Takashimaya Vs. Isetan

I have been to these departmental stores in Singapore and Malaysia and I wonder how they look like in their land of origin. In fact they are everywhere in Japan. The stores I happened to visit are all in Shinjuku.

Takashimaya at Times Square is just beside the JR Shinjuku Station, so I headed to this store straight away after coming out from the station.

Well, the layout is just like any departmental store around the world, but the variety of brands they carry can be quite different.

The cosmetic brands are the same as what we see in Malaysia, because we import them from the same origin. However, there are probably more varieties here.

This is the favourite brand of my good friend, so I dedicate this shot to her.

After roaming around and seeing the branded goods, I wanted to see how their stationery is like. I always heard a lot of their colourful and beautiful letter-writing pads and envelopes.

They even have beautiful printings on their letter-writing papers with the matching envelopes! They are just so perfectionist in everything.

Isetan on the other hand is located within walking distance from the JR Shinjuku Station. The building looks like one from the colonial era.

The layout is again nothing more than a typical departmental store.

What interests me was the food section at the basement. Their food section looks like the gift section elsewhere. Can you eat it if you receive it as a gift?

The Japanese have really turned their food into art pieces!

Although cakes are western culinary items, they have refined them further. Every bite of it is a piece of art being consumed!

Is life really like a box of chocolate? I think so, if you give a box to me.