Getting Glasses in Japan

Did you know that it's much less expensive to buy glasses in Japan than it is in the US? Even though I knew glasses were very inexpensive in Korea, I never even wondered about getting any here because I'm such a dedicated contacts wearer. 

But when my sister's glasses broke just before her visit she did a little research and discovered it would be an excellent opportunity for her to get new glasses. (She found this and this to be particularly helpful blog posts.) And it's totally doable without speaking a word of Japanese! While they prices aren't as incredible as Korea they are phenomenal compared to what we are used to paying. After considering Megane Super, Zoff, and Jins my sister decided she liked the styles at Jins best, so off we went.

Jins has many locations, but we went to the one in Harajuku because they have a large selection as well as English speakers on staff. All the frames on display have price tags, and this price includes the cost of an eye exam and regular lenses. You have the option of paying extra to upgrade to tinted lenses, PC lenses, or sunglass lenses. When I saw how much fun Julie was having and how low the prices were I decided to jump on the bandwagon, and got a pair as well. My last pair is probably ten years old, and terribly out of style.

The process is very simple. After you select a the frames you want, give them to the cashier. They will give you a slip of paper telling you your appointment time, and if you are wearing contacts a case for you to put your lenses in. Our appointments were scheduled for 20 minutes later, so we browsed in some nearby shops before returning. The eye test was surprisingly quick. First you look into a machine that tests you for astigmatism and then read an eye chart with a optician. I read from a hirigana eye chart, but if you don't read any Japanese they have another chart of circles with one side missing. You just tell them (or point to) the direction. Once they've determined your prescription they will put test lenses in a contraption for you to try out. Don't hesitate to tweak the prescription if it's not quite right. Once that is done you pay, and then they put the lenses in your frames. My appointment was at 4:40, and I was already finished paying at 4:49. They told us it would take 30 minutes to put the lenses in, but finished and brought them to us much more quickly. As I was checking out they told me that they will replace the lenses up to twice for free if the prescription isn't correct. 

In the end, my pair cost 5900 yen, or about $50. Julie got a more expensive pair and paid an additional 4000 yen (about $32) to get the special lenses for looking at computer screens.

The funniest part of this whole experience is that there was a camera crew filming inside the store while we were there, and they became very interested in us. In the end we did a little interview with Raku acting as translator and they filmed us trying on lots of frames. We have no idea if this was for a TV show, a commercial, or something else, but it was a lot of fun.

Doing the Eye Test

Plenty of Selection

Super Stylish!

We're So Famous!

Jins Harajuku

Hours: 11:00-10:00 Mon-Sun

Phone: 03-6418-6212

Location: 6-12-17 Harajuku, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Map

Bao Bao by Issey Miyaki

My birthday was a couple weeks ago, and while John and I were having drinks to celebrate he admitted that he'd been searching for a bag for me, but hadn't been able to find the perfect one.  After a couple cocktails I told him if he really wanted to buy me a purse, and if he really wanted to spend more than was necessarily responsible he should get me a Bao Bao bag by Issey Miyaki.

Issey Miyaki is one of the big Japanese designers with a lot different stores, but I've been particularly captivated by his Bao Bao bags.  They're fun and futuristic and sort of weird looking, but I've totally fallen for them.  They're made of shiny plasticy-rubber triangles in bright colors connected by a black mesh material to create a really artistic crumple effect.

John tried to take me out that night to get one, but sadly the stores had already closed, so we saved it for the weekend.  They mainly come in square and rectangle shapes, though there are few even more creative shapes like a little balloon looking clutch, and I wasn't sure which one I would want.  I was also a little worried after telling John I wanted one that I wouldn't actually like them in person.  I was worried they might feel weird, that the mesh might make the bag see-through, that there might not be any pockets inside, or that the bags wouldn't really have a bottom which might be annoying.

