near the cashier counter.
Shiitake mushroom for braising and konbu (kelp, seaweed) for making soup stock.
Bought these Rare Cheese Pudding at Isetan Shinjuku. There's a counter for special promo, I tried some and fell in love with the rich and creamy taste of the cheese pudding.
Same counter, these are mini fruit jelly which I thought dear son would love. They can even be frozen and eaten as sherbet or ice lollies.
Chocolate and yuzu mochi, bought at the ryokan and Kinugawa Onsen Station. Hubby absolutely loves chocolate mochi and can finish one box of 12 pieces at a go.
Potato sticks, like the Jagabee ones. But these taste so much better coz they are made with Hokkaido potato! Bought these at the airport :) I like it that they are packed in small individual packets, so I won't over-indulge :p
Sakura crackers. The one on the left was bought at the airport, it was slightly saltish with just a touch of sourness, I like! The one on the right was bought at a convenience stall, a Calbee time limited product. It was more like a prawn cracker, was ok only.
Bought these strawberry cream chocolates (found at C-store) for my mum. She tasted many years ago and said they were very very nice.

Next, fashion and accessories stuff.
Jap fashion magazine. I just couldn't resist buying one. The Japs usually have seasonal catalogues for magazines, like Spring/Summer collection or something. And the attractive part, they come with free gift. For fashion magazines, usually pouch or tote bags; cookery magazine even comes with frying pan or spatulas. Got this particular one coz yes, of the Coach accessory travel pouch. I mean, this is usual right, I can keep my jewellery in this pouch when I travel. Not sure if Coach sells something like this? Anyway, some of the magazines are imported into Singapore and can be found at Kinukuniya. But the mark-up is 75%! Like this magazine cost 1300 yen (about S$20) but sold at Kinukuniya for S$35.


Bought this compression stockings at Tokyu Hands. It's exactly the Scholl stockings that we have here, but marketed under Medi OttO. The side of the box did state Dr Scholl. This is sold at Watsons at S$46.90, I bought it at 2363 yen which is about S$36.

I've been looking for a pouch to put my sunshades and I found a cute looking one at arrivee et depart, Trainchi, Jiyugaoka.

Freezer tote from Afternoon Tea. It keeps food cold, useful when I buy dairy stuff. Best part, it can be folded into a small pouch.
Water proof tote which can be folded and kept in a small pouch, from Laura Ashley. This is useful when I go grocery shopping, I can consolidate everything into just one bag.
Toddler clothes from MUJI. I've talked about it in Part II. Although the Spring/Summer collection is not available yet, I bought a few long sleeves for the cold weather, and some PJs. They do have sleeveless tees (sold in pack of 2) meant as inner wear during winter but I thought they can be just worn as they are in our weather.

Oh, one of my fave purchases for this trip! Got this at Isetan Shinjuku. I'm into polka dots and stripes now and it's like love at first sight for this bag. But then, do I need another bag?  I thought about it for a long time before buying and in the end succumbed to the temptation. This can be slinged or carried as a tote and very roomy which is suitable for travelling or as a baby bag. Now I use it when I bring my kiddo out, where there's room for extra clothing, water bottle, diaper, wet wipes, snacks etc. And I can has 5% tax rebate, yeah!

But when I was at the airport, there's a shop called Harajuku style (can't remember exact name) selling Agnes b merchandise at 20% storewide discount. Boohoo!!

Bakeware and zakka.
Got these at Kappabashi. Few years ago when I went to Kappabashi, I didn't buy the heart-shape chiffon pan and it was a big regret. So this time, it's a must buy! And, I've been looking for a long and slender pound cake tin in Singapore to no avail. The mini chiffon pan? Yes, it can be found in SG, but since I saw it, might as well buy it right?



Wax paper, plastic bags and cupcake cases. Wax paper seems to be in-thing now, coz I saw a lot of zakka shops selling them. I couldn't resist getting the mini cupcake cases in black, which look kind of chic. The plastic bags are wide-based and specially designed for cake boxes. I always have trouble finding bags to hold my cake boxes, especially when I have orders. And I don't like to use strings or ribbons, so these are perfect!
Some tools for making bread cups and I thought it's pretty cute. Found at Kappabashi.
From Loft. First, the masher tool on the top left. Although I have a potato masher, but it's plastic and isn't sturdy enough. I love this, it's small and handy and can mash eggs and potato effortlessly. The green pea like thingy is for washing small neck bottles, just drop them into the bottle, shake and the bottle is clean. The orange sticks are my favourite Anylock and they now come in mini size! Next, the Furi Furi Boy and Girl. Well, they are used to make rice balls, just scoop some rice into the container, close and shake, and you'll get perfectly round mini balls of rice in a second. I use it to make meat balls and it works fine too! And finally the magenta calculator cum timer. I've been looking for a magnetic calculator, as sometimes I need to do cut recipe quantities by half. The timer is a bonus, coz sometimes I do need 2 timers at the same time, eg. when I'm steaming and baking at the same time.
These are from one's terrace, Trainchi, Jiyugaoka. See, more wax paper. And just look at the cutesy muffin cases and the food picks, and the coaster.
From Natural's Kitchen. 105 yen (about $1.60) each item!

Great find from Natural Kitchen! Easy to keep.
Once opened, tadah! A 2-tier pastry holder. Only 315 yen!
I know I shouldn't be buying anymore body wash or soap as I have enough to last me for 2 years. But I just couldn't resist! On the left, yuzu flavour from MUJI (I love love love anything yuzu!), Sakura liquid soap from Afternoon Tea (it's seasonal and limited) and on the right, Elder Flower body wash, which I have bought before and love to bits.
Ok, something for the kiddo. This Anpanman toy is kinda cute. Can play anyway, not just the bathroom.

Cute little Pikachu mug. Kiddo loves to shake the ball and makes confetti fly around. His favourite mug now.

So there you have it, all 4 parts of my trip recap. Hope you have enjoyed reading and drooling at the photos as much as I enjoy writing and posting them :)

5 comments:

  1. I love to read about your buys.. I must say you are a VERY good shopper! I get a bit overwhelmed by all the choices in most shops in Japan.. :D Hehe

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  2. Wow, you got some great stuff there! Loving the bags and body wash.

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  3. OKC: Haha. I used to buy quite a lot of crap stuff which are useless and ended up as white elephants. Nowadays, I buy things that I really like. That said, it seems to be excessive still :p

    Lisa: I love the bags and body wash too :)))

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  4. LOVE all your purchases from Japan, especially the Agnes b. polka dots bag and 2-tier cake stand! You always manage to find the cutest stuffs to buy from Japan. :-) Agree that the wax paper seems to be the trend now as I keep seeing them in online auction sites. In fact I bought a few rolls from online stores recently. ;-)

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  5. Grace, yes the Agnes b. bag is a love at first sight! Haha. The 2-tier cake stand is really a good buy at 315 yen :)

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