Black Hair Products/Services in Japan
Hi everyone, recently has a question that I thought would make a good post for the blog. I had to research quite a bit, but thought i would post it here for all my hard work.
For those in need of black hair products and/or services (relaxers, oils, braids, extensions, etc) you'll find Japan to be frustratingly devoid of what you want.
Japanese hair products and salons generally are tending to only a temporary option for Japanese people wishing to go for cornrows or straighten their already straight hair.
The product in the picture is a hair straightening cream offered by Proqualite. Along with this they have one for short hair which is a little bit cheaper. They also offer a quick-straightener for both long and short hair. There are several differences between this and the typical relaxing cream found in North America. The Proqualite creams require no mixing. It comes in a handy squeeze tube ready for application. The typical North American relaxer has the instructions to add tube A to bottle B for a heinous and nasty smelling science experiment which can burn your scalp within 10 minutes of application. The Japanese version doesn't burn (unless you are extra sensitive) and may not work. If it does, the result may not be as straight as with the North American version. A friend of mine does it twice in a row to get a medium result.
As for getting braids, cornrows and extensions this is a growing popular must-do for Japanese. However, as a black person walking into their salon you might find the Japanese a bit intimidated to work on your hair. The same friend I speak of finds she has to coach them on the proper way to add a hair extension. And if you're looking for a weave and you ask for one in Japan, the end result will be something you are not expecting. Weave in North America pertains to the hairstyle where extensions are weaved through one's natural hair. In Japan, "weave" translates to "wave". Meaning a perm. That would be a nasty surprise.
So if black hair products are what you need, I suggest you bring them with you when you come.
Happy Eating in Japan
Hi all! I'm away in America for Fudocom this week. But Stephen, our guest blogger, has graciously submitted another posting. Enjoy! I'll be back next week with the newest top 20.
For those of you who remember, back in January I wrote a blog listing my disappointments about a typical Japanese supermarket. I thought that to be fair, now is a good time to let you know what a love about food shopping in Japan.
When I first came to Japan, I remember fondly exploring the local ItoYokado supermarket trying to guess what everything is from picture on the front, or the smell. It really did pass those lonely evenings…..
Things I love about food shopping in Japan:
1) Time Sale
Admittedly, this is not exclusive to Japan, and it is certainly something that I’ve taken advantage of in the past, but there seems to be a lot more bargains in my local Japanese supermarkets than I’ve seen before. I’m sure most of you have seen this, typically as the day comes nearer to a close, little discount stickers start making their way onto the fresh food that won’t last another day. Usually the powers-that-be try to tempt you into buying at 10 or 20 percent discount, but I recommend holding off until 1 hour from closing (it’s like clockwork in my supermarket) when everything receives a half price sticker. Meat, fruit, veg, bargains galore!
2) Oden
This is something I discovered in my first winter here, and I must admit it took a while for me to have a go. Oden is a variety of things, for example tofu, egg, fish patties etc cooked in fish stock. During the winter months, a large vat of it will appear somewhere in your supermarket, you simply fish out the things you like the look of. Good take-out food for those cold evenings if you ask me.
3) Microwaves
Did you know that most supermarkets in Japan have microwaves for you to use? When I first heard that I thought that it was a wonderful idea and wondered why I’d never seen it before in the U.K. I must admit however, that it was after about 6 months of eating luke-warm obento before someone introduced me to this…..
4) Crisps/Chips
It seems that Family-sized bags of crisps are the norm in the Japanese supermarket. To someone from the U.K. where 30g packs are the norm this is wonderful. Actually, I’m misleading you slightly there are a couple of smaller packs; special mention has to go to the amazingly fiery ones whose name escapes me at the moment. Wonderfully hot (but I’m sure not so good for you).
5) Atmosphere
I know for a fact that some people disagree with me here but I like the fact that a typical Japanese supermarket is noisy. The employees make themselves heard 15 times a minute, either with a large booming "Irashimase! (Welcome!)" whenever they feel like it or "Ikaga deshou ka? (Would you like some?)" as they hand out free tastings. As I said, when I first came to Japan I enjoyed the assault on the senses inside the Japanese supermarket. Still do..
Thank you Stephen!!
5 Don'ts in Japan
Hi all, sorry this is late. Most of us faithful Fudocom employees are out and about spreading the good word about our site.
