Wandering Through Japan - Gotenba Premium Outlet

It was a relatively warm Autumn day, something we had been seeing a lot more of recently, though it held the threat of rain with a few dark clouds in the sky. Given these two factors, I thought an outdoor shopping centre might be the best of both worlds, especially since it had been well over a year since I last visited the Gotenba Outlet and had heard rumours that they had recently finished off a new development.

To be honest, I always found the location of the Outlet to be a little surprising, given that Gotenba is a bit out of the way and not every train on the Tokaido line stops there. It also has very little in the way of typical tourist attractions, shopping aside. That said, the Outlet always seems to draw a large crowd; both locals and tourists pour into the Outlet. Many either make the drive through the mountain roads or arrive on one of the many buses that make the circular route from Gotenba station to the Outlet and back.

Given the ongoing pandemic, the number of foreign tourists has obviously decreased. However, we arrived to find that the parking areas were still almost full, and many people were waiting to locate a space. One thing you will notice if you drive there is there are often large jeeps and similar racing down the roads. A reasonably uncommon sight in most parts of the country, you'll find them here thanks to the military base, both American and Japanese, situated just a few kilometres away from the Shopping Outlet. These bases also account for the occasional sounds of explosions, so don't panic if you do hear them - it's not the volcano erupting in the distance!

As far as shopping experiences go, and I should warn you I am generally not much of a 'shopper', Gotenba certainly seems to have most of the bases covered if you are interested in clothes and fashion. Even with my limited knowledge of popular brands, it was easy to find all of the big names and many more set up across the Outlet. There is also a range of home appliance stores, watch and sports shops. For a massive geek like myself, they also have the all-important Lego store and Pokemon centre, though neither is exceptionally large here. In fact, the only thing that I really think is notably missing is a book shop. Well, notable for me at least. Given that these are still designer brand shops, the prices are a little high for my tastes. Still, they do come with a sizeable discount, so if you were looking for this kind of thing anyway, you will walk away with a good deal.

One of the things I particularly like about the Outlet, as opposed to some of the other shopping centres, you get an excellent view while you are wandering between shops. With the Outlet set over a valley, there is actually a bridge leading from one part to another. From here you have an excellent opportunity to see Mt. Fuji, if the weather allows it, as well as a beautiful range of trees in the valley below. In Autumn these are mostly changing their leaves and becomes a beautiful sea of reds and yellows, with a few islands of green dotted about where the pines are standing tall. Trust me to talk about nature on a shopping trip!

If you get hungry while you are shopping, then there is also a fair few places to stop for a meal, even more now with the new food court in the recently added Hillside shopping area. Like most places, you will find a range of culinary options, including American, Chinese, Italian and, of course, Japanese food. If you are just in the mood for a snack, then there are also a few cafes and food stands dotted about the different sections.

While it isn't somewhere I would visit too often, if you enjoy shopping and want to get some fresh air at the same time, the Premium Outlets are undoubtedly worth a visit. Just be prepared to have to wait a little while for some of the more popular shops, as they currently have a capacity limit due to social distancing recommendations.

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