Japan 2025 Trip Haul

Consumerism is at its peak in Japan. There are so many cool things to buy and everyone talks about how cheap it is (not for Indians, actually). I couldn't resist it either. How can I, when it is the land of some of my favourite things?

Since I am quite cautious about money, I did a lot of research beforehand and made a huge list of things that I wanted to buy for myself and others. I actually stuck to the list. 95% of my purchases were planned. So, although I spent a ton, it was not due to impulse buys. I'm equal parts proud of it and not. I'm glad I'm not irresponsible but I wish I spent a little more to buy extras of a couple of things.

I wasn't planning on making this post initially but a few of you have been very excited to see my haul. This post is for you 😂 It's been a few weeks since the trip and I've started using a few of my purchases already. I'm excited to show them and talk about them!

Note: I'll only be sharing what I bought for myself, not any of the gifts.

I already wrote a huge trip log detailing where I went and what I did in my Japan trip. Check it out if you haven't!

bags

Funny how this is a separate section.

All the shoulder bags I have are super old and the only one that looks good is from my college days. I've been very overdue for a new casual shoulder bag and I planned to buy one from Uniqlo in the first few days so that I can use it for the rest of the trip. I got the above basic black shoulder bag (I'm wearing it in the second picture above) and I love it. It's perfect for my current casual outfit style. It's also much bigger than it looks. I fit so much in it during the trip. At one point, it carried my umbrella, power bank, 2 charging cables, loose cash and cards, hand kerchief, mask, lip balm, passport, stamp book, airpods, and armbands. The only reason I sometimes carried the bigger bag was if I wanted to carry my jacket or if I planned to buy stuff.

I got two bigger bags as well. I didn't carry my regular tote bags because they are too small to carry a lot of items anyway. While browsing at Uniqlo, I saw the black one and immediately wanted it for shopping days. I like that it's a huge mouldable bag with 2 side pockets (for a water bottle and miscellaneous stuff like charging cables) and it looks great. It has 2 small pockets inside for cash or card too. The strap length is easily adjustable as well. I climbed Fushimi Imari with this bag stuffed with things and my shoulders didn't hurt at all. I was surprised too.

The green one was an impulse buy. My friend really wanted that bag so I went to multiple Uniqlo stores looking for it. I finally found it in Asakusa on my last day and it was on discount too. The final price (with tax) was half of what we'd pay for it in India. The friend raved about it and has been wanting it for a couple of years so I decided to trust her judgement and got one for myself too. It's not my usual style but I'm sure it'll be handy. I don't have any other big shoulder bag with so many pockets. I'm not a huge fan of green but I already got two black bags so I didn't take the black version of this lol.

The only problem is that they bags can't be washed, apparently. I found out later. Something to do with the coating on top which gives the shine. I'm used to putting my bags in the washing machine so I'll have to get used to hand wiping these.

I got a shupatto bag from Don Quixote on the first day. Just in case I needed it for extra shopping. I didn't end up using it, though. I'm pretty sure it'll come in handy for impromptu shopping trips or grocery runs but I'll need to remember that I have it. I love the folding technology (demonstrated on the website) but it's a bit too big to comfortable carry without another big-ish bag on hand. Actually, it would have been helpful on my Goa trip 🤔 I should remember to take it on my next trip. It's huge unfolded and could easily be used for a 2-day trip.

clothing

I took only a week's worth of clothes (except underwear) and planned to buy in Japan. Everyone online said that the clothes in Japan are awesome and to just buy there. I took enough just in case but planned to buy a few outfits.

Uniqlo is the only place I considered buying clothes from. I had already checked out the catalog available in the Indian website and compared the prices with the Japan website to make sure that it's actually a good deal. I ended up buying a top in India before going to Japan too, because I wanted it for the airport travel. (This bra top bought on the suggestion of Aakanksha Monga)

Since we went in October, most of the clothes were for winter. Since the city I currently live in is mostly hot, even during winters, I didn't want to buy any of the winter clothes. Japan in October was hot too (for me). That significantly reduced my options. I ended up buying 2 pieces (lesser than I wanted to buy, actually).

