Among countless little stores and sale booths, I noticed one selling cellular phones and services. It would seem almost identical to such stores/booths in American shopping malls except for the fact that the choices and types of various cellular phones far surpasses the ones in America. Also, unlike in America, Apple's iPhones and Samsung's Galaxies are but a small fraction of available gadgets. For instance, there are Sharp's Aquos XX series (left) and Pantone series (right). Apparently, Pantone 5 actually comes with a built-in radiation sensor that allows you to detect radiation levels with a press of a designated button - after Fukushima's disaster such concerns might be understandable.
One of the booths in the mall was selling various pets, including impressively large beetles which are popular pets in Japan. Above is "ko-kasasu okabuto" (a.k.a "atlas beetle") which is almost as large as a hand and can be purchased for roughly $46 when on sale. There are numerous cartoons, video games, collector card games, and other merchandise involving battling and raising beetles.
All the walking and shopping had made us thirsty, so we stopped by a café corner with some very mouth-watering sweets. With each pastry looking deliciously-perfect it was a tough choice to pick what we wanted. Luckily, because you get 200 yen (about $2) off when you buy 6 items, we decided to eat some there and get some home as well. Each item costs between 300 and 400 yen (about $3 and $4), but the taste and the look was worth every yen.
Here are some examples of the things we took home: peach Jell-O (left) with fruit pieces, chestnut cake (center), and crêpe cake (right). All were simply melting in the mouth with a perfect balance of sweetness and taste.
Across from where we were enjoying our drinks and cakes, there was a familiar Subway. The name and the logo might have been the same as the Subway in America, but the menu was far from being the same. One of the advertisements there displayed some sandwiches unique for this summer season. I highly doubt you will find these sandwitches in America regardless of the season: spicy shrimp (left), spicy tandoori chicken (bottom right), and ratatouille a.k.a summer vegetables (top right). I have not had a chance to try Japanese Subway yet, but from my experience with other American brands in Japan I am certain that Japanese versions are superior in quality.
When we were done with our tea/coffee/cake time, we went to take a look at all the commotion nearby. Turns out, there was a group of very young looking girls for some popular (I guess) upstart band. I found neither their singing nor dancing to be at all impressive, but some people in the audience thought so otherwise. When the girls were done, they had a big line of fans (mostly guys in their 20s and 30s) who came in orderly manner to these girls for autographs and a little chit-chat.
After some more shopping for all kinds of items, we went to a big grocery store within this shopping mall. Typically, everything was picture perfect and in smaller portions than in American grocery stores. For instance, you can buy whole watermelons, but it is more common to buy here only what one would need in the immediate future because grocery shopping is done more frequently. Please note that seedless watermelons are not that common here - you have to deal with seeds, but the taste of these watermelons is better than American under-ripened-imported-from-far-away ones.
Finally, we stopped by at a "pan-ya" (bread store) to get some bread/pastries for our next breakfast. There were many enticing choices, but some, like the little bread seals, were almost too cute to eat. Personally, I went for my favorite mentaiko (marinated cod roe) bread.
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