Japan snapshots part 4 - the shopping

It was a bit difficult for me to start this post because I don't want to disappoint my readers, but the truth needs to come out at some point.

My shopping tally in Japan = 2 t-shirts + 3 lipsticks + 1 eyeliner.

I didn't expect to buy much in terms of clothing and shoes, as my size 12 figure and size 39 feet ruled me out of many stores. And the fashion over there is either too girly or too minimalist for my liking.

The two t-shirts I bought were from the Peanuts collection at Uniqlo. At ¥990 (around $A12.50) they are great bargains.

They also have a Hello Kitty/Kitson collection. I offered to buy a t-shirt for Jen/Mallhaciel but she said she has too many already ;-)

 
Uniqlo is Japan's answer to GAP with great quality basics that are reasonably priced. I bought a fleece jacket on my first visit 10 years ago and I'm still wearing it. They have stores around Asia as well as the US, UK and France; maybe one day it'll arrive on our shores.

It was raining when I bought the t-shirts so the SA put a transparent cover over the shopping bag to protect it from the rain. A nice touch, but part of me think it's a waste of plastic...

A case in point on the uniqueness in Japanese fashion. There is a chain store called East Boy  specialising in "school girl" fashion. That's all they sell at the store!

I was a bit more hopeful on my visit to Burberry Blue, a Japan-only Burberry diffusion line. I bought a few handbags from them in the past, but I wasn't feeling the S/S 12 collection.

Burberry Blue bag,  ¥37,800 (~$A475)

I was close to buying this Longchamp bag (love the colour!), but somehow I managed to talk myself out of it. Silly me!

Longchamp Le Pilage Cuir ($US255)

Muji is one of my favourite chain stores in Japan. They sell a mix of fashion, homeware, stationery and food in classic, minimalist style.

There was a massive Forever 21 in Shinjuku, I had a quick look inside, felt too old and quickly left...

Two of the lipsticks and the eyeliner I bought were from Kate, a pharmacy line by Japanese cosmetics company Kanebo. The Rogue HG lipsticks (¥1,024, ~$A13) are lovely and very moisturising.

Photo: Beauty Gang Shop

TLP bought me a Shiseido lipstick at the airport as a Mother's Day gift. The Perfect Rogue lipstick was a bit of a splurge at ¥3500 (~$A44) but I thought I couldn't go wrong with buying Japanese brand in Japan. It was a shock to discover that Shiseido puts a big markup on its prices in Japan! The lipstick is only $US25 in the US and $A29 on StrawberryNet! It was a lesson learnt.

Talking about make-up, what a neat idea to sell them at convenient stores (a Shiseido diffusion line no less!). You never know when you need an emergency eyeliner or lipstick.

I think online shopping plays a small part to my small shopping haul. I no longer rely on overseas trip to access international brands, and the vast range of products available online has made me more finicky. The Duke was probably secretly relieved!

Here's a wrap on my posts on the trip. Thanks for reading and commenting. Now I need to book another holiday so I have something to look forward to...

Read More

Crafty online purchase

The internet is not just good for fashion purchases, it's also great for niche products.

With the weather getting cold I'm keen for a craft project to do at night. Since my artistic skills are severely limited, cross stitch kits are as adventurous as I go.

I want to make something that I can hang up in The Royal Bedroom when finished, so I consulted The Duke before making this purchase - a cross stitch kit of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, which is one of my favourite paintings.

It looks like a challenge! I wonder how long it'll take to do?

I gave Aussie etailers a chance by searching for it on Google's Australian site, but like most things on internet it is so much more expensive in Australia - $A79 vs £25 from UK etailer Quality Needlecraft. I guess with niche goods it is even more difficult for Australian-based shops to be competitive, the market is just not big enough here, and wholesale prices set by distributors are likely to be prohibitively high.

If any reader is interested I'll post some progress photos of the project on the blog from time to time, it'll give me some motivation to soldier on when it gets tough!

Read More

Giving Parcel Lockers a try

Back in April I wrote about Australia Post's Parcel Lockers. Finally I found the opportunity to try it out.

I used the Parcel Locker address provided as the shipping address for my latest ASOS order. Last Wednesday morning I received an SMS notifying me that the parcel was ready for collection (I also received an e-mail). I had 48 hours to collect the parcel.

The weather was too rainy on Wednesday night, so I waited till Thursday morning to swing by the lockers at St Leonards.

The collection process was very simple. I used the touch screen to enter the locker number and access code.

Once the codes were entered the locker lighted up for me to open.

And there was my parcel!

Soon after collection I received another SMS confirming that the parcel had been collected.

So what did I buy?

A Cath Kidston shoulder bag in blue Windsor Rose print. I discovered the brand when I was in Japan and I liked what I saw. The whimsical prints and easy to clean surface make her bags perfect for "mummy duties". When ASOS had its Jubilee sale with 20% off British brands I decided to get one.

So I can highly recommend the Parcel Locker service. I wish it is rolled out extensively after the trial finished at the end of the year!

Read More

Japan snapshots part 3 - the meals

Enough about snacks, it's time to talk about the main event :-D

One of my favourite Japanese dishes is ramen. The combination of delicious broth, noodles, chatsu (pork slices) and soft boiled egg is irresistible. Of course we sampled a few ramen joints during our trip.