In my stay in this fair country, I've come across 5 things that are don'ts should you decide to travel/live here.1. Don't expect everyone to speak English. The hard fact is, they don't. Be prepared for lots of pointing, hand gestures and misunderstandings.2. Don't go by the written expiry date on food products. When I first came to Tokyo, I was pleased to discover that milk, eggs and cheese all had a longer fridge life than I had previously enjoyed in America. When everything went rancid 1 week before the expiry date I realized that I was dead wrong. So much for stocking up on yogourt.3. Don't rent an apartment that has those little red upside down triangles on the windows, especially if facing a busy street. Those triangles indicate to fire fighters that they may use those windows as an entrance in case of fire. It also means the window glass is thinner than normal, which in turn means you hear much more outside noise.4. Don't overuse your Japanese friends or colleagues. If living here is your goal, learning the language is helpful. It means you get to be picky about things, eavesdrop on neighboring conversations and argue your case.5. Don't let the rules and regulations of Japanese society get to you. Even a Japanese person in Japanese society finds life tough, but they've adopted a "can't be helped" attitude. This attitude means they'll not often complain, they'll be polite even when upset and they'll pay for things even if they don't think they owe it. This sort of lifestyle can be very hard for a foreigner to get used to. Take it in stride. As a foreigner, though you will be given a little leeway in your dealings don't get frustrated if Japanese people are stunned when you complain about something. They're just not used to it. Yelling is not the answer though. Calmy explain your case (in some cases you'll have to do this repeatedly to different buffer people who will give you the same answer) until they find someone who can actually help you. There are tons of don'ts in, what you might call, an uptight society like Japan, however, it's actually not as strict as Japanese tour books might suggest. The rules of etiquette are mainly common sense and go along with etiquette learned in other countries. Things like "no eating while walking in public" and "you must sit in a kneeling position when sitting on the floor" are no longer an issue. So don't worry over the small things. Better to concentrate on having fun in a foreign land, don't you think?
Tokyo Midtown
Hi all!
In Rei-chan's last post she introduced the new attraction Tokyo Midtown as a possible hanami spot. I'd like to give my review.
Tokyo Midtown opened its doors to the public for the first time on March 30, 2007. It's concept is to take an "urban approach" to preserve the environment and bring together the people of Tokyo. Yes, I also don't know what that means. As you can see from the picture, T.M. is nothing more than a few skyscrapers grouped together. Located about 500 meters from the lush Roppongi Hills it's actually quite similar in its idea. Featuring a museum, art gallery, shops and a garden it's a nice day trip. Granted many of the shops are in the expensive to yikes region. Many of the restaurants, though, are reasonably priced. As a tourist you can take advantage of the adjoined Ritz-Carlton Hotel, large grocery store and business/conference center.
As for hanami, unfortunately, it was a bust this year at T.M. due to the only recently planted grass. They wouldn't allow anyone to sit on it, making picknicking an impossibility.
The Newest of the New
Have you been seeing the blazing red advertisements at all Bic Camera electronic stores recently? Well this is what the fuss is all about.
eMobile, a newcomer to the mobile scene has recently launched its own flat-rate service for its "Smartphone". The EM-ONE by Sharp is a phone, a fully functional touch-screen pda, an internet surfing device, a camera and a tv rolled up into an incredibly attractive little package. With a slim 18.9 mm body in black or white and a 4.1 inch (800x480 resolution) wide screen, it may even put your current high-powered pda to shame. Installed with Windows Mobile 5.0 and the Microsoft Office Suite, you can watch movies, view pictures or listen to music in style.
Dazzled by the advertisements I wandered to my local Bic for a quick try of this machine. While I found it very sleek the one thing I was annoyed at was the little knobby knob for scrolling. It was much like the little red finger mouse knob on ibm laptops. Without the stylus pen in hand, it seems quite difficult to operate. And although this is in the category of cellular phones, their brochure and site has little actual information about it's phone feature. It reminds me of that crazy gadget watch in the movie Spy Kids that had so much stuff on it that it had no room for a watch. I'm assuming you operate it by a Bluetooth headset as I didn't notice the typical receiver or headset portion on the EM-ONE itself.
A round-up of the features of the EM-ONE:
Surf high-speed 3.6Mbps
Wireless LAN
Bluetooth
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0
4.1 inch wide VGA screen
Stereo Speaker
4 hours of consecutive usage time
Qwerty Keyboard
512MB of Flash Memory
Includes Stylus Pen
Can read QR Barcodes
Scroll Wheel
USB Cable
Touch Screen
MiniSD card slot
Supports 1Seg Digital TV broadcasts
Camera Function
Click here for a lovely litle Flash site on the EM-ONE by Sharp. (Has English guides)
So...I guess the last question is how much does it cost? Of course we'd expect something so pretty to be equally as expensive. eMobile has made an effort to offset the cost by creating flat rate data plans. The monthly service of 5980 yen (approx $59.80) applies per month. Where a possible discount may be added is in the initial purchase of the EM-ONE SmartPhone.
No term contract - 95,000 yen (approx $950)
1 year contract - 71,000 yen (approx $710)
2 year contract - 39,800 yen (approx $398)
Not cheap, but may be worth it for users with a need for gadgetism. Stick with eMobile fro a year and they will give you a discount on your monthly service charge to 4980 yen (approx $49.80) for the second year.
The EM-ONE can be ordered online, but I suggest you try it out first as it is a large initial financial commitment. At most Bic Camera's that I have seen an eMobile booth has been set up with working models available. You can find eMobile's site here. The site is in Japanese.
