Today I had a pretty modest plan set up. I was going to do laundry, do a test pack to see how much luggage I needed, maybe buy some compression bags to save some space with clothes and pillows, and go check out Tokyu Hands to see the prices on luggage.

With the experience that only years of playing Tetris can give, I managed to cram all my books, my shoes, a good portion of my clothes, my toiletries, all the paper that I’m saving from the last semester, and some computer parts into my main suitcase. The weight is approximately that of a small planet, but it will work for the move. Despite my best efforts, it’s not possible to fit everything back in the bags I brought over, so I’m going to need one more bag to ensure everything will fit.

I also bought four small compression bags from the 100 yen store that are big enough to fit a few articles of clothing in, but the big problem was the pillow. I needed something a little bigger, so I went off to Tokyu Hands to buy it and look at luggage prices. Tokyu Hands is called a “creative life” store, and I was told it was the best place to go for luggage. I had always wanted to check it out, but I wasn’t able to find it the first time I went looking for it, and I hadn’t really tried again since.

I found a subway exit that popped up right next to it, and it suddenly seemed like I was in a different part of Shinjuku than I’d ever been in. I had seen a lot of really tall buildings that weren’t part of the West Shinjuku business district, but I never really made the trek to figure out what they were. Now I found myself smack dab in the middle of them. I was spit out right next to the Tokyu Hands entrance, but something else immediately caught my eye. A sign that said Kinokuniya books.

Okay, I have been going to the Kinokuniya book store since I first got here. As you saw from the previous entry, I’ve spent my fair share of money there. Everybody always said that Kinokuniya was “incredible” or “really big” or some other rave review. When I went there, I thought it was really cool, but I was silently disappointed. The highly touted foreign books section wasn’t terribly deep, the Japanese language study books was just one side of an aisle. It was a very decent book store, but I would put it about on par with my Barnes and Nobel back in Boise. Not exactly up to par with the city of Tokyo’s standards.

It was soon obvious that I had stumbled upon the REAL Kinokuniya book store. It was its own building instead of part of a larger complex like the smaller one, and seven stories tall. Granted, the small Kinokuniya is seven stories tall, but each floor in this Kinokuniya was about six times the size of the small one’s floors.

People will ask, but no, it’s not as big as Powell’s in Portland, but it also doesn’t deal in used books, so it smells much better. And the foreign language section is still smaller than what you’d find in a large bookstore in the states, but it’s extensive enough that I couldn’t think of any major section that was missing the depth I was looking for. If I wasn’t dealing with the problem of having too much books at this very moment, I very well could have added to my problem today, but I decided to wait out the initial impulses and at least wait until I move.

Suffice it to say, now I know what people are talking about when they raved about Kinokuniya.

As for Tokyu Hands, it was also awesome. Sort of like the best parts of Fred Meyer, Lowes, RIA, and Office Depot put together. I bought a compression bag big enough to fit my pillow, was pleasantly surprised by the price of the luggage, and saved the rest of the store to explore another day.

And yes, there was a Krispy Kreme store outside.

Funny that it would take me over two months to discover the best part of Shinjuku, but better late than never.