I fell in love with the pink full-sleeved tshirt the second I picked it up. It's so soft, I had to get it. I believe it's fleece so it's a bit warm too. The softness + warmth really matters to me because I have eczema. I've struggled with tight-ish full-sleeved clothes for at least a decade because of the fabric causing itching on my eczema spots. Sometimes, the clothes are too warm which causes eczema flares. I knew that this shirt wouldn't cause issues because of the softness and just the a bit of warmth. I tried it on and confirmed it—it's now the softest thing I own. I don't look great in it and it's not my preferred style right now but I can't ignore that it's warm and works with my skin without being very loose.

The other item I got were a pair of cream straight-fit pants. I've been looking for something like this for months and have not been able to find it in India. It was so hard to find a pant that had the colour, the fabric, and the fit that I wanted. Well, Uniqlo Japan served it up to me on a plate. It fit me like a glove and made me look amazing. I ended up wearing it 3 times on the trip. It actually became loose at the end of the trip because I lost weight from eating less and walking a lot, but it still looked and felt great. It's now one of my most favourite pieces in my wardrobe.

I got a couple of basic socks (pink and white) from Uniqlo because there was a sale and I hadn't taken enough pairs from home. (no pictures because they're in the wash lol). I also got a simple brown belt because I'd wanted one for a while.

The wall-of-paintings inspired socks is from a store in Takeshita Street in Harajuku. (It's also in the wash, this is the only photo I have. Maybe I'll update the photo later to show it better.) I was walking out when I noticed several really pretty socks in a socks shop. I love cute and patterned socks so I loved browsing in that shop haha. I loved several but they were quite expensive so I bought only one. I really love this pair.

stationery

Stationery was a huge part of my shopping list. Japan is the stationery heaven with all the pretty and innovative items.

My first stationery stop was Muji. We've got a few Muji stores in India but the items are more expensive in India than in Japan. I also just like the Muji store aesthetic, not very fond of the items because they don't stand out in appearances. I mainly went there to buy stuff for a friend—she wanted me to grab several pens. I got a few pens for myself too. The 0.5mm basic gel pens are really good. They write smoothly and I love using them for scrapbook journalling. I got them in black, pink, and blue. I also picked up a chestnut brown water-based fine tip pen because I liked the colour.

I bought small books for stamps for all of us on the trip—basic white square notebooks with blank pages. I didn't end up using mine, though, because I got a better one in the next place I went.

My next stop was Loft. This is where I spent most of my money because I was in love as soon as I got onto the stationery floor. We don't get such pretty stationery in India. No, I won't even say "for reasonable price". We just don't get it in stores or on Amazon. My shopping strategy was to buy stuff for friends first and pick up things for myself on the way.

One of the things that I really wanted to buy were Uniball One P pens by Mitsubishi. I've seen these pens online and I love the aesthetic. They write really smoothly too. I wanted to buy all of them but limited myself to 5 pens. I was aware of the fact that I won't run through so many pens quickly and I don't want them to waste away. I ended up with 6 pens—a mix of 0.38mm and 0.5mm. All are in black, there weren't other ink colours available. The light pink one is actually a marble print which is barely visible but so pretty once you notice it.

While grabbing Jetstream pens for a friend, I took one too. I don't know why they're popular and I wasn't really a fan of the look so I grabbed just one which felt the smoothest. I got the Lite touch ink in 0.5mm black.

I got several notebooks from Loft. I was trying to balance my want for pretty notebooks with being reasonable. I've used up 3 notebooks this year already because of morning pages so I do need books. However, do I need such pretty books just to scribble and finish them quickly? I ended up buying enough to last me a year or two.

A friend wanted a Midori notebook and I've heard a lot about the brand too (on vlogs). When I couldn't find it and asked a staff member, he pointed me to paper set and covers. I believe the Midori notebook covers are meant to be used with multiple paper sets? I took a Midori grid paper set and a light pink cover. I actually haven't opened them yet. We'll find out how they work when I try to use it haha.

