(HER ●) @ Don Quijote (aka DONKI, a discount chain store where you can find anything) in Yokohama, I found half of the 2nd floor full of FAKE EYELASHES. Lovely! SUGOI! I have been wearing fake eyelashes since 6th grade. I used to have trouble finding the best ones since there weren't many companies making them, but now I see very high competition! Through my 9-10 years of experience with fake lashes I have learnt that the key to beautiful looking fake eyelashes is the GLUE.
Japanese fake lashes have a thick base (where the fake hair starts) so it tends to take time for the lashes to get flexible so that it fits the shape of your eye (I think Japanese lashes have a thick base just for better quality. I used to be able to use a pair of Japanese lashes for 6 months). Thick bases are good for quality, but sometimes the lashes get too heavy, or the base starts hurting your eyelid. The lashes I've bought in the US tend to have a thinner base making it flexible and easier for use, but of course they don't last long as long. Fake eyelashes are extremely popular now in Japan from various age groups (even 50+ year olds!) due to the great variety and types they sell. They are also easily accessible since even pharmacies and convenience stores sell them! The cheapest fake eye lashes you can find is probably at Donki, where 1 pair is only 99 YEN (1USD). They also have packs of several lashes for a great price too!
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(HER ●) We decided to go to Zushi beach. A beach very close to Kamakura Yuigahama beach! ...Not just a normal trip though....An ultra budget trip. As you can see we have a new category now, "Japan With a Budget". Train to Zushi station from Yokohama station and back : 660 YEN each Drinks and snacks at the pharmacy/supermarket in the picture below: 450 YEN for the both of us (1 canned drink, 1 two liter bottle of Pocari Sweat, icecream and 1 bag of cheese snacks.) Only 885 YEN each! Zushi beach turned out to be a nicer beach compared to the one in Kamakura. Nicer sand and nicer water. The area near the beach had very interesting cafes, restaurants, and beautiful traditional Japanese shops. The reason why we decided to go to Zushi instead of Kamakura is because Zushi beach was known to be calm and quiet a couple of years ago. Today, the whole beach has transformed to a party scene. Music was playing loud at every beach house, people were shouting and screaming and people my age were partying like crazy. What happened to the old Zushi beach?! I guess I have to go all the way to Okinawa to have that relaxing and soothing time at the beach! Okinawa Beach below.
Below is a song by Moriyama Naotarou, a famous Japanese singer singing "Hana" (flower). Japan has many cute and stylish iPhone covers! In Boston I see that the iPhone covers are more concentrated on durability. Most of these cute and stylish iPhone covers sold in Japan are less durable. Yes, Boston sells similar types of covers but I find the quality to be very poor (you can see the glue that they used to stick on the stones) and despite the quality looking poor, they are usually quite pricey compared to Japanese ones I usually find. This cover I bought was only 1,900YEN (20USD)! They offer a great variety of colours and design everywhere in Tokyo/Yokohama for different kinds of phones.
Hello,
We have been updating the Photo Blog so be sure to check it out! Also, please feel free to suggest what you would like to see from Japan and Ill make an effort to take pictures of whatever that is. Best regards Saturday night RedBull organized a parkour event called Art of Motion, they have a site with all of the information. Unfortunately it got postponed for the next day due to the rain. Today is Sunday and we were able to witness the event, it was awesome. I will probably compile the best shots at a later time, but for know I will upload a few images.
(Him)● We decided to make a new category called Challenges. Our first challenge was our own idea but in the future we will be looking for you to suggest challenges to us. Either send us a text on the blog's right sidebar or ask us a question in the Q&A page.
This challenge was more of a competition, the rules were: The winner should finish eating their respective PILE of somen noodles first 15 minute time limit If neither finished, whoever had eaten the most would win Fortunately there was a winner, Enjoy the video! On our way back from Shibuya, we rode the Tokyu-Toyoko Line which connects Tokyo and Yokohama. It takes only 25 min from Yokohama station to Shibuya station if you ride the Limited Express. In Boston, I find that people do not invade your personal space as often on the T. However, in Japan, people can get really close to you on the train (I'm sure some of you have seen videos where employees push people into the train so everyone can fit), and that is why Japan is famous for the ladies-only-car, because there are some people who take advantage of women and men.
