Shinjuku is all about the spending of money. You may be able to have a good time here without doing so. But if you can; then I didn’t get to experience such a thing. Shops are everywhere. Enticing you with their brand spanking shiny new ‘wares, staff who do more than bow and yell “Irrashaimasse!”, and will go out of their way to show you their stores’ latest and greatest. Shinjuku bled me dry. But I had a great time whilst the area killed my finances softly.

Shinjuku was an area that was wasted on my friends and I, because we spent most of our time there within one building: Lumine est – which is pretty much a shopping complex (one of several in Shinjuku). It’s here where you’ll find your money starts to fly out of your wallet. I spent way more money than I should have in HMV snapping up CD’s (Amuro-chan and Hikki CD’s were on special offer!!) I was rather impressed with my self here, as I was able to converse with the staff in Japanese, and they actually understood me! All without the aid of my phrase book. Success!! My Japanese didn’t completely suck! Although when I asked “Excuse me. Can you tell me where the Crystal Kay CD’s are?” I was lost at how to tell the guy “Stop!” without sounding rude, after he scoured the entire store enthusiastically (gotta love the Japanese and that keen enthusiasm) and pilled into my arms every single CD she’d released. Great customer service, but I only wanted Color change!. A couple of my friends spent a whole lotta Yen in an underwear store. Being in a underwear store which sells men’s boxer briefs which have “I heart U” printed across the arse instantly head shots any formalities. So the staff were able to feel at ease around us, and laugh as we held underwear to each other and made jokes. They loved us in this shop! And loved us even more when my friends bought a good few pairs of their wears – which they wore and posed for in pictures (in poses and circumstances that are not as bad you think).

On the upper floors of Lumine est you have 7&8 dining: which are 2 floors dedicated to (yep you guessed it) food, food and more food. The restaurants on these floors were amazing! I wish I’d gotten to sample them all, but the queues to get into some of them bordered on ridiculous. And not everybody was feeling as adventurous with their culinary sampling as I was. We frequented Stone creamery, which was the most popular dining spot between the 2 floors – with a queue that ran along the side of it and down into the Fire exit stair well. The staff sing as they mix your ice cream for tips. (I got serenaded with a rendition of “Hokey Cokey” in Japanese when I ordered my banana and almond waffle). And the ice cream is some of the best. It was no surprise that this place was so popular. It had charm in spades and some damn good ice cream to back it up. My friends and I also kicked it at a ramen place which served up some of the best ramen I’ve had. Strangely, it was empty every time we went there. But the head chef and his underling chef were great hosts. They always remembered us, laughed when we ordered the same thing on each visit, and on our final visit we managed to finally get the all important words out: “Gochisosama deshita”, which the owner was very impressed with, and replied to with a big grin and bow. I love that man.

Shinjuku is literally a just a wave of people with lots of lights. Some may find it off putting and annoying, but I rather liked it. The hustle and bustle was rather comforting, because as a gaijin, you don’t stand out as much. Well…you do. But with so many faces coming from and at different places, you tend not to be the source of all the “Kore, mitte mitte!!”’s from folk.

Shinjuku was a great place. My friends and I pretty much confined our selves to the Lumine est when we were there, which I do kind of regret given how much the area of Shinjuku has to offer – including a red light district and a gay district. We didn’t visit these. (Honest!) But I wouldn’t mind checking them out on a next visit. Yep, you read correctly. Why the hell not? They sound fun.