SUNSHINE CITY - IKEBUKURO

Sunshine City is a massive shopping centre (www.sunshinecity.co.jp)

I was very happy to find a huge array of Hina Matsuri dolls on display in Toys R Us.

There were too many shops to see in the few hour we had there, so I only got to shop in a small selection. I bought a few items in a small branch of Daiso. There were also alot of homewares and zakka stores.

It was in this shopping centre that I had a lovely experience. I had purchased some ceramic plates, and as I was walking around, I dropped the bag and broke every one of the plates. As I sat down to examine the damage, a grandmother, her daughter and two little grandchildren approached me to see what I was looking at. With our limited English and Japanese, we were able to communicate. The grandmother told me to wait with her daughter while she went back to the store where I bought the plates to see if I could get a refund. I didn't think I could get a refund as the breakage was entirely my fault. The daughter and I tried to chat with our language barrier. She told me she had been to Townsville which is in my home state of Queensland. Then she said she thought my teenage daughter was my friend, as I looked too young to be her mother - how nice! Soon her mother returned carrying replacement plates, and said "I couldn't get a refund, so I have bought you the plates as a gift" I was blown away to think that a complete stranger would be so kind to me. I tried to offer her some money, but she refused. Luckily, I had some soft toy kangaroos in my handbag, so I was able to give one each to the children. I then asked if they knew where Starbucks was, as I was to meet the boys there. So, the grandmother took me to the information desk where the attendant advised me. Has this sort of thing ever happened to anyone else? Meeting that family was one of the highlights of my trip. We could learn alot from the Japanese. They are such beautiful people

A nice Hello Kitty store

We didn't have time to go in here.

A few purchases from Sunshine City.