Questions for Arashians (o^_^o)

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

Hello Minna,

I will finally have the opportunity to have a short visit to Japan ,with my mom and older sister,
before going back to Canada. I have little knowledge to where to buy Arashi goods in Japan.
Although I know that I could get it at the JE shop in Harajuku but like I said its our first time going
there and they are unwilling to go on a long trip to get there. They'd prefer to go somewhere close
to where our hotel which is at Daiba, Minato, Tokyo. We'll be staying there for 7 days (i think)

To make life easier here's my question.

• Where can I buy JE/Arashi goods along Daiba/Minato?
• If I do persuade them to go to Harajuku; Is it easy to go there? (help) (T ^ T)

-Pardon me for my grammatical errors but hopefully you get what I mean. 
Thank You in advance <3

P.S. I'm just learning Japanese by myself so yeah I sucked at it lol..

Comments

[hika86.livejournal.com]

About the 2nd question.
Well harajuku is one of the Yamanote line station and the Takeshita Doori is in front of one of the station exits. So, yes, is easy to get there. And in Takeshita is easy also to recognize which shops sell idols' items.
In Harajuku there's also Johnny's Shop, but there you can buy only official photos.

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

How long would it take to get there though?
For the JE in Harajuku is it easy to fill the form for the photos..
-_- I'm curious about the JE shop.. o(>_<)o

[hika86.livejournal.com]

Well you wrote you are in Minato. Since Minato is a big area I don't know exactly where you are. Anyway around Minato area you have Meguro, Shibuya, Hamamatsucho or Shinagawa station from Yamanote line. Just take it to get to Harajuku. If you have the name of the nearer station I can tell you which lines you have to take ^^
Anyway Minato is near so I think it will take you 20 minutes
the JE Shop in harajuku isn't so exciting... I was kind of disappointed las year when I found out it's just a white space with offiial photos on the walls. Look at them, fill the form and that's all.
The best part is in Takeshita doori, also if the items are unoficial, but really good *_* postest, photos, key ring and so on.

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

This is the address that I get through google
台場2-6-1, Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Well if it's all pictures it's going to be hard for me I have a really have a bad eyesight
plus I'm near sighted so I tend not to bother to look over things far away lol. (I hate wearing glasses/contact lens).

So in Takeshita doori has unofficial JE goods.
How about concert goods?

I'm getting excited now.

[smapxorenji.livejournal.com]

Odaiba area doesn't really have much JE stuff selling but you can drop by Fuji TV to take a look at the VS Arashi billboard(i hope it's still there) and the VS Arashi photo display at the viewing area at level 5.

i usually take a bus from Odaiba to Shinagawa station and from there I'll take the Yamanote line to Harajuku. for first timers i suggest you take the Yurikamome line to Shinbashi and then switch to Yamamote line for Harajuku.

hope this helps you a little!

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the heads up for the Fuji TV thing.

It's a big help d(^_^)..
Hopefully I can really go there.
I should push them to wake up early and go there XD.

[shokim.livejournal.com]

Waking up to go early is really key as it gets awfully hot later in the day!

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

I have a sister who's tooooooooooo SLOW; She'll take like 2hrs more or less to finish up.
She even ask us to go take a bath first if we're impatient to wait.
We'll be in Japan in june-ish. so I think its going to be hot.

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

Hi again,
I've seen the Fuji TV (it has a big sphere on the top of the building right)
but I'm not really sure which way to get in.. There's a huge staircase and an escalator one(it's the one besides the blue dog and the admittance/ticket booth..

[smapxorenji.livejournal.com]

Yes! The blue dog's the mascot for fuji tv.

To the left of the long and huge staircase(this is the one where arashi's saigo no yakusoku floor poster was as well as the lighting up ceremony you see in the making dvd) you'll see the long staircase that leads up to level 5 where the variety exhibits are. I think it should be the same escalator you saw. It's on ground level by the roadside right? Use that to get access to level 5. =)

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

Do I have to pay for the admittance/ticket to get to the level 5?
(the one near the blue dog mascot)

As for the huge staircase I haven't walked to the very top but I didn't see the Arashi Poster.. -_-
but I'll try to check it out later after we go to harajuku.. >_

[berniechan.livejournal.com]

The subway/train lines in Japan make things easy to navigate and Harajuku isn't too confusing. The JE shop/shopping streets are just opposite the train.

Even if your Japanese is bad there are English directions at the train station and you could always google before leaving.

If the queue for the JE shop is too long (meaning you went at the wrong time), you can just go to the unofficial idol shops and buy from there instead. Shopping in Harajuku is pretty epic. :)

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

Yeah. if the line is too long I won't have the opportunity to go back there.
I just asked my sister to go to Harajuku because its somewhat close to shibuya (if I'm not mistaken).
I've already googled it from odaiba to harajuku it takes like around 49mins to go there.

I have to think positively that I can get the chance to go to JE shop.. (T ^ T)

[pegsball.livejournal.com]

I used to always visit Harajuku on a week day to beat the crowds. The weekends can be pretty busy in areas like Harajuku. If you can manage a weekday then there shouldn't be any queues. Good luck!

