News about Ayu's mother's store + pics + story
 

I wasn't sure where to post this since it is part news, part story etc. So hopefully this place is ok.

I just had quite a fun experience. :) First some background - I had no plans to go to her mother's store, 'hanabi' today, but ended up there by chance. Right now I am living with a family and the mother of the family is part owner of Curves in Japan (the fitness center) and today she took me with her to her Curves office in Roppongi and I did a workout there (knowing the owner has its perks because I can go to Curves anytime I want for free, yay!) Afterwords I realized I needed to do some shopping at the intl. market nearby and after that I realized that Ayu's mom's store is very close to that. So I decided to go check it out because I actually have only been to the place one time before. Well I was in for a surprise because when I got there the place was empty with a rental sign on the window! I was so bummed and even took pics thinking, "I've gotta go tell AHS that the store went out of business."

I continued to walk the street and found out that the store actually moved to the corner! So yay, not out of business and in a slightly better location. So those that want to visit it, it is on the same street as before only now it is on the corner across from Homeworks burgers. I took a pic and debated whether to go in or not - see, I was actually wearing one of my Hamasaki tour t-shirts at the time because I hadn't planned on coming! I thought it might be totally lame to go into Ayu's mothers store while wearing a Hamasaki t-shirt, haha. But I saw in the window that they had a special box for Mother's Day of chocalates and stuff and since I needed to still buy a Mother's Day present, I used that as my excuse to go in. :)

I did not meet Ayu's Mom, but I did meet the guy that is supposedly Ayu's high school boyfriend who her Mom is now dating. He was super kind and friendly and cute! So I can totally understand Ayu's Mom snatching him up, haha. The store is a bit bigger now because it now has two levels. First floor is flowers and candles, second floor is the chocolates. On the 2nd floor they gave me coffee and chocolates to eat while I was waiting as they prepared the box for my Mother. It is a really upscale shop so don't enter unless you've got some dough to spend, haha. Sort of hidden up there is a back room that I caught a glimpse of and it looked like some sort of VIP poker room or something, haha. I asked them what it was and they said it was a special place where they sold things like hair accessories and stuff, but it isn't really open to the public from what I gather. I got to talking to the two employees and of course since I was wearing an Ayu t-shirt, we talked about her and they asked about how many times I'd been to Japan, what I'm doing now etc etc. They even asked me for my name, address, and phone number.

There is also a miniature antique slot machine up there and at the end they asked me to pull it. This was a slot machine with like 6 or 7 rows and I got 7's in all the rows! They both flipped out like I had just won the lottery! They said that is the first time anyone has ever gotten that. So I was all like "Woo hoo what did I win?! The most expensive preserved flower arrangement in the shop or something?!" lol I wasn't that lucky but I did get a bunch of free boxes of chocolate and those certainly aren't cheap either!

Then, on top of that they asked to take my picture! :thud It was a Polaroid type camera and they asked me to sign the picture and said that they were going to hang it up in the shop!! lol, today has been Surreal.

So, I was so happy as I left the store, but then as I walked to the station I thought, "why did this have to happen right after I worked out and am wearing no makeup and my Hamasaki t-shirt?!?! And now my picture will be hung in the store!" lol. So, next time any of you go, check the shop for my picture, haha!

Sorry for the quality of the photos, they were just taken with my cell phone.

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/x...430_175638.jpg

The old store, now empty:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/x...430_175627.jpg

The new store:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/x...430_175927.jpg

OMG awesome story. :D :D :D So we still don't know if the Ayu's-mother-dating-her-old-boyfriend story was true? Also, awesome in getting the winning combination on the slot machine!! Must be a great day for you. :P The chocolates must be nice. What was the price range, approximately? Also, were the chocolates/coffee they served you for free? :O

wow! you're sooo lucky! *0* i bet Ayu will see your pic when she goes there ^^

nwey her mother didnt married that guy yet?i guess Ayu had already a new father XD

so you can speak japanese? XD silly question~~

LOL Thanks for sharing, that was an interesting read.

thanks for sharing!!
you're lucky to be in JAPAN..
i would like to visit Hanabi someday if i go to Japan :)

Awesome story!! =DDD

Sounds like you had a lot of fun there!! I wish I could be there with you hehe.

What did ayu's mom's boyfriend do there? is he working there? =D

Congratulations on your win. xDD

I will definitely visit there when I will go to Japan!

Wow~! Awesome story~! Sounds like you had a ton of fun and luck, haha~ (^o^)

Thanks for sharing!!! :D

Awesome!! I haven't had the time to take a 'wider' stroll in Tokyo so I didn't visit Roppongi properly (I just got out on the Roppongi Station once and eat McDonalds cause everything is sooo expensive XDD).

I'll make sure I look to your photos when I visit Tokyo for the second time lol

So lucky!! *0*

I'm definitely going to visit the store when I go Japan next year. :D Awesome story, very lucky. Would have been more awesome if you got to meet Ayu's mum.

Sounds really cool. I never knew Ayu's mom's store was an upscale place, for some reason I always thought it wasn't that special.. :P;; And you met Ayu's rumoured ex, awesome. :laugh

nice story...thanks for sharing

wow, sounds like you had a great day :D

Yep, it was free. As I said, it is quite upscale so they give you free coffee and chocolates while you wait. :)

The prices are pretty insane. The cheapest chocolate is about the equivalent of $10.00 (for 2 small pieces!), the most expensive is around $50.00 I think. What the store mainly specializes in though is preserved flowers. The cheapest is $20.00 (for a single small rose head) while the most expensive is $2,500.00. Most things in the store are over $100.00. The quality of everything though is very high.

I'm not fluent, but I speak enough to get by.

Yes, he is the main employee it seems - so cute too. ^_^ I don't think her mother is really involved with the stores daily operations these days.

i wonder if it's really Ayu's ex dating Ayu's mum...

and how old did he look?

Awesome! I want to be there ><
thanks for sharing!

Woah, u "sound" very happy on ur post! Pretty nice!^^

Sounds like a nice shop! maybe if i ever go to Japan one day I'll buy a nice gift for someone. :)

What a really cool story! Totally made my morning. :D I can sense your happiness! You must have felt like a celebrity while in that store! Hahaha. Glad you had a good and memorable time!!

that is so amazing. I loved reading this <3