Today we went out and explored, stopping at a near-by mall. We knew there was a Lego store there, but weren't sure what else to expect. It was surprising at how "western" the mall was. We have gotten used to how much the Japanese love their pets and how much they like to have them with them. They take their dogs everywhere. We had heard about the pet stores at the mall, but what we saw really took us by surprise. The magnatude to their obsession is crazy.
These little guys were parked outside the pet store. Not just any pet store, but one to the extreme specializing in EVERYTHING you could imagine--and sometimes not quite imagine--for your dog or cat. There were clothes, jewlery, food. You name it!
Awhile ago, while still in Korea, we caught a show on Animal Planet about the pet obsession in Japan. One of their features was on the gourmet food that one can purchase for your pet. These pets are so pampered that regular dog food just won't cut it. The "snack" bar was located in the middle of the store.
If you look closely, you'll see that they have included the caloric intake of the treats as well. Sorry it's a bit blurry, but I don't like taking pictures in stores.
We spent a lot of time exploring the store. The boys really enjoyed it and especially had fun looking in the toy section. I guess the scary thing was that this wasn't the only pampered pet store in the mall, there were at least two more!
This store had more licensed items. Lots of Snoopy, Disney, Peter Rabbit. Do you need a Peter Rabbit raincoat with matching carrier for your pooch?
After enjoying some Cold Stone ice cream, mmmmmm. We explored the rest of the mall and came to a specialty food store that had EVERYTHING imaginable from just about anywhere. It was really funny to see Old El Paso taco shells right there next to the Spam and Candadian Maple Syrup. What really caught our eye though was the pasta section. It had our favorite Italian Pasta and right beside it, Kraft Mac and Cheese! However, the $10 can of Kraft Paramesan was amusing. It's always fun to compare prices of everyday American products that we can get and what they cost out in town. Philly Cream Cheese was almost $5!
(I took this from well outside the store.)
Finally, we were left with Garlic Joe's eatery and some interesting pizza.
Not too sure about this one.