We took the subway (quite another adventure) to one really interesting mixed use development called Roppongi Hills. It reminded me somewhat of that old shopping center area in Kansas City, only on steroids. This place is like a mega-developer’s dream come true. The architecture is all different to make it look like it evolved over time, and it’s full of shops, restaurants, cinema, museums, gardens, you name it! The most fascinating thing about it was that it was all foot-traffic accessible. The Highways and streets surrounding it were integrated in such a way that it felt natural. Almost everyone arriving or departing was using the subway – I didn’t see many parking lots, and it didn’t seem like a place you would drive to if you lived in Tokyo – ii would be too much trouble I think.
We left the development and walked the neighborhoods surrounding Roppongi Hills which had delightful little neighborhood streets and smaller boutique shops – and it was delightful. We stopped at a few stores and had lunch, then headed back to the development to catch the subway. On our way back we stopped in a children’s store and spotted one of the fancy foreign strollers that mike’s been eyeing, the Quinny Buzz – the one not sold in the US…so mom and I got to try it out and look at it up close (we thought it was pretty cool). I thought I might see more interesting Japanese kids clothes, but so far (and we have looked) we’ve been kind of disappointed. Almost everything is imported and expensive. There just isn’t as much cute clothing for babies as you might have thought. Paper is another thing all together though – the selection of stationery here is unbelievable and I have already spent about $100 on papers from various shops.