We went to the Bao Bao inside of Hikarie department store in Shibuya, and after looking at a couple it became clear that I wanted the rectangular shaped bag, even though it was almost twice as expensive.  The square shape, at 25,000 yen, is essentially a tote bag, and like I worried the mesh is unlined making it slightly see through, and there isn't a real bottom to the bag.  It does have one pocket on the inside.  Both shapes come with adjustable straps, so you can control the length.  I prefer the longer length.  The rectangular bag, at 45,000 yen, is totally lined on the inside, has two open pockets on one side and a single pocket on the other, zips closed at the top, and has a foldable bottom so that it can lie flat for storage or be popped out to make a more standard shaped purse. Besides all these advantages that make it worth the higher price, I also preferred the shape on myself when comparing the two in the mirror.

I've had it for a couple weeks now, and I feel so fun and fashionable carrying it around.  I know it's unusual, but I love the unique look!

Yay for Birthday Shopping!

Folded Flat

Bottom Folded Open

A Peek Inside

Out for Coffee

Pretty Fingernails

Japanese girls have the fanciest fingernails I have ever seen.  I'm always checking out other peoples hands on the subway to see what the latest looks are.  Gel manicures have been popular for a while, but they don't stop at fun colors, it's pretty common to see nails that have been bedazzled with little gems or pearls (fake, obviously) or charms even.  Sometimes I wonder how ladies are even able to use their phones with such blinged out nails.

With all the fanciness going on around me I've been keeping my nails painted most of the time, but I only recently ventured into territory any more exciting than that.  My nails are pretty weak so I haven't wanted to try a gel manicure, I'm pretty sure my nails would be destroyed!  Plus it's a lot more money than painting them myself.  But I recently found a really beautiful set of sparkly blue nail polish stickers.  You know, those strips that you peel off and stick onto your nails?  I'd heard good things, but never tried them.  So I bought these stickers, but before using them I thought I'd do a trail run with a set I'd gotten for free in a magazine.  If I was going to ruin them, I wanted to do it with a set I didn't care so much about.

The way it works is you peel off the polish and apply it to the bare nail, starting from the cuticle and smoothing it down the nail.  At the end you fold the strip down and file it away.  I read online that to smooth out any air bubbles and to help them stick you can blast them with a hair dryer for a few seconds afterwards. Easy, right?  Sort of.  They actually go onto the nail pretty easily.  I thought it would be more difficult, but that wasn't the problem at all.  Filing them off was. It was hard to get the file to tear through the sticker, and then it left the end a little ragged.  The first set I did  evened out a lot during the first day, but the second set is still pretty rough.  I found the hair dryer helped a lot with air bubbles on the first round, but on the second I didn't really have any to worry about.   After I put them on I was worried they would immediately peel off, but the first set held really well!  Eventually the pattern started to flake off but the white layer stayed attached to my nails.  The problem was taking them off.  Maybe the Japanese ones are different, but polish remover didn't dissolve them, and eventually I had to peel them off.  The only problem was they tore off the top layer of my nails!  Ick!  I did a lot of googling and can't find any other accounts of this.  I do have really weak nails - maybe they're the weakest in the world.  Or maybe the hair dryer made them stick too well?  I don't know.  I was hesitant to do the second set after that, so after giving my nails a couple weeks to recover I did the second set with Raku.  She did hers on bare nails, but I put on a base coat of polish first to make removal easier.  Now I'm having the complete opposite problem.  They're trying to peel off all the time, but Raku reports the same problem so I don't think it's the nail polish.  Either way, they're cute but I don't think these will last more than a few days.  They're a fun idea, but maybe more trouble than they're worth.

In other news, Strawberry Sandwiches are back at 7-Eleven!  It seems they have a blueberry sandwich this year as well, which I haven't tried yet but appears to be blueberry jam and cream cheese.

Halloween Photo Shoot

Happy Halloween! Is there anything better than a holiday when you and a friend can dress up and have a hilarious photo shoot? Well, I guess I don't really need a holiday for that. Back when my sister was visiting she, Raku, and I all bought matching cat shirts for 500 yen at Uniqlo. Honestly there are not that many occasions that we find to wear them together (though we try!) but using them as cat costumes seemed perfect. We waited too long and missed our chance to buy cat ears, but made some pretty great ones using construction paper and headbands. Then we spent a good 20 minutes coming up with our best cat poses.

Speaking of holidays, John told me that on the way to work he saw Christmas wreaths up!