Japanese trains are nice ride on if it is not rush hour. Trains tend to be very quiet, people are not allowed to talk on their phones and people respect that, the trains do not squeak - the ride is smooth and fast the whole way, and lastly, most people are respectful of each other and mind their own business. For example, they do not play music loudly out of their earphones. Sometimes if you are being disrespectful, people will shout at you. If you do not like AC in the summer, there are cars which offer less AC (it is clearly noted on the door)! On the Tokyu-Toyoko line, we managed to stand right by the rear conductor's cabin. Although he was not the one driving, he was concentrated and deliberate for the whole ride. He did not show any sign of boredom, laziness, or emotion in general. He was just working very seriously, as hard as he could. It was very very impressive. The 1-day-all-you-can-ride-tokyo-metro pass is definitely worth paying 710YEN for. It can absolutely take you ANYWHERE in Tokyo. Not only anywhere but also very quickly. We found ourselves jumping into the train once we got to the platform every time. No wait time! You can purchase these passes on the subway ticket machines or from an employee.
Went to watch Harry Potter 7 Part 2 last night. The movie was great, but more than just the movie, we enjoyed the experience itself rather than the movie.
There are a few movie theaters in Minato Mirai, the place we are staying. 109 Cinemas, Warner Mycal Cinemas, and Burg 13. We found that Warner Mycal Cinemas was offering the cheapest price. 109 was offering 1800YEN + 400YEN for 3D. Warner was offering 1200YEN (for any movies after 8PM) + 300YEN for 3D + 100YEN for 3D glasses. 109 also has late night prices but only for movies starting after 12AM. We decided to be stingy and go for the 2D Harry Potter, spending only 1200YEN :) So those of you who love popcorn and sodas during a movie, sizes are extremely small if you compare it to the US, even if you get the largest size. Also if you are like me who loves butter on popcorn, Japanese movie theaters do not have stalls with butter dispensers like the theaters in the US. You have to ask the employee for butter. Upon entering the theater, the first thing I thought which was amazing and new was Warner Mycal Cinema's "VIRUS WASHER". Using water, the air inside the whole theater is cleaned. Viruses, allergies, smell, all GONE! :) (Him)● The virus washer was quite amazing, once we entered the theater room it felt like we were transported to a tropical rainforest with 100% humidity. We loved it. In Japan the phone service providers install an earthquake service on every cell phone which alerts users of incoming earthquakes. When an earthquake is expected to happen the phones receive a signal and they go off with a warning of the affected area, magnitude and sometimes a countdown of the estimated impact time based on where your phone is, which is sometimes really creepy and quite accurate. About halfway through the movie an earthquake hit and nobody's phone went off, they actually put their phones on silent or turn them off! Finally the most unexpected thing happened at the end of the film. People actually stay for the credits. In the US we are used to most people if not everybody standing up and leaving as soon as the credits start rolling through the screen...this is not the case in Japan. People actually stay seated, lights off, silent, everything until the very very end. This was quite amazing and unexpected so beware if you have a middle of the row seat as you will be lucky if anybody stands up. (HER) ● I love to use Groupon when I am back in Boston. Since I am also registered to Groupon Japan, I usually get e-mails with great deals that always make me wish that I am back home in Japan. My mother told me a few days ago "I want to get my nails done one day!", I told her "Use Groupon, they have amazing deals for nails/haircuts/spas." After downloading the Japanese Groupon iPhone app she tells me: "It has 2 stars as its rating...Are you sure about this?" After reading a few reviews we find out that apparently Groupon is very unpopular in Japan because of a mistake they made in January 2011. They were offering deals for "Osechi" , which is Japanese traditional new years food in boxes. Every single dish that is included in the boxes have special meanings which represent good luck and happiness. The deal was from Bird Cafe and offered Osechi boxes for only 10,000 yen which usually cost 20,000 yen! Please take a look at the pictures from http://www.geocities.jp/gurupon7/ below... <- The ad on Groupon that time These are the pictures of the actual boxes that were delivered to people. These were taken once they were open, not after eating a bit of it :p Osechi boxes are meant to be full and gorgeous just like the pictures on the ads! According to the article, the company not only delivered boxes like this, they also delivered late (which is terrible because we traditionally eat osechi on new years day and a few days after that)! The CEO of "Bird Cafe" resigned.. And unfortunately Groupon now has a bad reputation here in Japan.. :( |