Hello everyone. This is Tsukui from WAITER-U. I run a cafe in Shimokitazawa that feels like a campsite. I absolutely love going to look at camping gear and equipment, so today I'd like to talk about the places and routes I usually take when I go searching for camping gear.
I gather information about camping gear from the internet and Instagram, of course, but I also use Kindle Unlimited. I can read unlimited camping magazines on my iPad, so I check it almost every day. I'm always gathering information online, but as for what kind of offline stores I actually go to...
When I go to see a movie, there are certain shops I always visit along the way. I casually mentioned movies, but do any of you use U-NEXT? U-NEXT has a wide variety of dramas and other content, and you get 1200 points every month. I looked into what you can use those points for, and 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 recently realized this.
It's actually usable at quite a few movie theaters, like United Cinemas, 109 Cinemas, and Piccadilly. Ever since I realized that, I've been trying to go see a movie at least once a month.
My mode of transportation when going to see a movie varies depending on whether I take the train or drive. If I drive, I usually go to United Cinemas in Aqua City Odaiba. And before the movie, I often stop by Wild One Odaiba, located in the adjacent Decks Tokyo (I think that's what it's called? The shopping mall that houses Joypolis). An entire floor is lined with camping equipment, and there are corners for various brands, including Snow Peak, and it's exciting just to look around. I often stop by here when I go to the movies by car.
On the other hand, if I'm leaving Shimokitazawa after work and going to see a movie in Shinjuku, I take the Odakyu Line to Shinjuku. Exiting Shinjuku East Exit, I find that where Yamada Denki used to be is now Alpen Tokyo (Alpen Sports Tokyo?). The 5th and 6th floors are the camping equipment section, and I think the 6th floor is for mountaineering equipment. I often stop by here too, as they have a lot of camping gear on one floor.
When I go to Shinjuku by car, I often park at Subnade. The only route from Subnade to the ground floor by elevator is actually through Alpen. This is a handy thing to remember. If you're pushing a stroller or something and want to park your car in Shinjuku and take an elevator to the ground floor, it's convenient to park at Subnade and use the elevator from the B2 parking lot of Alpen. I'm not sure if this is about movies, Shinjuku, or camping gear, but this is roughly my routine when I go camping gear shopping.
Besides that, there's Cranberry Mall in Minami-Machida, and surprisingly, one place I'd like to go to right now but haven't been able to is Tateisukanna in Yoyogi-Uehara, which I've been to once. I think there's a larger store of theirs north of Kawagoe in Saitama, so I'd like to go there too.
I also heard that 5050WORKSHOP, a company whose products I use, originally had a garage-like location in Machida, but has moved to Yokosuka. I'd really like to be able to casually drop by garage brand shops more often. Well, that's about it.
While there are many camping gear shops in Tokyo, our store is conveniently located about a 5-minute walk from Shimokitazawa Station, so please stop by when you're in Shimokitazawa. We're located along Kamakura Street in Ichibangai Shopping Arcade. If you're coming by train, the quickest way to get to our store is to exit the west exit of the Inokashira Line ticket gate and walk along Kamakura Street for about 5 minutes.
Generally, the opening times vary, but we open at 11:00 AM every morning and are open by 12:30 PM at the latest. Last orders are taken around 7:00 PM, and we stay open until the last customer leaves, so we look forward to seeing you at the restaurant. See you next time!
