I experienced both happiness and sadness after my very first outlet shopping (the visit to Johor Premium Outlets was actually four months later); former because i had a great time and bought quite a number of things at a good deal.
Sad because we only allocated two hours and couldn't extend any further as we needed to return the rented car in central Sapporo on the same day at a designated time!
Anyway, ample parking for us as it was a lull Tuesday afternoon. Honestly, i thought the planned two-hour stay was too long a time as i am not into branded stuff and only put this into the itinerary as i had never known what outlet shopping was all about.
To me, it should be similar to what we have in Singapore (for example, IMM, Changi City Point); albeit of a much larger scale for which the entire shopping mall would be catered entirely for discounted and / or off-season products.
Rather empty mall - the general atmosphere is as expected; quite the same as IMM or Changi City Point and i was, in fact, getting a bit bored as i am pretty quick when it comes to window shopping and dislike having to loiter insanely long at one shop.
Those who visited during Hokkaido's cold winter would welcome the everything-is-indoor setting; it will be warm and definitely a nice respite from all the snow and finger-biting cold.
A few of the 180 brands that's spread out over two buildings with a square area of 30,000 m²! Unfortunately, the lack of time means i didn't venture beyond the first building!
Thank god i am only into Southeast Asian coffee!
CROCS - i absolutely love the brand as shoes are usually light and relatively durable given my rough handling! I didn't purchase any as i still have two spanking new pairs at home.
Pricing of the New Balance shoes; as foreigners, we are entitled to tax rebates (8%) upon attainment of a minimal 'spent' amount which i think is 5,000 yen (about S$62). Hence, please remember to bring along your passport!
Kipling bags; i was tasked by my mom to get a purple one for her! As i don't have a good eye for designs, i had to send a whatsapp to my family's group chat for a confirmation! At the very least, my mom is super pleased with the bag and frequently brings it out.
An aviation / aeronautic exhibition on the ground floor.
While i was busy in the Kipling store, Alex ventured alone to the Nike store and before i knew it, he got two pairs of the same design as it was one for one and he didn't like the other colours.
You know what's the best thing? He had the actual same pair at home which means he now has three of the same kind in the shoe cabinet!
I was looking forward to checking out the Onitsuka Tiger outlet!
Having heard so much about it from the Great Kon for like more than ten years, i finally got a pair which i absolutely didn't regret buying! Maybe i should have gotten another pair of the same design; just like Alex.
Onitsuka Tiger is available at Changi City Point but the average price (confirmed as of last Sunday) was about S$150; the pair i got cost less than S$100!
Temptation mode activated when i spotted this pair at the counter; at 6,000 yen (S$80), it's still within my budget. In my mind, to pay over S$100 for a pair of shoes is ridiculous! Sadly, it didn't have my size. :(
My craziest overseas purchase so far - i got two tempur pillows at a huge discount compared to what i would be paying in Singapore from their official store and hauled them back home! The original price in Singapore is S$319 and i paid less than that amount for two pillows!
I wish i would be back soon!
=====
Location
3-7-6, Omagari Saiwai-cho,
Kitahiroshima City, Hokkaido,
Japan (in between New Chitose Airport & Sapporo)
Location Map
Check out under the label for "Mitsui-Outlet Park" under header "Sapporo (08-11 Aug)".
Website
For my 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment