In July, Rainbowholic announced they were closing their physical cafe/shop in Tokyo and I was feeling a bit sad. I had put a visit on my Tokyo itinerary because their stationery is top-notch. And now I find out they have re-opened a much bigger store called Rainbowholic Stationery Land. ✺◟(＾∇＾)◞✺
You get of at Komagome station, on the Yamanote Line. Which means I am lucky cuz Ikebukuro is also on the Yamanote line. 🚃 And a short walk away from the station. I already checked the neighbourhood and there is enough shrines to explore and cafes to relax at.
When I am in Japan it is nearing Halloween, and I don’t think they do anything for Halloween because that is a Western thing, they do have some cool stuff to do with Yokai. 👺
Yōkai (妖怪; Japanese pronunciation: [joː.kai][1]) are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. Yōkai are a vast range of beings, including shapeshifters, ghosts, demons, and tricksters. They can be mischievous, helpful, or malevolent, often appearing as animal-like figures, possessed objects, or humanoids. They embody the mysterious and uncanny aspects of nature and human emotions
And I saw that Rainbowholic has Yokai for their September pledge. I hope I can get a sticker sheet when I visit.
I am just so excited for them that they have a physical location again. I wished I could run my own stationery store here in the Netherlands but alas rent is too steep for stickers and titbits. (╥‸╥)
I was a bit on the fence if I should get tickets only to find out I should have entered the lottery in July. .·°՞(っ-ᯅ-ς)՞°·. BUT, I am staying until November so I signed up on the only full day I had for the lottery. I checked how many people signed in and it was busy as fuck so there is a big chance I won’t make it. (╥﹏╥)
This is one of the few lottery visits I have squeezed in my itinerary. I might try to get a slot for the Pokemon Café but those won’t open until the 1st of September.
When I got Pokemon Blue in 1998, I was smitten with Bulbasaur. He has been my favourite ever since. While some other Pokemon are starting to grow on me like Ditto and Trubbish. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ His is called Fushigidane in Japan and with his little vines he is the cutest. No one can beat my bubbisaur. My hubby was sooo sweet to bring me this plush from the Nintendo Store NYC during his trip. This is the soda pop line and it is freaking cute. (˶>⩊<˶)
If I manage to get tickets, it will be a bit of a journey with switching two trains and the last leg with the bus or gondola. Greater Tokyo is huge, you should keep that in mind.
Fingers crossed I get a ticket, the results will happen by the end of this month.
And remember stay whimsical, embrace cringe. Fuck GenAI and flip a table. (╯˙ᵕ˙ )╯︵ ┻━┻
No, haha I am not going to live there but just visiting. Intially we had planned that we would go visit in 2020 but then shit hit the fan and the whole world trapped in a pandemic. Further down the line the invasion of Ukraine made flying to Japan from Europe much more difficult, as it wasn’t the first time Russians had shot an commercial airplane from the sky.
After a complete shit year of 2025, suffering from a burnout I wanted to do something for me and I told my husband as soon as I was able to score tickets to a Blythe event in Tokyo, I would be going to visit.
Luckily for me getting tickets to Be Summit wasn’t that difficult. Flights and a hotel were a bit more difficult. October is a very popular month to travel to Japan and I was going solo this time. Another difficulty arose when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in December and I cannot live without my CPAP-device. Normally as a solo traveller I do not mind sharing a dorm with other women but my device needs a safe spot and I cannot keep packing it up and sticking it in a locker for over two weeks while I am out and about. So the quest for an affordable single room was on. The flight was not that hard as I chose to not fly with KLM. Everytime I have flown with KLM the past 10 years, shit happened and they cancelled atleast one flight on me, making me spend extra money on extra nights in hotels or missing a night in a hotel because my flight was delayed. So here is to you KLM, fuck you. Royal Dutch Airlines my ass, Royal pain in the ass more like it.
Found a hotel in Ikebukuro, the part of Tokyo I was aiming for. Shibuya was too busy and Ueno was to expensive for a solo traveller.
Ikebukuro
I have been to Ikebukuro 20 years ago but I was in the middle of a messy break up, forced to travel with my ex and I hardly remember anything from that trip. I’ve completely blocked out that part of my life. So my 2026 trip is also an attempt at making newer and happier memories. Fun fact: after finding about the existente of Blythes and ball jointed dolls in Japan, I started to collect them and have been a collector for 20 years. 🙂
Why did I chose Ikebukuro? Well it was closer on the way to Nakano where my event will be, there is a direct Limosine bus from Narita and it has a bit of both new and retro vibes feeling. Sunshine City is a class place to shop and have fun. While it is far away from the other attractions, I have 14 days to sightsee. Which will be hopefully plently enough time.
I do plan to take a few day trips from Tokyo, to Yokohama and Kamakura. I want to see the Snoopy Museum, Kewpie Museum and the newly renovated Edo Museum (I saw this one 20 years ago). Furthermore a visit to Tower Records and Malto is a must as I have a few CD’s I am looking for.
YokohamaKamakuraSnoopy MuseumKewpie Museum
I might change my itinerary depending on the weather and ticket availability but I am really looking forward to returning. A bit scary travelling by myself that far, last time was to the US years ago.
