Qin went inside the department store as soon as it opened at 10:00 am. She then headed to the dry-goods section on the 11th floor. Near the section's entrance stands "KIMONO RENTAL Tokyo135°+one". This store offers one-day rental of matching kimono and a set of accessories such as an obi kimono sash and wooden clogs called geta. They also allow you to try on these clothes, so it’s quite a popular spot with visitors from abroad, too.

They have a wide selection of rental kimono, from traditional Japanese patterns to modern patterns. They also rent out casual summer kimono called a yukata during summer. Needless to say, the store also rents out men's kimono, so the store is also flocked by couples. There are even those who spend their date wearing kimono.

Qin wore her specially chosen kimono with ease.

Qin, who likes the color red, chose a kimono adorned with geometric patterns in red, black and gray. Although she was in a kimono that could be easily worn on top of her casual clothes, the experienced staff made the fit beautiful and snug. You can also order hair sets or rent hair ornaments, so you can sport a hairstyle matching your kimono.

“I have worn a yukata, but this is my first time wearing a kimono. I’m really happy! I also like the fact that you can choose a kimono from their extensive collection. Although I wore the kimono on top of my clothes, I want to try wearing one properly while I stroll around town.”

KIMONO RENTAL Tokyo135°+one also sells used kimono. If you’re a kimono beginner or if you’re looking for a souvenir to bring home, try searching for used kimono in this store.

Japan Craft Store, which is located inside the store, also sells Japanese traditional handicrafts. They are best known for their silk gown coat for kimono and tanned deer hide called inden.

After putting on a kimono, Qin went down to the 8th floor. This floor was completely renovated in 2017, turning it into the Wellbe Field which is based on a lifestyle called “wellbeing life” that aids both mind and body.

You can buy fashion and beauty items based on this concept or you can enjoy a meal and relax inside beauty and health-conscious cafes. You can also exercise in their yoga studio or fitness gym.
This floor is filled with options that allow you to fine tune your mind and body.

Before anything else, Qin went to the restaurant Kouji&ko for an early lunch.

Kouji&ko is a fermented delicatessen cafeteria that allows you to enjoy fermented food in style. The restaurant offers kōji or mold grown from cooked rice among other fermented foods served in a new style and based on a concept called Nouvelle Hakkou. They use their very own salted kōji, amakōji or sweet kōji, and soy sauce kōji in their dishes. They have a wide variety of dishes that are packed with the umami of ingredients drawn out using kōji.

“I don't know much about fermented food nor have I eaten it much. In China, we have chōdofu, or kind of a stinky tofu, which I don't eat it that much. But it's widely believed to be healthy.”

For their “Lunch Set Deli Plate” available at 1,188 yen, the popular choice is salad with two delicacies. You can choose two delicacies from the choices that are displayed. Qin chose the “Kōji Burger” and roasted vegetables in amakōji sauce.

“The “Kōji Burger” is juicy and its meat is packed with umami! The fermentation mash demi-glace sauce has a rich taste resembling that of soy sauce or beans. The vegetables are also sweet and tasty. This is my first time eating amashiokōji."

After enjoying your meal, you can cap it off with a sweet, low-alcohol rice wine called amazake for 540 yen. Although Qin doesn't normally eat fermented food, we think she has realized the delicious taste of kōji in Kouji&ko.

Now that Qin has had her fill, we decided to window shop around Wellbe Field. Belle Active is a beauty shop intended for people seeking health-conscious and beauty-oriented options. This store is supervised by the sports aroma trainer Ms. Takako Kanzaki. They have a wide selection of beauty and health products, from fashion and cosmetic items to food.

Popular products in their lineup include their eye essence and their mask eye sheet called "AXXZIA" which is a skincare brand developed for salons in Japan. There are a lot of foreign tourists, who are privy with Japan's beauty items, that buy these products by the box. They accept several payment options such as Apple Pay, Suica, and even Alipay and WeChatpay, which may be why it's popular among tourists.

The Wellbe Park is a public space found inside Belle Active. It is a lounge area where Takashimaya guests can freely use.