I also got a pretty B6 size "casual life notebook" from Midori. It's dot grid with 80 pages. I bought it because I really liked the cover. It has lovely illustrations inside too. I figured I could gift it to someone if I forgot to get something for them too 😂

I saw a "goshuin stamp book" section and realized that there are specific books for this purpose. The sizes were different from what we had bought earlier so I bought it. The cover feels like wood and has cat cutouts. The book doesn't have a spine—it opens like a flaps of folded paper. It's fun! I almost finished the book because I collected stamps everywhere, lol.

The second book with a cat-themed cover is a B6 textile notebook by HONcept. I bought it simply because I've not seen a patterned textile notebook before and I didn't own a "different" notebook. The cover has a rough texture which is very different from general notebook covers too.

There were several really pretty Moleskine notebooks and I hard to work very hard to only get one of them. This is, hands down, the prettiest notebook I own. It's a hard-clothbound ruled notebook. The length is the same as an A5 notebook but the width is shorter. I love the Tokyo artwork on the cover—the city, Tokyo Tower, with Mt. Fuji in the distance and the backside has the bullet train and Skytree. I actually haven't opened it yet—it is still wrapped with the plastic covering. I'll open it when I'm ready to use it.

The last notebook I got is a Leuchtturm1917 in baby pink. I wanted this for years in my bullet journal phase because it was the most popular notebook for bullet journalling online. I never bought it because it was too expensive since it had to be imported. I saw rows of 1917s lined up on a shelf in Loft and froze there for about 20 seconds in surprise. After quickly checking the cost—it was 50% cheaper to buy in Japan compared to India—I bought one. I could have gotten more but it was still a bit too expensive so I settled for 1. I took about 10 minutes to choose one colour. They're all so nice. In the end, light pink won over sage green because light pink is my favourite colour. I still haven't opened this either.

The Traveler's Factory Notebook stuck in my mind ever since I read Michelle's post about it. It sounds amazing to have a leather notebook that wears over time and can be carried everywhere in a small bag. I've fallen in love with travelling in the past 3 years too and I'd love to have something that's a staple in/for my travels.

I went to the Traveler's Factory store in Kyoto and was immediately charmed by the store. After getting all the 20 stamps available, I got a Kyoto-edition starter kit. I had the regular notebook aesthetic in mind but the Kyoto edition was too pretty to pass up.

The leather notebook cover is black with gold etchings of Japanese things (dango, matcha bowl and whisk, open book, tea cup, tori gates, etc.). The insert is a white notebook with similar gold etchings on the front with "There is a reason why we trip to Kyoto". The kit came with 2 bands and I bought a Kyoto-themed charm to tie on it. All of this came inside a cloth bag.

Other than the kit, I got a green travel-themed card. I thought it was a sticker set but it seems to be a card with a ruler in the back. I got another Kyoto-themed insert in green colour (the kit came with the white one) which was so pretty that I fell in love. It's got different gold etchings I got the Kyoto kit because of it, actually. I was worried about finding more inserts in India but I just saw one on Amazon which will fit this (although it has a bland brown cover 🙁).

The only maintenance problem with this is that the instructions card specifically says this is not for tropical weather and I live in India 🥴 Gotta maintain it well for all the years so that it doesn't get mold.

I plan for the Traveler's Notebook to be something I take along with me on travels to jot down wanderings or stick random. However, I forgot to take it with me on the next trip, lol. So far, it's become a scrapbook journal where I stick random things that I collect on the trips (admission tickets, postcards, stickers) or photos of the trip. I created a few pages of the Japan trip to start with (stuck my Welcome Suica card too 😌) and it came out so well! I'm currently working on my last trip to Mangalore, Goa, and Amboli.

The last stationery item in this haul is a date paintable stamp by Midori. I was wandering in the Hands store in Shibuya when I saw this in the stationery floor. I tested out the sample stamps several times before finally picking one up. It was a bit expensive (around 2k INR) but it was too cute for me to leave behind. Although the care instructions say to use only the brand's specific refill ink, I'm hoping any black ink will work when I need it in the future. I've already used it a few times and I love how the date looks on my journal. I'm thinking to use it on any handwritten letters I write too.

