I mean, I've never been to the place, so when I discovered it'll be the same standard as those we've had in Japan - Tosu Premium Outlet (located in Fukuoka, his previous hometown) and Gotemba Premium Outlet (located in Tokyo) I was excited to see the "sale" signs there.
He used to take me to Tosu all the time when I visited him at his place, so it sort of became one of our staple places to go. Even when there's no big sales going on, we'd just go there for the sake of it as it is located a bit outside of the city.
Was quite disappointed when we reached Johor's.
The place reminded me of Tosu and Gotemba, but definitely not the prices. The bargains are not that much, there's no fukubukuro despite it being the new year weekend (if you've lived 4 years in Japan, you tend to look forward to those paper bags and boxes everywhere when it's new year) and mostly, the crowd is definitely so different compared to Japan. There were literally empty parking spots everywhere; which is not something you'd see in Gotemba.
Also, I've witnessed the polite Japanese ladies (and gentlemen, really) turned into green-eyed monsters brushing everyone off their way during new year sale. And that's when I learned the reality of Japan; Malaysians there looked like saints on shopping spree!
Granted, probably the developer aims the Singaporeans in regards to the location, so the price cut is still high in Malaysian currency but really. Maybe those times in Japan we had was great because of the currency there, but I never knew how much difference it makes when it comes to Malaysian having its own outlets. Everything still seems expensive and there's no section with big "SALE" pile that attracts my attention.
A friend says the sales during Chinese New Year would be phenomenal, though, FYI.
So after spending a day there, he concluded that he'd get his hantaran things during one of his business trips to Japan, while I got this.
Never too early XD
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