Ippudo in Osaka - the super rich tonkotsu soup base was awesome. I ordered the "red" ramen which came with chilli paste, I like a bit of spice :-D

Most ramen noodles in Australia are the same - thick and chewy. In Japan there are many other varieties. The noodles at Ippudo were much finer and closer to Chinese noodles.

We also went to a small ramen shop in Namba, Osaka which had an amazing ramen featuring a tonkotsu soup base that takes 8 hours to make, and melt-in-your-mouth pork with cartilage. There was a cute little sign at the counter. I wish I know what it's saying!

And here's the bowl. The meat was SO GOOD.

In Tokyo we visited Kyushu Jangara. It featured soup based made with pork, chicken and vegetables, and chunky and super-juicy pieces of pork. Yum.

Photo: Kyushu Jangara

Ramen is not the only type of noodles I had in Japan.

In Hakone I had a bowl of "snow" soba noodles. For those who haven't tried soba before, it is a made with buckwhea an has a firm texture.

I also had udon in a hotpot. The udon was so soft and chewy.

One of the must-visit places in Osaka is Kani Douraku, The Fabulous Crab. You can't miss the store with the giant crab outside.

The restaurant menu consists of crab, crab and more crab. The Duke is not as obsessed about seafood as I am so we didn't eat at the restaurant. Instead I bought some crab claws/legs and crab sushi from their takeaway counter and had a feast in the hotel room instead.

The crab claws/legs came with a sweet tasting dipping sauce that really enhanced the flavour of the crab. It was messy to eat but so worth it!

Tempura is a staple of Japanese cuisine and we went to a tempura specialty restaurant in Tokyo called Tsunahashi

The set course was good (light batter, fresh ingredients) but it wasn't enough for us. The rest of their menu were in Japanese only so we couldn't order anything else. It was a bit of a bummer.

On some days we ended up buying a bento box from the food store at the basement of department stores and eating at the hotel. This was a typical offering.

We had dinner at Negishi, a restaurant that specialises in beef tongue. Now I know it sounds a bit bizarre to eat a tongue but I can assure you that it was very tasty. The Duke has the grilled beef tongue set.

And I had the beef tongue stew set. I don't think I've ever eaten meat that was that tender and juicy!

Photo: Negishi

No trip to Japan is complete without sushi!

Tuna toro was da bomb! I have a soft spot for prawn sashimi too :-D

The highlight of our foodie experience in Japan was no doubt the kaiseki cuisine at Kichisen in Kyoto. Kaiseki is a Kyoto specialty, a degustation menu with emphasis on seasonal produce and artful presentation. The owner and chef of the restaurant has been a contestant on Iron Chef and was actually victorious! You can check out the episode here.

Here are some of the courses.

Chilled onion soup - complete opposite of French onion soup, with very delicate flavours.

The sashimi box. The chef was standing behind the counter with a pair of long chopsticks guiding us on how to eat - which piece to eat first, what sauce to use etc. I had one of the pieces wrapped in a leaf which was surprisinglyy nice! It was quite an experience.



When this dish was presented to us we didn't know what was in store - it was actually two grilled fishes on sticks. It freaked The Duke out a bit (he was not a big fan of cooked fish to start off with), so I ate both of them. His loss!

The freshness of the simmered bamboo shoots signified springtime to me.

The eel rice with shredded egg and fish roe was awesome. I'd have easily eaten another bowl (or two)!

We had 3 desserts! A perfectly skinned tomato that was unbelievably sweet, an orange jelly served inside an orange, and this lovely piece of yam cake.

I hope you're enjoying my Japan snapshots post. The next one will finally be on topic - shopping!

Read More

Japan snapshots part 2 - the snacks

I love Japanese food, it's probably my favourite cuisine in the world. So eating was a big part of our trip. Sometimes the day revolved around finding eateries around town :-D

The Japanese loves gimmicky food and there are plenty available at the theme parks.

In Disneyland you can find Mickey shaped muffins and buns that look like Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc.

There were also Mickey-shaped chicken nuggets and waffles ...

And Universal Studios in Osaka sells Spiderman and Hello Kitty buns.

Japan was not good for my diet - there were so many tempting snacks and street food! Here are a small percentage of what I consumed over there.

"North Pole" green tea ice block for 120 yen (around $1.50) - bargain!

These sultana cakes from Osaka were so eggy and fluffy! It was a shame that the freshly baked ones were sold out by the time we started queuing. By golly I want one now.

Chocolate coated pastry shells filled with cream, sweet potatoes, chocolate etc.

Okonomiyaki or "Japanese pancakes" - not really my cup of tea (too much sauce) but The Duke is a big fan.

Chicken karaage in a cup!

Freshly made red bean/custard cakes. I can eat them all day.

Mochi (rice cakes) from Kyoto.

Takoyaki (squid balls/dumplings).

Hot chocolate from a vending machine - perfect on a cold day!

Unagi on a stick at the Tsukiji fish market.

There are so much to share! I'll talk about meals in another post :-D

I want to take the opportunity to thank Gastronomous Anonymous for a great list of restaurant recommendations. I wish I could've visited them all!

Read More