Shimotsuma Monogatari

A tip on fashion and exploring a new world through a light hearted movie will be something more than you asked for. A combination of travel and fashion with a truly good story is a very rare scene. This is one of the best Japanese travel film ever. Shimotsuma Monogatari is an adaptation of a novel “Kamikaze Girls” which was beautifully narrated. The two young girls in the movie will take you to a journey inside Japan which is truly inspirational and amazing. The main character Loner Momoko is completely mad about escaping to Tokyo for a shopping trip.

Her journey starts from the Shimotsuma Station where she considers all the options regarding her shopping destinations. Her shopping pursuit takes her to various Japanese locations. Momoko has 2 friends Yankii and Ichigo and she meets them at the Tobanoe Station in Shimotsuma. They enjoy their free time at Pachinko Slot MGM which is a 15 minute walk from the east of Shimotsuma Station on the National Route 125. Momoko and her friends go to the Jusco, a hypermarket which is 20 minutes ahead.

The further scenes take you to a cafe where she is having a chat with a French-maid waitress, which actually is a cafe, named Forest Mansion. These friends then move on to Baby – The Stars Shine Bright which is a clothing boutique, where Momoko buys her Lolita fashion dresses. They visit Baby to embroider a jacket of Ichigo, as they have heard that there is a legendary embroiderer who is an expert. Shimotsuma is a place that sustained structural damage due to earthquake which affected the water supply and electricity in the town.

The fight between Ichigo and the biker gang is shot on the other side of Tsukuba in Ushiku. Monoko and her friend show you the 120 m Buddha Statue in the Ushiku Daibutsu which is a miracle in its own. The actions in the film between the bike gang and Ichigo were shot just behind the fascinating sculpture in which the visitors can climb up to the statue. There is botanical garden and zoo in the fourth floor of the statue. The pond that you see is just behind the statue.

Although a small town girl story is scripted in the movie, the travelling scenes are best shot and they give originality to the great travel movie. This movie depicts Japan as one of the best shopping and travel destinations which you can go and explore to the maximum.

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