How to get contacts in Japan

Buying contact lenses in Japan is not as complicated as you think, but when you don't speak Japanese, it would be a disaster. There are some tips you could use when you try to get some.

Things you need:
NHI card or any health insurance card
Contacts (if you have made in your country)






Step 1: Go to the nearest contact lense store
Ask at the counter about making contact lenses (コンタクトレンズ). You will have to have a doctor check your eyes if you are able to wear contacts. You might have to move to a different counter to get checked. Then, you will be asked to show your health insurance card.



Step 2: Getting checked
You will have several eye checks besides doctor's examination by staff. They will test your eyesight by some machine, and then they will try to find the best level for you by an eye chart. 
・Up (ue)
・Down (shita)
・Right (migi)
・Left (hidari)



Step 3: Trial
Upon choosing your contacts, you will get to try several brands. There are One-day, Two-week, One-month and regular contacts. Consider well, and if you can, ask for the recommendation.



Step 4: Payment and Receiving
Pay for the eye examination which is usually no higher than 500 yen. Then,  you will pay for the contact lenses, and you will receive them. Note; sometimes they have to order for your contacts in case they don't have them in stock.

Deodorant in Japan

Not a huge selection

It seems like finding deodorant is not easy in Japan. Maybe for girls, it's not that hard, but for guys there are few selections you can get. I want to make a list of deodorant that you can buy at Japanese pharmacies.

For Girls:

・ Stick (スティック) / Roll-on (ロールオン)

Deonatulle -- Softstone W
8×4 -- Roll-on / Roll-on Mild Type
Ban -- nano ion Deodorant Roll-on
Ag+ -- Deodorant Stick
Rexena -- Dry Shield Powder Stick

・ Spray (スプレー) / Mist (ミスト)
8×4 -- Powder Spray 
8×4 -- Deodorant Essence 
Ban -- nano ion Deodorant Powder Spray
Ag+ -- Powder Spray D

Rexena -- Dry Shield Powder Spray

・ Water/Liquid (リキッド)
8×4 -- Deo Water
SEA BREEZE -- Deo&Water
 


For Guys:

・ Stick (スティック) / Roll-on (ロールオン)

Deonatulle -- Otoko Soft Stone w

8×4 MEN -- Roll-on

GATSBY -- Powder Deodorant Solid

GATSBY -- Biocore Deodorant Roll-on

・ Spray (スプレー) / Mist (ミスト)

8×4 MEN -- Deodorant Spray

AXE -- Fragrance Bodyspray
GATSBY -- Powder Deodorant Spray

・ Water/Liquid (リキッド)
GATSBY -- Deodorant Aqua

Alternative:

・Sheet (シート)

AXE -- Premium Black Sheet

Ban -- Sappari Shower Sheet

Biore -- Sarasara Powder Sheet

GATSBY -- Deodorant Paper

Ag+ -- Clear Shower Sheet

Cereal

Unfortunately, when it comes to cereal, we have such a poor selection of it. Why? Well, first of all, cereal is not a widely loved breakfast food in Japan -- we usually prefer toast or rice. Although it is getting popular, still regular supermarkets don't sell many unlike western countries where they have a whole aisle of cereal. 

Kellogg's seems to be the most famous cereal company in Japan as it is possibly the only company you would be familiar with here. Regarding Japanese brands, Calbee is the biggest. Also, there are some store brands.

What you may find at a regular supermarket:

Normal

・Kellogg's Corn Flakes (sugar free)

・Kellogg's  Frosted Corn Flakes

・Kellogg's Honey Nuts Crunch

・Kellogg's Chocowa

・Kellogg's Choco Crispy

・Kellogg's Pooh-san no Hachimitsu Daisuki

・Calbee Corn Flakes (Normal, Brown Sugar and Chocolate type available)

・Calbee Choco Puffy

Granola

・Kellogg's Granola  (Fruits and Chocolate types available)

・Calbee Fruit Granola
 

Diet
・Kellogg's Genmai Flakes
・Kellogg's All-Bran
・Kellogg's All-Bran Flakes (Normal and Fruits-mix)
・Kellogg's Special K (Red Berries)


Also, there are bar and sandwich type cereal.
Ex: Asahi BALANCEUP series
       Kellogg's Special K series


 

Marugoto Banana

Today, I want to introduce my favourite sweet called "Marugoto Banana" made by Yamazaki Pan. This is a simple sweet, a whole banana covered with whipped cream and rolled by a sponge cake. Surely, it sounds so plain, but it is addictive and tasty for the price which is usually no more than 200 yen. You can get this at convenience stores, super markets and so on.

