Hakuba Blog

Check out the skybridge viewing platform while shopping at the Suria KLCC Mall at the Petronas towers

As a tourist to Hakuba for a few years before moving over here I was always looking for the best flight arrangements. Sometimes it was the cheapest and other times it was about taking a side trip especially on the way home. A couple of weeks of skiing and snowboarding along with the apres is going to take it’s toll on the body and what better way to finish off your holiday than a couple of days on a beach or by a hotel pool just lazing in the sun. Malaysia is a great spot to stopover with Malaysia Airlines flying in and out of most countries. Kuala Lumpur (KL) is fast becoming a shoppers haven with some of the worlds biggest malls and department stores. The skyline is dominated by the spectacular Petronas Towers which give you a good bearing of where you are in the city. For some beach time check out Langkawi, Penang and Tioman Island.

My travelling companion was asked recently to write an article on KL for a Japanese site and below is my rough translation of her experience. She was certainly impressed with the shopping.

Author – Chiharu Watanabe.  I recently had the opportunity to visit the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. As I had no preconceptions of the city I was unsure of what I would do with a week long stay. My image of KL did not conjure shopping and day spa’s. We arrived very early in the morning and we went straight to the hotel. We dropped off our bags as it was too early to check in and headed across the road to the Berjaya Times Square. As I walked through the doors I was instantly thrown into shopping mode. The many stores along with a huge indoor theme park was like opening a toy box for adults and children alike. My first buy was a pair of sandals. They were a nice design, very comfortable and the store had a good range of sizes. For the quality I was amazed at the price of just 20 ringgit (500 yen) That certainly grabbed my attention. The next day I explored some more and stumbled upon the Japanese department store called Sogo. 2 shirts, a pair of Diesel jeans and a wool cardigan were snatched up from my shopping frenzy. I rarely shop like this but with all the great designer names at such low prices I walked out with bags of goodies and only 9000 yen poorer. For those who love Japanese department stores I can recommend the Petronas towers and the Pavillion shopping areas. They have all the big name brands in very stylish surrounds along with some great restaurants so you can spend all day there. I did not have any expectations of KL before I arrived however I was very satisfied at the end of my trip and can certainly recommend it as a shopping destination.

たまたまKLに行くことになった。１週間何をしよう。あまりショ

ッピングやスパのイメージもないが。軽くネットで調べたが、よく

わからないままKLへ。当日早朝に着いた私たちは、ホテルのチェ

ックイン待ちで、ホテルから歩いて５分のショッピングセンター

「ベルジャヤタイムズスクエア」へ行くことに。・・・そしていき

なりハマった!!ここはテナントの数が多く、屋内テーマパークもあ

りまるでおもちゃ箱のよう。ふらっと通りかかった靴屋ではカワイ

イビーサン型のサンダルを発見。鼻緒の部分がベルトのデザインに

なっていて履き心地もいい。そして24,5cmの私のサイズもあった。

しかも値段が20リンギット(￥600弱)　ここで味を占めてしまった

。それから数日買い物三昧。日本のデパート｢そごう｣では、シャツ

２枚、ディーゼルのジーンズ、ニットのカーディガンを大人買い。

デザインが豊富で、普段お気に入りが見つけられない私が、試着し

ては買いまくってしまった。(それでも4着で￥9000弱!!)

他にはペトロナスタワーのショッピングエリアや｢パビリオン｣にも

行ったが、こっちは高級ブランドが中心。しかし新しくてテナント

の他レストランも多いので日本で普段デパートに行く人におすすめ。

因みに私たちが行った6月中旬はセールの時期だったので、さらに

お得だったよう。あまり期待してなかったが、大満足のショッピン

グでした。

Shopping in Malaysia

This article was part of a publication for Tourism Malaysia. If you enjoyed this article and would like to find out more about travelling to Malaysia, please visit the Tourism Malaysia website