Moving: Light Fixtures for a Japanese Apartment

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. Today I have a big list of things to get done. One of them is finding a new light fixture for my new bedroom.

New 2013 Costco Locations in Japan

Big news for foreign food shoppers, Costco is planning to open three new locations in Japan in 2013:

Nagoya (near the Chubu International Airport), Summer 2013
Hiroshima (near Hiroshima Station), March 2013
Kitakyushu (out in the boonies!), March 2013

These will mark the first Costco stores in the Chubu and Chugoku regions and will bring the total Japan store count to 16.

Happy shopping!

Cheap Health Foods, Toiletries and Dietary Supplements in Japan

It's fun to run into new products by browsing at my local imported goods/liquor store, thanks to which I've learned, for example, that Swiss cereals are just unapologetic boxes of candy for pouring milk over. But when I have a specific product from home in mind, like a favorite canned soup, I find that shopping online is a much less hit-and-miss experience than the average Japanese import shop.

And for other preferences, like American toothpaste and deodorant, online retailers are often my only option--it's either that or stock up a couple years' supply during visits home... which I also admittedly do.

In past articles, AccessJ has shared some of our favorite online sources for buying supplements (including whey protein) and comfort foods from home. Between the lot of us I think we've used all the sites listed in those articles, and I personally have been a satisfied customer at many.

But the downfall of most overseas retailers is the exorbitant shipping costs. For four ten dollar bottles of vitamin supplements, I once paid almost as much over again getting them across the Pacific. And generic search terms on Google bring up so many retailers to choose from that it's tiring to sort the trustworthy and competitively priced sites from the chaff.

So when I come across a good one, I want to share it.

Saving Money in Japan: The Secondhand Shop

Revisiting a topic from the earlier days of AccessJ, one of the biggest money-saving tips we've found when getting settled in the country is the recycle shop (リサイクルショップ).

"Recycle shop" is the trendy, eco-culture term for a pawnbroker (質屋さん, shichiyasan) or secondhand store (中古品店, chuukohinten).

In the intervening decades since Japan's bubble and its Huxleyan buy-new culture, recycle shop franchises have sprung up and flourished around Japan like a nationwide plague of daisies. The first chain I became accustomed with was BOOKOFF, a secondhand dealer specializing in book, CD, movie, and game software. BOOKOFF and its associated stores, including mirthfully named HARDOFF (electronics hardware, musical instruments), are a decent way to save a buck on home entertainment. The chain has other associated stores as well, like OFFHOUSE, which deals in clothing and home interior.

Being Cheap in Japan: Chokubai-ten and Farmers Markets

No doubt you have heard about Japan's legendary $100 melons and various other exorbitantly priced foods. "Gift melons" not withstanding, going to the grocery store in Japan may seem a bit expensive considering the size of the portions you get. However, there is a cheap alternative, at least when it comes to select fruits and vegetables: the chokubai-ten and farmer's market.

Japanese Air-Con Guide #2: Window Units (窓用エアコン) and Installation

It's been 36 degrees outside for long enough to give in and buy an エアコン (air-con) unit. But what's the best deal? They seem to range in price from 30,000 to 120,000 yen. The cheapest air-con unit in Japan, if you don't have the apparatus already set up for a wall-mounted unit, is a portable window conditioner. Full details below:

Japanese Air-Con Guide #1: Buying

There are two basic types of air-con units in Japan: wall mounted and window mounted (let's ignore the industrial ceiling-mounts for now). Each has it's pros and cons which will be discussed in the next couple of weeks. For now, let's look at the factors which determine if a unit retails for the low end (30,000 yen and up) or the high end (120,000++).

All About Japanese Dashi

Dashi (だし汁, dashi-jiru) is a cornerstone of Japanese cooking. It's like "starting with a roux" in a Southern-US cookbook. Dashi appears as an ingredient in dozens of Japanese menu items, from miso soup to broth for udon noodles.

Air Stocking: Spray On Pantyhose

Nylons (or pantyhose, or sheers, or tights, or whatever trendy name they go by in English in various countries) are often, though not exclusively, referred to as "stockings" in Japan, and are a staple fashion item. Sure, nylons get plenty of use in the West. But here, outside of stagnant inaka, I feel like I can count on my fingers the number of women I encounter who don't sport shin-clinging fabric.

Maybe nylons feel comfortable to wear. Maybe other Japanese girls laugh at you if you don't have any on. Whatever. Regardless, this nylon obsession in Japan seemed to reach a whole new level when I learned about "air stocking."

Reduced Food Labels in Supermarkets

You may have come across some labels in Japan which look like price reductions, but you can't read them. Here's a guide.

Counterfeit "Won" in Place of Yen

Here is the exciting conclusion to our article about why vending machines in Japan have little stickers on them telling you that your old 500 yen coins aren't welcome for use:

This is a 500 won coin that has been altered by a counterfeiter. The divots you see in the face of the coin are from a power drill, available at any home center, or more probably--considering the number of altered coins that were produced in the late 90's--a drill press, standard equipment in a machinist's shop.

Why Vending Machines Don't Accept Old 500 Yen Coins

You have probably seen this sticker or some variant of it--though you may not have properly noticed it or read what it said--on a vending machine in Japan. It is almost ubiquitous these days.

It tells you that the vending machine will accept new 500 yen coins, but not old ones. That's because old 500 coins were susceptible to easy counterfeiting, especially in vending machines.

Today, as a follow-up to Dom's wonderful guide to Japanese coins, let's learn a bit about the history of counterfeit 500 yen coins in Japan.