I wanted to post an update in case anyone else had similar questions..

There is also a locker storage area on the fourth floor in terminal one and there are larger sizes for suitcases if you don't want to have to line up at the baggage storage area. I believe it was 500 yen per day for the larger lockers.

I ended up lugging my behemoth of a suitcase throughout Thailand.. because I didn't think I would have enough time to leave the airport and re-enter. The airline associated with Air Canada was Thai Air, and because they are part of the star alliance they were able to re-route the bag for me.

We ended up going to muse on a saturday night 'round midnight and it was not bumping... I know this cause most of the lockers were empty and because the doorman also confirmed it was not busy but added that it would probably pick up around 1 am. I was surprised, it seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere and the street was pretty empty, and we were able to find free parking on the same block as the club.

Norwegian Wood t-shirts are aplenty at Uniqlo..but they only come in male sizes.. the salesperson told me they are not really a popular item. if anyone is interested in buying them, they had tons.. at least the two locations that I went to.

Couldn't find any other sites to blow my friend away..since yoyogi and lost in translation hotel were already off the list.. but we did have a nice time at asakusa and a great time in Hakone.. except for waiting 1.5 hours just to get into the parking lot at the outlets in Hakone only to buy nothing. What a waste of time. If anyone is considering a trip to apparently japan's largest outlet, unless you don't have an outlet mall where you live, don't bother.. I saw lots of people with only one small shopping bag so I think most people share the same opinion.

Perhaps I wasn't going to enough places, but the quality of food and shopping goods seems to have gone down quite a bit.. a lot of overpriced low-quality crap from other asian countries, and the food was not as good, whereas before I never had a crappy meal.
I used to spend hours and hundreds of dollars in the stationary departments, but i was struggling to find anything.
What kind of things are you buying there that you can no longer find in your home country? I stocked up on rice crackers, tea, cosmetics, confectionary items, magazines, but most of it I can find at home for roughly the same price.. i wanted to stock up on mayonnaise since japanese mayo is the .... and way cheaper there, but my luggage already was exceeding weight limits.

i got pulled off the plane in NRT cause they wanted me to take some stuff out of my suitcase that i apparently was not allowed to have in there, the security guy was incredibly patient and apologetic as I rifled through my stuff trying to get out of the five pieces of contraband that I had (although thai air was fine with it).. They made me throw it out.. and he seemed genuinely sorry that I had to throw it away despite the fact I should know better.. anyways, when i landed in canada, it was the first suitcase that came out on the carousel, so a good way of getting your luggage quickly.

Have you been to the ghibli museum (totoro)? We went past it, but didn't have a chance to go.. apparently you have to buy your tickets much in advance, and my friend in japan didn't seem too impressed about my desire to go in.. so not sure if she made that bit up so she wouldn't have to go...

The ryokan I went to in Hakone was really nice, and a very reasonable price. we had a private unattached two level 'house' with a private outdoor bath and the food was good. It's cheaper because they dont' serve the food to you in your room, and because the beds are already made up.. but it was still a very good experience and less than half of other places considering how nice it was. if anyone is interested, I can send them the information.