Hello Kitty Shopping Adventure Episode 5: Hiroshima

From my shopping-slash-tumbler-picture-taking adventure in Hokkaido and Kanazawa in March, I was once again on the road (or in the air) in June – this time to Hiroshima. This would be my third time to visit. The first visit was in 2010, a year before I officially moved to Japan and the second was in 2014, where I had the chance to also visit Miyajima. On this trip I only stayed in the city where I checked in to a hotel strategically located within walking distance to the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum, among other landmarks.

Just like in Hokkaido, I was able to do the obligatory Starbucks tumbler picture taking almost immediately upon arrival. In Hiroshima I was even able to do it faster: I was already done with my first tumbler picture before I checked in to my hotel, and I managed to capture more a day before my departure.

With the tumbler out of the way, I was now on my Gotochi Kitty quest. Prior to my arrival I sent an email to my hotel requesting for recommendations on where I can find Gotochi Kitty items. Unfortunately the stores they gave me yielded no results, so I ended up still searching on my own, starting with the nearby convenience stores. I was inspired by my experience in Kanazawa, so I was hopeful that I would get the same luck here. I didn’t.

I finally found my luck at one of the stores in Hiroshima Station, outside of the gates.

However, the selections they had were not a lot, so I asked for a bit of help from the station staff. One of them suggested that I visit the souvenir shop inside the shinkansen station gates. Before this trip, I didn’t know that for as little as 150 JPY, one could enter the station gates and not ride the trains.

Once inside the gates, I immediately saw the souvenir shop and got ecstatic instantly.

By the end of my first day in Hiroshima, I was pretty happy with my haul.

Back at the hotel, when the hotel staff already had an idea of the items I was shopping for, they advised me to also check out the souvenir shops at the airport. So, by the third night of my stay I made sure that I packed my luggage well so that there is still space for the items that I planned to buy at the airport. I also made sure that I arrive at the airport the next day with at least an hour allowance.

As it turned out, one hour was good enough for more shopping and a decent lunch for me.

Stay tuned for my next Gotochi Kitty shopping adventure.

Hi City-Cost Readers! If you have friends from outside of Japan who are interested in exclusive Hello Kitty Japan items, please invite them to check out TokuDeals at https://www.tokudeals.com/. They are also on Facebook and Instagram.