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

For sure I'll only have one chance to go there in 6 days.
If I don't get the chance to go to the actual JE store I'll just buy something
from the unofficial goods/stores. Or maybe buy some magazines lol

[shokim.livejournal.com]

You can maximize your time by going to JE shop in the morning to queue, before they give out the queue numbers at 10am. (Japanese fangirls really go all out when it comes to queueing early.) Otherwise, the wait to enter the shop could be 1.5 to 2 hours later, which could be better spent shopping or sightseeing.

I could give you more ideas but I am afraid to confuse a first timer like yourself...

[eskarina77.livejournal.com]

You have different places where you can buy Js goods around Tokyo.
- Book off (you can sometimes find 2nd hands singl/DVD/albums...last time I went, it was quite difficult to find Arashi's but you can try (and you have book off in many places in Tokyo.

- Mandarake: http://www.mandarake.co.jp/en/shop/
In Tokyo, you can check for Shibuya and Ikebukuro. The one in Nakano is a little bit further (and opposite to where you'll stay) but Nakano braodway is a king of mall where you can find different shops...maybe you can convince them 'to go shopping' xD. Here is the link to Nakano broadway http://bwy.jp/ (Mandarake is in that building).

- About Harajuku, you have many non-official shops in Takeshita Dori (in front of Harajuku JR st), and Js shop. Someone explained how to get to the station to Js shop here: http://je-help.livejournal.com/2556.html
(it takes 5 min by walk from the station). To convince your family to go there, you can go and visit Meiji jingu in Harajuku, and Yoyogi park is very nice there, too xD. It's easy to fill sheets for Js photoshops: you have the name of the band on one or two pages, with number of photos on it. In front of the photo number, you write down how many you want. Photos are displayed in the shop (check opening hours)

I don't know which station you stay, but here is a map of Tokyo JR lines: http://www.tokyotopia.com/support-files/jr-train-map.pdf

And here is a link to plan your trip with metro and train: http://www.hyperdia.com/
you give departure and destination st names, it gives you timetable, fares, and which line(s) you have to take.

Feel free to ask if you want more details.

[captain-snen.livejournal.com]

I don't really know where to buy JE stuff in Tokyo, but if you are going to spend 7 days in Tokyo, you should go to Harajuku anyway - if the weather is nice on Sunday there should be people dressed up and there's also plenty of quirky fun shops that your family might like even if they don't care about JE stuff.

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

I know lol. I think there's a lot of stores to buy clothes in Harajuku but
I'm the only one who can somewhat fit their sizes.
As for my mom she's more focused on stuff toys lol..

they even wanted to go to disneyland (I think)

[captain-snen.livejournal.com]

Oh, if she wants stuffed toys, then you guys should go to kiddyland in omotesando, which is really close to harajuku

[exdream1999.livejournal.com]

I'm just popping in to add, Daiba is a tiny, tiny island in Tokyo bay, you could pretty much cover everything to do there in one day.

I would suggest if you just want to stay around Tokyo, to get a Tokyo free pass and since it's your first time in Japan, I would visit the tourism office at the airport and load up on train/subway maps.

Also, your hotel should have a help desk and I'm guessing at least one person who would speak English.

Besides the official JE store, there's also a bunch of idol shops that sell unofficial goods. They are really easy to find, as they are all along Takeshita dori. In fact, one store actually sells used official goods.

I live in Japan, not to far from Tokyo, so I know a lot of stuff that's fun to do in Tokyo and the surrounding area, so feel free to ask me for other stuff via private message.

Also, where in Canada are you from? I'm from the Pacific Northwest, US side.

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

My mom is a bit worry-wart she doesn't want to stay up late outside coz she says its "scary" lol.

I'll probably get a lot of maps. -That would be really helpful-

I'm in Toronto (North York), Canada. It's near Niagara Falls.

[exdream1999.livejournal.com]

Well, if it helps, Tokyo is pretty much one of the safest cities in the world and honestly, nobody is going to really bother you. Also, people can be nice here too, like, if you're lost or looking for someplace.

Definitely get a JR train map and subway map (the subway lines don't really show up on the JR maps and vice versa).

And, if you're staying in Daiba, there's two lines, the Rinkai subway line and the Yurikamome line. The Rinkai line is cheaper and is good for going into Tokyo, but it is underground, the Yurikamome line is above ground and is raised, so I would recommend going on it at least once because the view is amazing!

[kerrol.livejournal.com]

It is super easy to get to harajuku and the JE shop is very close to the station. I went to the shop about a week or two ago and it's been renovated and is now 3 times as big so I didn't have to wait at all to get in.

There are heaps of shops with cute accessories and toys and stuff around the area plus big international stores like Forever 21 and H&M as well as the super delicious Harajuku crepes so I'm sure your mum and sister will find something to do as well.

[animeadiktus08.livejournal.com]

You have me at crepes lol..

If there's no huge line it would be better for me. Or rather us.
I googled the trip from the hotel to Harajuku; its around 49mins away lol sooo far..