Hello everyone. This is Tsukui from WAITER-U. I run a café in Shimokitazawa that's like a campsite. I really love looking at camping gear and equipment, so today I'd like to talk about where and how I usually go looking for camping gear.
For information on camping gear, in addition to the internet and Instagram, I also use Kindle Unlimited. I have unlimited access to camping magazines on my iPad, so I check them almost every day. While I'm always gathering information online, where do I actually go offline?
When I go to see a movie, there's a set of stores I always visit. I casually mentioned movies, but do you all use U-NEXT? U-NEXT has a wealth of dramas and other content, and you get 1200 points every month. I wondered what these continuously awarded points could be used for, so I looked into it. It turns out you can exchange them for movie tickets! You can exchange 1500 points for one movie ticket, so if you use U-NEXT for two months, you can watch one movie. I only just realized this recently.
You can use them at quite a few cinemas, such as United Cinemas, 109 Cinemas, and Piccadilly. Ever since I realized that, I try to go see at least one movie a month.
How I get to the movies varies depending on whether I go by train or car. If I go by car, I usually watch movies at United Cinemas in Aqua City Odaiba. And before the movie, I often stop by "Wild-1 Odaiba Store" in DECKS Tokyo (was that it? The shopping mall with Joypolis) next door. One whole floor is lined with camping gear, including Snow Peak and various other brands, and it's exciting just to look at it. When I go to the movies by car, I often stop here.
On the other hand, if I leave Shimokitazawa after work and go to Shinjuku to watch a movie, I take the Odakyu Line to Shinjuku. After exiting Shinjuku East Exit, the place where Yamada Denki used to be is now Alpen Tokyo (Alpen Sports Tokyo?). The 5th and 6th floors there are camping gear sections, and I think the 6th floor is for climbing equipment. This place also has a lot of camping gear on one floor, so I often stop by.
When I go to Shinjuku by car, I often park in Subnade. The only way to get from Subnade to the ground floor by elevator is actually through Alpen. This is useful to remember. If you're pushing a stroller or want to park your car in Shinjuku and get to the ground floor by elevator, it's convenient to park in Subnade and use the elevator from Alpen's B2 parking lot. I'm not sure if this is about movies, Shinjuku, or camping gear, but this is pretty much my routine for exploring camping gear.
Also, there's Cranberry Mall in Minami-Machida. And one place I'd like to visit but haven't yet, which I've been to once, is Tateisukanna in Yoyogi-Uehara. A larger branch of that store should be north of Kawagoe in Saitama, so I'd like to go there too.
Also, I heard that 5050WORKSHOP, whose products I use quite a bit, used to have a garage-like location in Machida but has now moved to Yokosuka. I'd love to drop by more garage brand stores casually, truly. Well, that's pretty much it.
I think there are many camping gear stores in Tokyo, but our store is also located about a 5-minute walk from Shimokitazawa Station, so please stop by when you come to Shimokitazawa. We are on Kamakura-dori in the Ichibangai shopping street. If you're coming by train, I think the quickest way to get to the store is to exit the Inokashira Line's West Exit改札 and walk along Kamakura-dori for about 5 minutes.
Generally, we open from 11 AM every morning, but no later than 12:30 PM. Last orders are around 7 PM, and we stay open until the last customer leaves, so we look forward to seeing you at the store. See you next time.