By the way, I don't know if you can tell in the pictures, but I got a haircut earlier this week. It's not much shorter, but it has lots of layers in it now. I wish I was more creative about styling my hair. Where do people get all their cute ideas?

Fall Clothes

The high today is 88, but you wouldn't know it from the stores.  Fall and winter clothes have arrived, and though it's way to hot to wear any of them yet, I've made a few purchases for when the days finally cool down.

Why puffy coats, why?

Pretty much everything is from Uniqlo.  I love it!

I feel like an advertisement for America

And yes, all of these pictures are from the fitting room or the mirror by my apartment's elevator - it's the only full length mirror I have.

Nautical stripes, skinny back pants, and new heels!

I love this shade of green

Ayanokoji Tokyo Labo

This past weekend John and I were shopping on some of the backstreets of Jingumae when we found the most amazing little shop.  It was the sign with a gold coin purse that first caught my eye, but then I saw all the bright, whimsical bags inside.

Ayanokoji, a Kyoto based brand, sells beautiful purses and bags of all sorts, from coin purses and makeup bags to laptop cases and tote bags.  They use the most lovely fabrics and each bag has the signature gold clasp.

Ayanokoji Tokyo Labo

I wanted to buy just about everything they sold, but finally picked out a small makeup bag in a blue floral lace pattern.

New Makeup Bag

It's definitely worth a visit.

Ayanokoji Tokyo Labo

Hours: Mon-Sun 10:00-7:00

Phone: 03-6434-5186

Address: 3-28-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Map

Beating Rainy Season

Rainy season is back.  The skies are grey, the humidity is out of control and it's been raining off and on.  Luckily, I have a new weapon to combat the rain.  The world's cutest rain shoes!  I loved them so much I went ahead and bought two pairs.

Amazing!

I had been thinking that I wanted some rain boots, but with all the heat and humidity they just seemed like they would be too hot and uncomfortable.  These are perfect, looking fun and stylish but totally functional and waterproof.

Free Fish, a Japanese brand that opened in 2009 makes them.  They're completely made out of rubber except for the little embellishments.  A great way to perk up a rainy day.

Tsuyu

Just like the cherry blossoms did, Tsuyu (Japan's rainy season) has arrived a week and a half early. The humidity is high, the sky is grey whether it's raining or not, and rain is the most common weather we'll be having until mid-July.

Rainy days are some of the most annoying days to be so tall.  It's terrible to be walking down the street in a sea of umbrellas, all of which have spokes (what are those little things actually called? ribs?) right at eye level. Yesterday I was waiting at a cross walk (with my hair up) and a woman's umbrella got tangled in my bun!

Umbrellas at Shibuya Crossing

 I remember the first summer we were here I didn't know about rainy season.  I don't think I saw blue sky a single day we were here.  I thought Tokyo must have the most awful pollution, and I remember how amazingly blue the sky seemed when we got to Hong Kong.  Now I know that blue sky is quite normal here, just not in June.

Foggy Night View from Our Apartment

To cheer myself up (and because I needed a new purse anyways) I bought this  bright sunny bag to make me think of summer.  It's by a Japanese brand - Jiyoh - that does lots of bright canvas bags.  I found it in the Gallery Market in the Tokyu Hands Cafe in Shibuya, but they're also available online.  And if I understand correctly (using google translate) you can order custom colors.

Summer Dresses

I've been loving the summer dresses that Uniqlo has been selling lately.  Sometimes it's hard to find clothes that fit me right - often the hips are wrong, or the waist falls too high, but Uniqlo is pretty good in general and I've found a couple of really great dresses lately.

At Hikawa Shrine

I feel like I'm wearing an impressionist painting

And here's one of Raku:

Japanese Wedding Pictures

A few weeks ago I had the amazing opportunity to attend a friend's wedding photo shoot! It was on a wonderful sunny morning in a beautiful park, and Yoshimi looked gorgeous. I'll miss her when she moves to Italy with her husband in a few months, but I'm so excited for her!

In Japan, weddings are often simple civil ceremonies that are little more than filing paperwork. Couples will often have parties later to celebrate and take traditional photos on a separate date.