There is a slight learning curve with this stamp. I stamp incorrectly so many times before getting the hang of it. It also needs a couple test stamps before doing the first proper stamp for the ink to come correctly. I've shown a bunch of the variations possible in the picture above.

food

Starting with the matcha, I got two packets of this instant matcha powder from Loft. It's already got some sugar and creamer mixed in so you can just mix the powder with water and enjoy. I like this with hot water. I've already used up one packet already, lol. While waiting for our flight back in Narita Airport, I grabbed a pack of matcha powder sticks. These are also instant. The instructions say to mix them with water in a water bottle and enjoy. This doesn't have anything else mixed in it so it's pure matcha flavour. I think it will be good with milk too but I'm yet to try it.

I also got a small box of Hijocha tea. Not a bigger amount since I'm not a huge fan of it.

I forgot to take snacks from convenience stores so I took a couple in one of the airport shops. A packet each of edamame snacks and sour jelly. I loved both and finished them in a few days after coming home.

Also at the Narita Airport while leaving, I took a box of mochi because I loved them so much in Japan and a box of matcha chocolate almonds. A staff member gave us samples of a chocolate wafer thing and I loved it so much that I got two boxes lol. The taste is sweet, sour, salty, and just a bit spicy at the same time. I finished the mochi and almonds. The chocolate wafers is almost done too. I wish we got red bean paste mochi here 😢

souvenirs

A couple of magnets. My bookshelf is a steel one so I've made one side as a gallery wall with magnets and postcards. These magnets are displayed on it now.

We couldn't see Mt. Fuji while we stayed at the Kouan Campground so I settled for getting postcards of the view from there during other seasons. There are also currently displayed on the side of my bookshelf.

other

An umbrella from Don Quixote. I lost two of my umbrellas on previous trips and didn't have any to bring with me, so this was bought purely for functional purposes. I selected a cheaper one. This one has UV-protection too, despite being a light colour. The only thing is that it's a bit too flimsy. I didn't want to buy the other umbrellas there, though. They were a touch too expensive. Didn't add a picture because it's not worth one.

Custom chopsticks was one of the big things on my list going into the trip. From research, I planned to buy it in a specific store in Ginza but I didn't get the time to go there. So, when I came across a shop that made custom chopsticks in Enoshima Island, I immediately went in and bid my friends to follow. After seeing a lot of pretty chopsticks and really considering the price (it was cheaper than other places we saw later but still expensive in general), I got the above pictured pair of chopsticks and chopstick rest.

The chopsticks are mostly black with angled tips that depict a colourful Mt. Fuji. I'm quite in awe of the Mt. Fuji art and I love holding them. I got my name engraved on them in English and Japanese. The chopstick rest is a laying cat, whose back can be used for the chopstick ends. The two don't match but it's fine, I love them.

things i wanted to buy but didn't

I had budgeted for these too but I didn't end up buying them for various reasons.

• Shoes. Some shoes are much cheaper in Japan and I thought of buying a running pair. I didn't get them, though, because I didn't have a specific model in mind and I didn't want to spend time finding the right pair. My friend got a pair of shoes for almost half the price compared to India.
• Hoodie. I've been looking for a good pullover hoodie that makes me look good. Japan wasn't the place for it—they wear more coats and sweaters.
• Stain removal pens. I saw these in a reel online and they looked super handy. I didn't find them, though.
• Mosquito repellant stickers. Apparently Japan has really cute ones that are effective. I forgot to take these.
• Nail cutters. Apparently Japanese nail cutters are too good? A lot of people praise them. I considered getting one pretty piece in Kyoto but decided not to because it was too expensive. I should've gotten a regular one from the convenience store but I forgot.
• Matcha powder. I meant to get several packets of proper matcha, especially from Ippodo Tea, but I got none. I wrote about why in my trip log.
• Anime merch. Nothing looked appealing so I didn't get any except that one Haikyuu piece.

chat with me!

Have you been to Japan. If yes, what did you buy? If not, what would be on your shopping list if you were to go soon? Do you collect any specific item from every place you visit?