Conveyor Belt Sushi (Sushi-Go-Round)

We call conveyor belt sushi "kaiten-zushi 回転寿司" meaning rounding sushi. In this type of sushi restaurant, literary, sushi on the plates go around on the conveyor belt by each seat. You can simply pick whatever you want to eat from the conveyor belt. Alternatively, you may make an special order, for example without wasabi or when you can not find what you want, by pushing the button and tell the order to the speaker phone usually above your seat.

The bill is decided by how many plates you ate, and each plate has the fixed price differed by shapes, colours or patterns. Generally, plates are no more than 500 yen, however, there are restaurants where you can have any plates by 100 yen.

What you can find at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant:

Green Tea

 You can put green tea powder to your cup, and pour hot water by
 pressing against the tap. See the picture left.










Pickled Ginger
We call it "Gari", and you might eat it before you eat another sushi
to clean the taste. Originally, it was eaten to sterilize food poisoning.

Soy Sauce

Typical Sushi:

                                                                                                    

Salmon

Tuna

                                                         

Sea urchin

Salmon roe

                                                             

Octopus

Unique sushi and dessert:

Uncured ham

Cheese cake

Mister Donut

Mister Donut, the most popular donuts franchise in Japan, actually, has its origin in Boston, USA. Now, their main market is Japan having more than 1300 shops, on the other hand, USA has only a few shops open under the name Mister Donut, since most of them became Dunkin' Donuts due to acquisition.

We call it "misudo" in Japan, and they sell not only doughnuts but also some Chinese noodles and dumplings. Often, they have all donuts 100 yen and pies 120 yen campaign. Also, they frequently have new doughnuts seasonally, but it seems like people have their own personal favourites, because of their variety of doughnuts.

・Choco Fashion: 136 yen
A crispy cake doughnut partially covered with chocolate.

・Angel Cream: 136 yen
 A Cream-filled doughnut.

・Pon de Ring: 126 yen
An original glazed doughnut with a unique doughy and sticky texture.

・D-Pop: 210 yen
 6 different kinds of doughnuts in a box.

You can find the rest of the menu here.

Green Tea Desserts

Green tea, a Japanese traditional tea, is often used for desserts, like cakes, ice cream, cookies and so on. Usually, "matcha" is used to express green tea, for example matcha ice cream. Here is a list of Green tea flavoured sweets I recommend.

1. Matcha  Crème Frappuccino at Starbucks Coffee

Frappuccino with green tea powder and whipped cream on top. This is the best green tea flavoured milkshake I have ever had. Even though, USA has Tazo Green Tea Crème Frappuccino, but it is said that tastes different from the Japanese one.

S 430yen T 470yen G 510yen V 550yen

2. Häagen-Dazs' Green Tea Ice Cream
Häagen-Dazs is loved in Japan, despite the relatively high price (A mini cup is usually 270 yen or so at a convenient store). Besides, this is a Japan exclusive, but I personally think this would be popular in other countries. Häagen-Dazs' Green Tea has a rich and sweet taste with a bit of bitterness. It is worth trying once! Limitedly, Green Tea Cookies & Cream is available from April 25th, 2011.

3.  Saryo Tsujiri's Matcha Parfait

Saryo Tsujiri is a Kyoto based Japanese Tea & Sweets café. They have 3 branches in Kyoto and 2 in Tokyo. This café is really popular, so you might have to queue, but it is worth it. I highly reccomend you to try "Tokusen Tsujiri Pafe (1231 yen~1401 yen)". It consists of matcha ice cream, matcha jelly, macha sponge cakes, matcha whipped cream, chestnuts, satsuma, sweet bean paste and rice-flour dumplings. This parfait is actually filling! so that it makes your stomach satisfied. Though it's kind of pricey, but tastes truly lovely.