We met them at Kiyosumi Teien, a beautiful garden in Kiyosumi Shirokawa.

So peaceful!

Beautifully colored leaves

In order to take these photos couples rent the wedding kimono, and they provide staff that help dress you and then make sure the kimono are perfectly adjusted in every photo.   I was amazed by their attention to detail.  They make sure that everything is perfect from the alignment of the collar to the fall of the hem.

Making adjustments

The lovely couple

This park must be a popular place for wedding photos because we saw another couple doing their photos there also.

We even got to be have our pictures taken with them!

This is my favorite!

Walking around in the female kimono is no easy task!  Just to sit down on this rock two people had to help Yoshimi.  The inner white kimono is wrapped very tightly so that very small steps must be taken, and the red outer coat is so heavy!  After she took it off, Yoshimi let us hold it, and it was like a futon mattress!

The white kimono

Many thanks to Yoshimi for inviting us to her photos, letting us take pictures of our own, and giving me permission to blog about them!

Fashion Magazines and Strawberry Sandwiches

Did you know that many magazines come with fun freebies like bags or accessories?  This is a delightful fact that I only recently discovered, and I just bought my first magazine with swag in it.  In the stores you'll see many of the magazines tied or rubber-banded up so that what's inside doesn't fall out.

Can you see the yellow bands, holding them closed?

I chose this magazine with a free make-up bag from L'Occitane en Provence

The upper right hand corner will show what the free gift is.

   

Yay for my cute new bag!

John, however, informed me that I am super lame because this magazine I chose is advertising that it is #1 among thirty-somethings.  Oh well, live and learn.  There's another magazine with an Anna Sui coin purse that I have my eye on...

And, just for fun, I bought a strawberry sandwich at the Seven-Eleven today.  I only started seeing them last week.  Maybe they're seasonal, or maybe I'm just unobservant?

Delicious!

I was worried the white stuff would be mayonnaise or butter or something else unpleasant, but it wasn't. There appeared to be a white and a yellow icing, but they turned out to be whipped cream and custard in very nice proportions.  Definitely more of a dessert than a lunch, but delicious all the same!

Cake Buffet!

Japan is full of amazing things.  Most days I discover at least one thing that I love.  One of these discoveries was the fact that cake buffets exist.  You pay 1480 yen and get 90 minutes of all you can eat cake.  But besides cake they have lots of drinks and real food like pasta and curry to keep you from going into a sugar coma.

Weeks ago Raku and I decided we needed to go, but we finally got around to it yesterday.  That reminds me, I haven't talked about Raku yet have I?  One of the other summer associates working with Grant is here with his fiance, so we were introduced.  And we have so much in common.  Not only are we in the whole coming to Japan with a significant other situation, we could totally relate to the whole being in a relationship with a law student/future lawyer thing.  On top of that she just graduated with her MSW, but most importantly she's super fun!  Basically we were destined to be friends.  And it's been so great.  We go running together (she is an excellent motivator) and have all kinds of fun adventures.  We also plot together to figure out what to do with our lives once we actually live here.

Anyways, enough gushing about Raku, on to the pictures!

I think this pretty much says it all.

There were probably 30-40 types of cake, as well as jello, gummy things, and ice cream.

Our first selections.

Raku decided to go healthy with her next selection.  (And I'm sorry this picture is sideways, I've tried uploading multiple times, restarting my computer, etc. and it will not upload in the correct orientation no matter what I do).

Again, sorry it's sideways.  But, as you can see, I obviously know what the priorities should be at a cake buffet.

After our culinary adventure we set off to buy fake glasses.  There is this hilarious new trend where girls are wearing super thick black glasses.  My favorite ones are the kind that don't even bother to have lenses.  So, we clearly needed some.

I really loved these, even though I don't look like it in the picture.  But sadly, they were sunglasses, and that is just not good enough.

Raku's final selection.  We seriously spent about 2 hours trying on glasses searching for the perfect ones.

Mine!  I thought they were great because they combined 2 trends (floral print on everything and huge glasses), but John was horrified because he is a purist and thinks ONLY black frames are acceptable.  (let's just take a second to remember that we are wearing huge fake glasses without lenses...how serious do we need to be?)