After window shopping, next comes today's main event -- a yoga lesson.

Mellow Flow, located inside Wellbe Field, is a multi-studio for women produced by THINK Fitness which manages GOLD'S GYM. Here, you can participate in studio exercises such as yoga.

They have aerial yoga, Pilates and belly dancing among other lessons. Qin, who is a yoga beginner, decided to challenge "beauty posture yoga" by instructor Miki. Aside from forming beautiful postures, this class aims to build a tight body with a program that incorporates specialized poses to form beautiful postures.

After doing yoga for an hour, Qin came out of the studio with a really cheerful expression. Here's what she thought about her first yoga experience.

"It was great! The instructor was filled with humor and she thoroughly guided me. She paid close attention to each of her students. My posture will definitely improve if I continue doing this. They have clean shower rooms and powder rooms, which makes commuting an exciting activity. Having a yoga studio inside a department store directly connected to the Shinjuku station is convenient. Just thinking about it makes me really excited."

At Mellow Flow, you can join one lesson for 1,000 yen. They also have English-speaking instructors, so expats living nearby have also signed up here.

By the way, a fitness gym for women called Woman's SHAPE GYM is located beside Mellow Flow, where you can do kickboxing and experience collagen machine among other latest beauty equipment.

After sweating out from yoga, she decided to relax for a bit at the WELLBE CAFÉ25° by UCC coffee stand located right in front of the studio. They offer drinks made by extracting the freshest coffee beans using various extraction methods such as hand drip, siphon, espresso, and ice brew. Needless to say, this store serves very tasty coffee, but they also have the perfect drink for when you finish exercising at the studio. They call it "Protein Latte" (700 yen)!

This is an original drink blended using coffee and “Gold’s Gym Whey Original Protein-rich Milk Flavor”. This is definitely the perfect drink after finishing yoga or kickboxing!

After a refreshing yoga session, Qin went to the basement first floor to buy Shinjuku souvenirs. She first went to HACCI, which is popular for cosmetic products and sweets made from honey. This brand was born from Mizutani Bee Farm established in 1912. They offer a wide selection of products which uses honey, known to have strong sterilizing properties and moisturizing and skin-brightening effect.

"This brand is popular among my Chinese friends. They told me to buy the ‘Cleansing Milk’ which costs 4,320 yen, so I was really curious about this product."

This cleansing milk has honey and royal jelly extract. More than 85% of it is essence components which gently clear dirt and moisturize the skin. It has the sweet scent of honey, which makes you feel happy while cleansing your skin.

The newly released "Cleansing Oil Cream" for 5,184 yen and the unprocessed "Comb Honey" for 7,560 yen are popular among foreign visitors. These products also have gorgeous packaging, so receiving them as a gift will surely put a smile on your face.

For her last stop, Qin went to Ogura Sansō. This store, whose main branch is located in Nagaokakyō in Kyōto, sells soy sauce-flavored rice crackers called arare and Japanese rice crackers called senbei. Their popular product is the "Ogura Yamashunjū" which comes in 8 kinds wrapped in a beautiful Japanese pattern package. Each bite-size cracker is wrapped individually, making it the perfect present at home. This time, we were allowed to try samples over the counter.

"This arare surely has a variety of tastes despite being so small. We have a lot of large senbei rice crackers in China, but such a small arare is uncommon there. The crackers are bite-size and are served on a tray which makes them easy to eat. I could really feel the delicateness unique to Japan."

What caught Qin's attention was the winter-limited product "Ogura Yamashūnju ARARE&CHOCOLAT". One package has seven kinds of rice crackers and chocolate sweets such as coin-shaped chocolate, shrimp arare, matcha chocolate-coated senbei, almond arare among others.

"The sweet chocolate and the salty arare is an interesting combination. You will never find such a product in China."

Qin spent the whole day wearing a kimono and taking a yoga class which can only be experienced at Shinjuku Takashimaya. The whole day was filled with beauty-oriented and health-conscious experiences.