You should have no problem at all! It’s right across the road when you get out from the subway station. Good luck!

Oh I never got into any trouble taking photos there. I figured that with a camera and tourist maps in hand, it should seem pretty obvious that I was a tourist. The staff basically left me alone.

I suppose you’re right…I’m Chinese-American as well, so I would fall under the “mystery gaijin” category as well ^ ^ ;

But…I think they might politely ask you to put away the camera? You know, Japanese manners and all, especially in the context of store employee-customer relations…I don’t mean to complain and be totally anti-American, but I feel sometimes that Americans can be too up-front and all “in your face”, if you know what I mean. /=

I think she just got lucky. It all depends on the store, but many of them, especially in more popular areas such as Akihabara, Ginza, etc. won’t allow you to take photos. If they can tell you are a gaijin (they couldn’t since I’m a Chinese-American), then maybe they won’t say anything, but if you blend in, they will tell you you can’t take photos.

But I’m glad in Japan, no one minds pictures! You took some pretty nice shots – the Snoopy store looks absolutely divine! There’s all sorts of quirky items for sale in each shop, and the presentation, as always, pleases =)

Nice blogging!! :D

By the way, your photos look really nice!

hehe!! :) i think i’d love to go to japan (if not for the hello kitty), for the splashes of colours, the graffiti, the people-watching, n the sceneries…

py: Absolutely. It’s awesome. The challenge in going solo lies in knowing that you can depend only on yourself and no one else. I become more alert and attuned to the surrounding. Also, I find that I tend to better appreciate the host country as well as interact more with its people when I go solo.

Ken: Yup I was trying to avoid using credit cards! But in the end I had to use them anyway. Argh!

That sucks that you couldn’t buy what you really wanted from the Care Bear store. My gf and I brought 1-2 empty suitcases on purpose, because we knew we would buy a lot of things. Perhaps you can do that next time you travel?

Also, Shibuya takes credit cards, right? I’m pretty sure I bought some things on credit there… or were you trying to avoid using plastic? Either way, I hope you were able to purchase all that stuff you lost on the cab!

Jayson: It really, really is! But I think I still love Bangkok a whole lot more.